The Ministry of Transport (MOT) and its statutory boards have raised S$888,888 for the Community Chest.
Pooled through the Ministry’s Family Charity Outreach programme between July 2013 and June 2014, a cheque with the amount was presented Thursday (Nov 6) evening at a charity movie premiere of the film Interstellar.
The premiere was attended by beneficiaries of the charity organisations, as well as their families. These included Metta School, Rainbow Centre Margaret Drive School, SPD, Hougang Sheng Hong Family Service Centre and THK Family Service Centre @ Bukit Panjang.
THE MOT FAMILY’S SUPPORT
One of the beneficiaries is 19-year-old Lai Bo Cheng, who was diagnosed with mild intellectual disability. Despite that, he still managed to pick up housekeeping skills at Metta School – a special needs school supported by Community Chest. He graduated with an ITE skills certificate last year, and found full-time employment at Mandarin Orchard Singapore.
“Bo Cheng is able to come this far because of the strong and committed support from our partners, such as the MOT Family,” said Vice-Chairman of Community Chest Chew Kwee San. “Beyond raising funds, CAAS (Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore) and LTA (Land Transport Authority) staff have also volunteered their time at our supported charities and brought much joy to children with special needs and people with disabilities.
“I am glad that funds raised from the charity movie event qualify for the dollar-for-dollar matching under the Care & Share Movement, which will double the help for the less fortunate and provide more opportunities for them to shine, just like Bo Cheng.”
Under the Care & Share Movement, donations will be matched dollar-to-dollar by the Government, till the end of the year. It is a national fund-raising and volunteerism movement led by Community Chest for the social service sector, as Singapore approaches its 50th year of independence in 2015.
The cheque was presented to Mr Chew by Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew, who said: “The MOT Family is glad to host our friends to this movie premiere. I talked to a few of them and I understand they are working very hard to achieve their ambitions. I hope the yearly contributions from the MOT Family Charity Outreach programme will help them in a meaningful way.”
Now into its fifth year, the programme has raised more than S$4 million for the beneficiaries under Community Chest.
Source: CNA