Come by Red Cross House (15 Penang Lane) this coming Sunday 26 July from 11am to 4pm, and shop for a good cause!
If you pride yourself as a bargain hunter or have a nose for good deals, you’ll be able to find something nice to bring home!
Do bring your friends and family along to shop and get some yummy avocado ice cream!
Proceeds of the Sunday sale will be channeled to Singapore Red Cross local humanitarian services!
The Food Bank Singapore is appealing to hotels and restaurants to donate excess cooked food.
Its new Food Rescue Project aims to collect cooked food that does not end up on plates – such as unconsumed rice and noodles from buffets and banquets- and distribute it to the needy within the same day.
The non-profit organisation aims to launch the initiative by the end of the year, and is in discussions with several hotels as well as food and beverage outlets.
The group’s co-founder Nichol Ng told The Straits Times: “We have been working on this for more than one year but it has been tougher than expected to convince people to come on board. Many are cautious as cooked food has a shorter shelf life.”
To ensure that the food is safe for distribution, the organisation is pumping in about $100,000 to run lab tests to assess its bacteria.
“We are not taking this process lightly,” Ms Ng said.
In March, the National Environment Agency (NEA) announced that it will develop guidelines with the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority for the proper handling and re-distribution of unsold and excess food.
NEA said food waste accounts for about 10 per cent of total waste generated, but less than 15 per cent of it is recycled.
Hotels keen to be part of the Food Rescue Project include Hilton Singapore, Conrad Centennial and Fullerton. Samples of food have been taken from the latter two for tests.
A spokesman for Hilton and Conrad Centennial said: “Waste reduction is a key focus of our sustainability efforts and globally we have invested in multiple organisations… to support our hotels’ efforts.”
At both hotels, about 20kg of buffet breakfast food goes unconsumed every day along with up to 30kg each of the lunch and dinner buffet spreads.
A Fullerton spokesman said: “While we seek to ensure minimal food wastage in all our restaurants, we recognise that we can donate safe food to benefit the needy.”
Two voluntary welfare organisations have already signed up to be beneficiaries, and more are expected to do the same.
Teen Challenge Singapore, a halfway house, has 30 residents and 22 staff members. The average cost of a meal per day is $3 per person, and its executive director, Mr William Chua, believes that with The Food Bank’s help the total cost could be “easily reduced”.
Mr Koh Guan Huat, centre manager of fellow beneficiary Moral Seniors Activity Centre (Kaki Bukit), said: “It will certainly help to lessen the financial burden, and also food can be delivered to their doorstep which is helpful to the frail elderly.
“We will check the food before distribution to avoid any issues, but we do hope the food given to the elderly will be in its best condition.”
For details of how to take part, e-mail: enquiries@foodbank.sg
Source: The Straits Times
Madam Dwen Hwee is allergic to paint.
But she picked up a brush anyway and helped paint murals at Block 45, Telok Blangah Drive last Thursday.
Madam Hwee, who is in her 30s, works for Shell Eastern Petroleum (Shell) and was one of 180 volunteers from the company who painted 50 murals at the block as part of Let’s Paint! Singapore @ South West.
This is a programme that promotes volunteerism to decorate spaces around the community.
The murals were unveiled by Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang last Saturday.
These paintings have nine themes such as women’s contributions to society and being good neighbours.
They also show life in Telok Blangah and depict milestones in Singapore’s history to celebrate SG50.
PROUD
Madam Hwee, a human resource account manager, said: “This project really speaks to my heart. I’m proud to work for a company that wants to give back to the community, which is something I feel strongly about.
“It also gives us a chance to bond as colleagues. I very much wanted to be a part of it, so I didn’t care (about my allergy).”
Madam Hwee’s allergy causes her to have itchy spells when around wet paint. She had to take medication and wore protective gloves and goggles while painting.
Despite an itch, she persevered and painted a pillar that showed people of different races celebrating Hari Raya together.
She said: “It was a new experience for me and I think it was really fun. Looking at the murals made me happy and the colours enlivened me. I hope it will enliven the residents too.”
She worked with Mr Jonathan Ng, 39, and four other Shell volunteers on the pillar.
Mr Ng, a process safety manager, added: “I think our mural is very important as it shows multi-cultural Singapore. The designs are nice because they depict typical community life.”
DEVELOPED
The murals concepts were developed by Built from Skratch, an educational entertainment company that gives classes on dance, music and art.
It was engaged by the South West Community Development Council (CDC) one month ago to work on the murals.
Their team spent three to four nights outlining the murals for the Shell volunteers to paint and bought about 50 litres of paint for them to use.
The volunteers painted on Thursday afternoon and Saturday.
Mr Jason Leow, general manager of external relations of Shell in Singapore, said they hoped the murals would remind the young of what Singapore has achieved in the past 50 years.
A resident of the block, taxi driver, Mr Faizal Sani, 31, said he would show his 10-year-old son the murals.
He said: “It brightens up the void deck.
“Before, it was very plain, but now, there are things to look at.
“I can walk there with my son and teach him through the paintings.”
Source: The New Paper
Since he was three years old, Mr Ole Kassow has seen how his father, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and had to be wheelchair-bound, has struggled with unfulfilled desires to “go out and see other parts of society”.
The experience inspired the 49-year-old Danish social entrepreneur to launch Cycling Without Age, where volunteers take elderly people out and about on special trishaws. Two years after he started the project, more than 50 municipalities in Denmark and Norway now house more than 300 customised trishaws, some of which have elderly-friendly features such as a handicap lift, safety belts, and specially designed blankets.
The initiative, which has been rolled out in more than 10 countries, is now in Singapore, too. Last week, about 50 senior citizens from The Salvation Army’s family support services centre and Thian Leng Old Folks Home took rides on the first such trishaw in Singapore.
One of them, Mr Chan Peng Hing, 80, said he enjoyed the ride around Tiong Bahru Park. “I often get leg aches, so it is difficult to move around. With this project, I get to visit places I used to go to, and see a lot more new things.”
Ms Pernille Bussone, who lives in Singapore and approached Mr Kassow to pilot the concept in Singapore, said they have approached the Urban Redevelopment Authority, National Parks Board and Land Transport Authority for support of the initiative, which she hopes can bond the community across generations.
“Through these rides, people can build relationships and share stories. The pioneers will have a lot to share about the story of Singapore,” said Ms Bussone, 35. “The elderly have a wonderful wisdom, which we don’t cherish enough.”
She is aiming for one trishaw per Housing and Development Board block in Singapore. In the short term, she hopes to raise enough funds for at least two more trishaws — each costs 30,000 Danish krones (S$6,000) — and explore the possibility of assembling them in the region to reduce costs.
Several private organisations, such as Carlsberg and the Overseas Family School, have expressed interest either in volunteering or donating towards the project, she said. About 20 volunteers, aged between 15 and 55, have signed up so far, she added.
Mr Kassow said response among the elderly here has been positive. “Coming out on the road and feeling the wind can unleash a quality of life that has been lost in so many people when they grow old,” he added.
Source: TODAY