Giving Week may be over, but it's not too late to give

Singapore

ON Dec 2, the public was treated to a range of sports lifestyle-orientated activities at Sports Hub's Community Play Day. This instalment of the quarterly event was held in conjunction with Giving Week, and participants were encouraged to donate to Sports Hub's partner charities, Focus On The Family and Reach Community Services.

These efforts are part of the initiatives by over 130 corporates in Singapore during the National Volunteer And Philanthropy Centre's (NVPC) Giving Week 2017 - from Giving Tuesday on Nov 28 (the international day of giving) to International Volunteer Day on Dec 5.

Supported by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, the Giving Week saw companies hold a variety of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives with charity partners.

Restaurant Group Unlisted Collection donated S$1 for every beverage sold at its restaurants during Giving Week. Proceeds were made to SG Enable, an organisation aimed at providing opportunities for people with disabilities.

In the spirit of the season of giving, a number of these drives extended beyond Giving Week, such as local supermarket chain NTUC FairPrice collaborating with the Boys' Brigade on its Share-A-Gift campaign, which sees the public pledge donations of various food items at 12 selected NTUC FairPrice stores and on FairPrice Online until Dec 31.

Through SingPost's tie-up with the Make-A-Wish Foundation (Singapore), participants of the Santa Run For Wishes on Dec 9 donated gifts for children facing life-threatening illnesses, to be given out at Make-A-Wish's annual Christmas Party.

Meanwhile, restaurant reservation startup Eatigo, will donate S$2 to Willing Hearts for reservations made using the code "GIVING" during the month of December.

Individuals wishing to donate blood before the year's end are able to do so through Mobike's partnership with the Singapore Red Cross. Donors will be reimbursed S$5 for their travel on Mobikes to any of the four Singapore blood banks in Singapore.

Melissa Kwee, NVPC's chief executive officer, said: "Through the diverse line-up of activities, we hope to encourage Singaporeans to do their part, big or small, in making Singapore a more compassionate and caring nation."

Actions by corporates weren't the only ones on display during Giving Week. This year's initiatives also included The Great Giveaway, where local influencers and celebrities like Stefanie Sun, Kumar and radio personality Hanli Hoefer raised funds for charities of their choice by starting campaigns on NVPC's integrated online portal Giving.sg.

This is Sun's first Great Giveaway campaign, and she started it with the Pledge It Forward initiative to raise funds for Community Chest.

Members of the public who donated to campaigns that were part of The Great Giveaway also stood a chance to win prizes from these personalities, such as Sun's latest album or VIP tickets to Kumar's shows.

"The Great Giveaway is much more than just about winning prizes - it's a movement meant to encourage Singaporeans to kickstart their giving journey through fun and simple giving activities to inspire and multiply the spirit of giving in Singaporeans," said Ms Kwee.

Giving Week 2017 attracted fewer companies to participate as compared to 2016 mostly because of NVPC's streamlined focus on undertaking more public-facing CSR initiatives. The organisation also cited that much of it had to do with an increased role that companies are now taking in driving their own initiatives.