ChildAid raises funds for over 10,000 kids a year

Singapore

SINCE 2005, ChildAid has been raising money for two Singapore Press Holdings charities, which have helped over 170,000 children - or over 10,000 children a year.

The first charity, The Business Times Budding Artists Fund, helps artistically-gifted children from low-income families pursue the arts. The charity believes the arts help unlock the full potential of each child, including their academic abilities.

Aura Claire Mohd Rani, for instance, has been studying dance for free for six years with the help of the fund. The 13-year-old says: "Whenever I feel stressed about my studies, I turn to dancing to calm myself. Dancing has helped me grow my personality and confidence - I used to be so shy around people."

The second, The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund (STSPMF), helps underprivileged children pay for their meals and transport fares.

Recipient Shrinithi Gunasegaran, 9, used to not have enough money for lunch. "My father gave me S$1.50 a day, but some of the food cost S$2.00. So I had difficulty buying lunch. Now with the fund, I get S$2, and it's enough."

Her father is a cleaner and her mother is a cashier. Her younger sister, aged 8, is also a fund recipient.

Since the pandemic hit, the situation has worsened for many families whose breadwinners have lost jobs or faced salary cuts.

Single mother Ang Lay Choo, for instance, juggles multiple jobs to support herself and her teenage son Xu JingFeng. The pandemic caused her wages to shrink and she's looking for additional work.

When Mr Xu was in secondary school, STSPMF helped pay for the two to three meals he needed to eat everyday in school because he is a sportsman. Last year, he picked up a gold medal at the 2019 SEA Games for speed skating.

Now in polytechnic, the 17-year-old says: "The fund helped relieve my mother's financial burden... Things have been much tougher since Covid-19 struck."

ChildAid 2020 - Virtually Yours premieres on July 15 at 8pm on The Business Times and The Straits Times websites, as well as their respective YouTube and Facebook channels.

Catch a sneak peek of the upcoming concert on: https://youtu.be/LoR6PS9SbWk

The one-minute trailer gives a glimpse into the concert's 360-degree virtual experience and is best enjoyed using smartphone or tablet, and headphones to experience the technology.

The concert raises funds for two charities, The Business Times Budding Artists Fund and The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund.

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