Boys' Brigade Share-A-Gift 2020 urgently appeals for donations

SINGAPORE

THE Boys' Brigade Share-A-Gift (BBSG) 2020 is appealing for donations, as the project has crossed its halfway point, but only achieved 8 per cent of its donation target.

This marks the lowest-ever donation amount the project has received at the halfway point in its history. The charity project, which was launched on Nov 18, seeks to reach out to about 41,423 beneficiaries this year. Many may not be able to receive BBSG's support this year, if the project fails to achieve its donation target.

Henry Tan, chairman of BBSG 2020, said: "It has been a challenging donation drive for BBSG thus far, and we would like to urgently appeal for the public's contribution as we seek to support our beneficiaries at a time when they would be most in need of help.

"Amidst the pandemic, BBSG has implemented various safe management measures to ensure that our donation and delivery drives can be carried out safely. We hope that the public can join us by donating or participating in our delivery drives, so that all our beneficiaries will be able to receive support this year."

This year, to ensure the safety of its donors, volunteers and beneficiaries amid Covid-19, the project has ceased accepting food items and done away with gift collection points, and is instead, appealing for cash donations via online platforms.

Additionally, unlike previous years, not every "General Wishes" beneficiary will be receiving BBSG signature food hampers.

Approximately 6,000 "General Wishes" beneficiaries from government-funded ComCare programmes will be receiving FairPrice vouchers, while 24,318 beneficiaries will be receiving food hampers donated by the public via FairPrice Online with the bulk delivered to the social service agencies.

BBSG's presenting sponsor, Prudential Singapore, will be reaching out with hampers of wellness items to 650 low-income families in the KidSTART programme. The life insurer will also be distributing hampers comprising healthier-choice food items to 2,000 senior beneficiaries who are part of government-funded ComCare programmes.

BBSG kickstarted its delivery drive last Thursday - with a convoy comprising senior representatives from The Boys' Brigade in Singapore, Prudential Singapore and the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) - completing the project's first batch of deliveries to beneficiaries.

There are 380 out of 660 registration slots still available for those wanting to help deliver items to the beneficiaries.