The project is rallying public support, encouraging families to volunteer together

Singapore, 25 November 2016 – The Boys’ Brigade Share-a-Gift (BBSG) 2016 project was officially launched today by Guest-of-Honour, Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth. The Opening Ceremony was held at Yuhua Village Market, where Ms Fu also unveiled the BBSG Main Box and presented selected elderly beneficiaries with their early Christmas gifts. To rally support from the public, the project is encouraging parents to take on the opportunity to volunteer with their children. It targets to reach out to 38,317 beneficiaries this year, and will run from today till 19 December.

Launch of the BBSG Main Box

The FairPrice store at SingPost Centre will see several technologies being tested and developed. The “FairPrice@SingPost” mobile app, the first of its kind in Singapore, allows customers to locate products within the store

In recent years, the BBSG Main Box has been located at various neighbourhoods across the island to reach out to more Singaporeans. This year, the Main Box is located at Yuhua. It will serve as a one-stop information and knowledge portal until 19 December. It features exhibition panels that showcase the history and objectives of BBSG, as well as the project’s significant milestones achieved since its inception.

The Main Box is also one of the seven Specific Wish Tree collection points located island-wide, where donors will be able to pick and adopt ‘Specific Wishes’. At today’s event, around 50 elderly beneficiaries from Yuhua Neighbourhood Link, a seniors activity centre, were presented with their Christmas gifts. These were specific items that they requested, and consisted mainly of electronic appliances such as fans, rice cookers, electric ovens and blenders. These gifts were fulfilled by NTUC FairPrice, one of the project’s sponsors this year.

Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, said, “Community-led initiatives like BBSG exemplify the spirit of the shared future we want for Singapore – where every individual, regardless of background, is ready to roll up their sleeves and extend a helping hand to those in need. When we care and look out for one another, we grow closer and stay united as one people.’’

BBSG encourages families to participate together

One of the areas of focus for The Boys’ Brigade in Singapore is the involvement of parents and families of BB Boys in their community activities. These include organising parent-child outings to the supermarket to donate and contribute towards BBSG.

Generous donations from sponsors

This year, long-time sponsors NTUC FairPrice and Prudential Singapore have continued to support the project generously. Apart from FairPrice being the official online and collection partner, their philanthropic arm, FairPrice Foundation, has pledged to donate $10 (capped at $75,000) for every hamper purchased through FairPrice Online.

Mr Seah Kian Peng, CEO, NTUC FairPrice said, “FairPrice has been a partner with the BBSG initiative for the last 16 years and we are pleased to continue with our commitment. Beyond sponsorship and providing a convenient platform to facilitate the collection and distribution of groceries to the beneficiaries, we are heartened to have the community’s involvement and our customers’ generous support. To complement BBSG’s focus on volunteering this year, FairPrice will also provide opportunities for interested members of the public to sign up and join our staff volunteers in distributing the gift hampers to beneficiaries.”

In addition, Prudential Singapore has returned as BBSG 2016’s Presenting Sponsor, contributing $120,000. The employees and agency force of Prudential Singapore will continue to contribute to the project by adopting wishes as well as volunteering their time to pack and to deliver food hampers to the homes of beneficiaries.

BBSG 2016 will also see the participation of Nestlé Singapore. Every $25 spent on participating Nestlé products for food donations will be matched one for one by Nestlé, so that more families can be blessed this Christmas. These items include MILO® Powder 900g, MILO® 3in1 18s, Nestle OMEGA® Acticol 600g, NESTUM® 3in1 Plain Cereal Drink 18s, NESTUM® All Family Cereal Original 450g, MAGGI® 2MIN Curry / Chicken Noodle 5s and NESCAFE® 3in1 ORIGINAL 35s.

Other cash donors and sponsors include Far East Organisation, Tan Chin Tuan Foundation and Credit Suisse.

BBSG seeks the public’s support to give generously

From now till 19 December, members of the public who wish to fulfil general wishes can place the food items in any of the project’s 12 gift boxes island-wide. They can also purchase food hampers amounting to $20, $30 and $50 via NTUC FairPrice’s online portal (www.fairprice.com.sg). Those who wish to fulfil specific wishes can adopt a specific wish from any of the seven Boys’ Brigade Share-a-Gift Specific Wish Trees in Singapore (Please refer to factsheet for list of BBSG 2016 collection points). Cash contributions can also be made through any AXS station located island-wide.

Besides contributing a gift to beneficiaries, participants can also deliver the food hampers to beneficiaries from 5 to 31 December, from The Boys’ Brigade Headquarters (excluding eve of and on Public Holidays). To participate, volunteers can register at www.bbshare.sg. For more information, please call the BBSG hotline at 1800-227-4273 (1800-BBSHARE) or visit its official website at www.bbshare.sg.

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