- The 40th edition of FairPrice’s signature annual community initiative, Share-A-Textbook, returns garnering over 2,700 volunteers, the highest number of volunteer sign ups to-date.
- Members of the public are encouraged to donate textbooks at all FairPrice stores islandwide to support the initiative that will provide not just educational resources for disadvantaged students but contribute towards a more environmentally-friendly Singapore through reusing and recycling.
- Held in conjunction is the launch of the second edition of Food, Innovation and Technology – ‘FIT’ Hackathon as an extension of FairPrice Share-A-Textbook and calling for entries.
SINGAPORE, 1 November 2022 – Today, NTUC FairPrice (FairPrice) launched the 40th edition of its signature community initiative, FairPrice Share-A-Textbook Project. This annual project returns with the aim to provide free, pre-loved textbooks to underprivileged students and families. This is especially pertinent given the current uncertain economic situation and high inflation and also fulfils the dual purpose of being environmentally sustainable through the reusing and recycling of educational materials.
This year, all FairPrice stores including FairPrice supermarkets, FairPrice Xtra hypermarkets, FairPrice Finest stores, Warehouse Club, and FairPrice Xpress outlets at Esso service stations, totalling 177 outlets in multiple retail formats spread across Singapore, will serve as donation drop-off points from today (1 November) to 30 November 2022.
Mr Vipul Chawla, Group CEO, FairPrice Group, said, “The FairPrice Share-A-Textbook Project celebrates its 40th anniversary this year and it continues to serve as a relevant platform for Singaporeans to care for the less fortunate, contribute to a sustainable environment and promote the vibrant spirit of sharing. We thank the community and our strategic partners for their support in nurturing this project and together, transforming it into an endearing and much anticipated annual event.”
Last year, over 895,000 books were collected and redistributed. This equates to approximately 10,740 trees[1] saved. The project this year also attracted over 2,700 volunteers – the highest on record since the project was launched 40 years ago. This includes volunteers from community partners, schools, FairPrice staff and members of the general public, who will assist in collecting, sorting and organising textbooks for redistribution in December. Over the years, the project has collected, redistributed and recycled over 6.8 million books.
FIT Hackathon
As an extension of this initiative, FairPrice is also bringing back the second instalment of the Food, Innovation and Technology (‘FIT’) Hackathon. In this hackathon, students from secondary schools and tertiary institutions are invited to explore three broad themes – lowering carbon emissions, reducing waste and encouraging community sharing, and creating innovative solutions to tackle these pertinent issues.
The FIT Hackathon will be held over three days, where students will learn to develop proposals and pitch their ideas with expert guidance from mentors within the industry. Winners from this Hackathon will receive cash prizes of up to $10,000. More information on the hackathon can be found via the link: www.fpgfithack.com.sg
[1] From Conservatree: http://conservatree.org/learn/EnviroIssues/TreeStats.shtml 1 ream of paper (500 sheets) is 6% of a tree; 5 textbooks is approx. 1 ream; hence 83.33 textbooks equates to 1 tree and 10,740 trees make up 895,000 textbooks.
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