• Effort aims to encourage youths to volunteer or “do good” even after they enter the workforce

NTUC FairPrice Foundation today celebrated its fifth anniversary and launched its first public education initiative – “Do Good” – at Front Plaza at Plaza Singapura. Targeted at youths and themed “Small Deeds. Big Differences.”, FairPrice Foundation hopes to inspire youths and the broader community to do good and understand that small deeds can make big differences.

This initiative comes after the World Giving Index, the largest study into charitable behavior across the globe ranked Singapore 114th among 146 countries surveyed. The study ranks countries based on donating money to charity, volunteering and helping strangers.

Mr Ng Ser Miang, Chairman of NTUC FairPrice Foundation, shared, “We want to encourage our future generations, the youths among us, to do good. The important message here is that no matter how small or big a deed is, we want the youths to know that everyone can make a difference for Singapore. We want to empower them with the belief that they can be catalysts to inspire their friends, family and the broader community to be kinder and more giving.”

Small Deeds. Big Differences.

The “Do Good” initiative uses social and activation platforms to encourage youths to pledge to do good. There is an interactive Facebook application and microsite (www.DoGood.sg) where youths can participate to pledge to doing good deeds, upkeep a virtual diary of good deeds done every day, share inspirational and amazing stories that have made a difference and even pitch for FairPrice to fund their own “Do Good” initiatives.

A roving pop-up store, known as the “Giving store”, will visit tertiary schools and places with high student traffic to create buzz and awareness about the do good initiative. Instead of paying for the items which include a range of popular snacks at the pop-up store, students pledge to do something good in return. There are no restrictions to the definitions of a do good initiative, which could range from helping one’s parents with household chores to a fundraising activity in school for the needy.

FairPrice Foundation will also work closely with schools, The Singapore Scout Association, Singapore National Olympic Council, Girl Guides, nEbO, Singapore Kindness Movement, Netball Singapore and YMCA to help spread this “Do Good” initiative to the youths that they work with. This includes leveraging the wide presence of the Singapore Scout Association in schools to reach out to more students and assist in holding mini pop-up stores in the schools to encourage students to pledge to do good.

More than $40 million given to the needy to date

Commenting on the fifth anniversary of FairPrice Foundation, Mr Ng said, “Over the past five years, FairPrice has donated more than $60 million to the Foundation to provide assistance to the poor and needy, promote community bonding and advance workers’ welfare. We did this through initiatives such as the NTUC U Care Fund and FairPrice Food Voucher Scheme; and through organisations like Renci Hospital and Community Chest.”

Since its inception in 2008, the Foundation in turn has given out $40 million to provide assistance to the poor and needy, promote community bonding and advance workers’ welfare through initiatives such as FairPrice Food Voucher Scheme and through organisations like Renci Hospital and Community Chest.