• About 23, 500 participants clocked a total of 65, 700km in walking activities
• Rice to be distributed to 7,000 families over the next five months

NTUC FairPrice (FairPrice) and South East Community Development Council (CDC) has concluded this year’s NTUC FairPrice Walk for Rice @ South East campaign with half a million bowls of rice raised to benefit 7,000 needy families residing in the South East District. Mr Seah Kian Peng, CEO (Singapore) of NTUC FairPrice led the event this morning at Braddell Heights to mark the conclusion of this year’s campaign and to distribute the first 10,000 bowls of rice to the needy families staying there. He was joined by 60 students from Nanyang Junior College (NYJC) and Grassroots leaders from the Braddell Heights division. The rest of the rice will be distributed to the other families over a period of five months.

To kick off the rice distribution, over 180 families in the Braddell Heights division will benefit from the Walk for Rice campaign. Braddell Heights grassroots leaders had already started last Monday to guide NYJC students and teachers to contact the recipients, repack a few hundred packets of rice and deliver the rice personally to the families.

This is the campaign’s fourth year to rally the community to participate in giving through walking activities or purchase of FairPrice participating products. For each 100 metres of walking completed in the past month or each participating product sold between 15 to 22 September, FairPrice donated one bowl of rice to the initiative.

About 23, 500 people participated in this year’s Walk, clocking in some 65,700 km in the campaign. On average, each participant walked about 3 km and more than 125 roadshows were organised by South East CDC’s corporate and community partners which included schools and grassroots organisations. In addition, FairPrice customers also supported the campaign by purchasing some 314,000 items from a selection of over 30 participating products.

Mr Seah Kian Peng, who is also the Member of Parliament for Marine Parade GRC (Braddell Heights) said, “It is heartening to have the continuous and strong support from the community over the past four years for the FairPrice Walk for Rice @ South East. We are privileged that through the active participation of the community, the campaign this year has once again met the target of raising half a million bowls of rice for the needy families. The community is always at the heart of the many initiatives FairPrice undertakes and we appreciate partners like South East CDC who play an active role in rallying the community and our customers to give back to those in need. We hope that these efforts also contribute to a more giving and involved community.”

Mayor of South East District, Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman, said, “NTUC FairPrice Walk for Rice 2012 has been a great success and is an outstanding example of strong corporate-community collaboration. The campaign saw approximately 23,500 participants from all walks of life play a part to walk for the needy. They collectively walked about 65,700 km and raised half a million bowls of rice for the needy families in the South East District. Beyond the tangible success of the programme, it was heartening to also witness intangible bonds forged between colleagues, families, neighbours and friends through the different roadshows. South East CDC would like to thank NTUC FairPrice for their contributions and efforts to make the community a better place to live in.”

The Walk for Rice @ South East campaign is based on the South East CDC’s signature 5E Approach to Community Volunteerism.