• Acting Minister for Ministry of Manpower & Senior Minister of State for Ministry of National Development, Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, Mayor of South East District, Dr Maliki Osman and Mr Seah Kian Peng, CEO of FairPrice, launches FairPrice Walk for Rice @ South East 2012 campaign together with Ping Yi Secondary School students.
• Campaign aims to raise half a million bowls of rice for 7,000 needy families
• Public urged to participate in the campaign to help the less fortunate meet their daily needs

NTUC FairPrice (FairPrice) and South East Community Development Council (CDC) launched its fourth year of the NTUC FairPrice Walk for Rice @ South East charity campaign at Ping Yi Secondary School this morning. The campaign aims to raise half a million bowls of rice to benefit 7,000 needy families residing in the South East District. For every 100 metres of walking completed, FairPrice will donate one bowl of rice to the needy.

Guest-Of-Honour, Grassroots Adviser Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, Acting Minister for Manpower, Senior Minister of State for National Development and Member-of-Parliament for Marine Parade, together with Mr Seah Kian Peng, CEO of FairPrice launched the mileage accumulation for the campaign with a walk from Ping Yi Secondary School to Sun Love Neighbourhood Link at Chai Chee. This was followed by a mini rice distribution to needy families residing in the area.

Joining them at the first of a series of NTUC FairPrice Walk for Rice @ South East 2012 campaigns were about 300 residents, students and FairPrice staff. The participants at the launch event raised about 1,000 bowls of rice. The Walk for Rice @ South East campaign is based on the South East CDC’s signature 5E Approach to Community Volunteerism.

Mr Seah Kian Peng, CEO (Singapore) of NTUC FairPrice said, “This is the fourth year that we are supporting this project. As a retailer with a heart, we are committed to doing our part for the community. We are heartened by the strong support from the community to the FairPrice Walk for Rice @ South East over the past 3 years and look forward to their active participation this year. By partnering like-minded organisations such as South East CDC and our business partners and by also involving our customers in this project, we can all continue to make a difference in the lives of families who are less fortunate than us.”

Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman, Mayor of South East District said, “Over three years, Walk for Rice @ South East has grown to become an annual movement for community engagement and contribution in the South East district. The unique approach of encouraging a healthy activity for a charitable cause has attracted much interest within the district. This year, the programme is specially crafted in a manner to connect and encourage different groups of people to come together and play a part to assist the needy. It has been a meaningful and fruitful three years working with FairPrice to organise the Walk for Rice @ South East campaign with about 7,000 families benefitting each year. Despite coming to the final year of our partnership agreement, South East CDC will continue to explore further collaboration possibilities with FairPrice and other corporations who are ready to embark on a community outreach journey with us. This is in line with PM Lee’s call to develop the big heart amongst Singaporeans.”

How to Participate in FairPrice Walk for Rice @ South East 2012

The public can do their part for the Walk for Rice @ South East programme by participating in walking activities at roadshows held on two Saturdays, 15 Sep 2012 and 22 Sep 2012, 12pm- 4pm on both days at FairPrice Finest Marine Parade and FairPrice Bedok North.

Alternatively, apart from walking, shoppers can purchase participating products at all FairPrice stores island-wide (FairPrice supermarkets, FairPrice Finest and FairPrice Xtra hypermarkets) between 15 to 22 September 2012. FairPrice will donate 1 bowl of rice for the purchase of each participating item comprising daily necessities like bread, beverages and toiletries (for the list of participating products, shoppers can refer to print ads and in-store ads for more details)

NTUC FairPrice will donate 1 bowl of rice for every 100m walked or purchase of each participating item.

Promoting Active Citizenry

New to this year’s Walk for Rice’s programme is the emphasis on practicing one of South East CDC’s three thrust; Promoting Active Citizenry. Grassroots, community and private organizations interested to contribute and walk for rice are encouraged to partner up, and together organize mini roadshows in the different divisions within the District. South East CDC hopes to social broker and envisions positive synergies to spring forth between groups of people within the community from the roadshows.

Walk for Rice Since 2009

This is the fourth year FairPrice is supporting this initiative by partnering its business partners and South East CDC to rally the community to reach out and play a part in helping needy families. In 2011, through the efforts’ of 29,165 participants, FairPrice donated 500,000 bowls of rice which benefitted 7,000 needy families in the South East District. The beneficiaries of this charity campaign are financially-assisted families identified by grassroots organisations.

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About South East CDC

South East CDC was set up on 24 November 2001. It oversees the Marine Parade Group Representative Constituency (GRC), East Coast GRC, Joo Chiat Single Member Constituency (SMC), MacPherson SMC and Potong Pasir SMC, and serves a population of about half a million residents. At the helm of South East CDC is Mayor Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman, who steers efforts in achieving the three strategic thrusts that guide the work of the CDCs. Termed the “ABCs of Community Bonding‟ – Assisting the Needy, Bonding the People and Connecting the Community – South East CDC initiates and manages programmes in collaboration with both community and corporate partners along these three strategic thrusts, so as to nurture a vibrant and self-reliant community.

For more information on South East CDC, visit www.southeastcdc.org.sg or be our Facebook fan at www.facebook.com/secdc.