SAFRA has long supported the less fortunate in various ways, and over the festive season, SAFRA Toa Payoh and SAFRA Community Services Club partnered with the SG Cares Office to organise the 7th edition of Let’s Gift For A Reason.
The initiative was held across all six SAFRA Clubs between 5 November and 18 December 2022, in conjunction with SG Cares Giving Week. Since 2020, SAFRA has partnered with SG Cares to reach out to more beneficiaries through the latter’s network of partners, and this year, more than 5,600 recipients benefitted from Let’s Gift For A Reason through Adopt A Bag and Adopt A Wish.
Adopt A Bag: NSmen, SAFRA members and members of the public paid $20 each to adopt a bag. For every bag adopted, a care pack of basic necessities and household items worth about $20 was donated to low-income families and the elderly. This year’s Let’s Gift For A Reason saw a total of 5,000 bags adopted, up from 3,000 last year.
Adopt A Wish: NSmen, SAFRA members and members of the public picked out the wishes of less privileged children and granted their wishes by buying the gift for them. This year, more than 600 children received gifts of their choice, thanks to the generous support of donors.
On 17 December, some of the children were also invited to SAFRA Toa Payoh for a day of fun, where they got to try a range of activities, from fencing and Aikido to bowling and playing in the Kidz Amaze Indoor Playground.
Numerous volunteers and partners helped to make Let’s Gift For A Reason a success. The volunteers were from all walks of life, including those from the Public Service Division and our own SAFRA Running Club.
Volunteer Tan May Yee found the experience enriching, saying that she believes she has a part to play in helping to spread joy to the elderly and those in need.
Another SAFRA Running Club volunteer, Chien Koh Wei, cherished the opportunity to give back to society.
“It was very meaningful,” he quipped. “I was surprised that other Running Club volunteers brought their family members too, so that everyone could get involved.”
Staff from J&T Express also volunteered their time to help with the packing and door-to-door distribution of the care packs. As the official logistics partner of Let’s Gift For A Reason, J&T Express helped with the transportation of 2,500 care packs and over 600 gifts.
“It’s important for us to take care of one another – not just our family and friends, but others in society who need our help and support, too,” said Alice Yeung, Sales & Marketing Director at J&T Express.
According to Terence Quek, SAFRA Toa Payoh Executive Committee Chairman, Let’s Gift For A Reason was a chance for everyone to contribute to a good cause.
“We appreciate it when new partners come forward to support our programmes, and this year, we welcomed new partnerships with Sheng Siong and J&T Express,” he stated.
“On behalf of SAFRA, I would like to thank our donors and partners, and our NSmen and their families for supporting Let’s Gift For A Reason. We hope to receive your support again next year, so that we can continue to make a difference to the less privileged amongst us in the community.”
Let’s Gift For A Reason wraps up the series of SAFRA Cares initiatives that were organised this year to commemorate SAFRA’s 50th Anniversary. It provided NSmen and the public with the opportunity to uplift those in need during the season of giving.
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