Tap Ez-Link cards on advertisements to donate; Govt to match welfare donations

By Janice Tai, The Straits Times, 30 Nov 2013

EZ-LINK users can now use the card for another purpose: Donating to charity.

Five MRT stations - Orchard, Somerset, Tiong Bahru, Yishun and Bishan - have interactive posters asking for donations. By tapping an ez-link card on the poster, a dollar will be deducted.

Those who wish to make larger donations of $20, $50 or $100 can use their smartphones to scan the QR code on the posters.

Post by Community Chest Singapore.

The inaugural campaign, under the Care & Share Movement announced last month, is expected to last a year.

As part of the movement, Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing announced yesterday that the Government will match funds raised by the Community Chest and voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) from next month to the end of next year.

The money raised by the movement will help some 250 VWOs upgrade their services to meet rising needs in the social service sector in 2015 and beyond. They can be used to fund new programmes and facilities, and training.

"As we grow economically and become a more secure society, we also like to have a balanced portfolio where socially, we also grow to become a more cohesive society," said Mr Chan.

The movement was launched in the lead-up to the Republic's 50th birthday celebrations in 2015 to encourage Singaporeans and organisations to give more of their time and money to help the needy.

Details on the amount to be set aside for the Government's matching grant will be out early next year. Last year, tax-exempt donations collected by charity organisations totalled about $280 million.

Community Chest chairman Phillip Tan said there will be a cap on how much the Government will match the amount raised, but he hopes it will be at least $1 million for each charity.

The Community Chest is the main driver behind the new MRT campaign. It decided to harness technology because the online donations it received quadrupled over the past five years to $820,000 last year.

The fund-raising arm of the National Council of Social Service needs $85 million this year to help more than 300,000 beneficiaries from 83 charities.

One of the commuters who tapped her ez-link card to make a donation yesterday was Ms June Tham, 62. She usually donates by mailing cheques to various charity organisations several times a year.

"This is really convenient, and some may be motivated to give on the spot when they read the billboard messages," said the executive director of a special education school. "There is a lot of potential because of the volume of commuters who pass by, but they must know about it first."

Philanthropist pledges $1 million to Assisi Hospice
By Priscilla Goy, The Straits Times, 30 Nov 2013

A $1 MILLION pledge by Madam Khoo Bee See, daughter of the late banker-philanthropist Khoo Teck Puat, will help Assisi Hospice hire more staff for more than 500 patients who receive care at home.

The donation, one of the largest by an individual to the hospice, will be matched dollar for dollar by the Government under the Care & Share Movement, which covers funds raised by the Community Chest and participating voluntary welfare organisations.

The scheme, which runs from next month until the end of next year, aims to get more Singaporeans and organisations to help the needy in the run-up to Singapore's 50th birthday celebrations in 2015.

Madam Khoo's gift is the first under the movement.

During her short tour of the hospice on Thursday, she met several patients.

"I see many sickly people in hospices and it's good that they are taken care of at Assisi... I just wanted to give back because we're all so lucky," said Madam Khoo, 79.

Her father was listed in Forbes magazine as Singapore's richest man in 2004, earning his fortune from banking, hospitality and property.

Assisi Hospice provides in- patient care, day-care and home-care services to those with terminal illnesses. More than half of its 1,080 patients last year received their care in their own homes.

Associate Professor Premarani K., chief executive of the hospice, said there is a growing need for home-care services, which are "labour-intensive and require the human touch".

"More people prefer to die in the comfort and familiarity of their own home," she added.

Last year, Assisi served 581 home-care patients, up from 525 patients in 2010.

Said Prof Premarani: "We hope to hire more staff so that their workload is reduced. Then they can devote more time and attention to each patient."