By Avelyn Ng
For the whole of August, every loaf of FairPrice Housebrand bread you buy will go a long way to helping someone who needs it most. The proceeds will go towards NTUC FairPrice’s donation to the NTUC-U Care Fund, which provides financial support to low-income union members and their families.
Its charity arm, FairPrice Foundation has pledged to donate $2.6 million in commemoration of FairPrice’s 44th Founder’s Day. The amount will contribute to the Labour Movement’s fundraising efforts to raise $10.6 million this year for U Care Fund.
“We have grown big, but we have never forgotten why we started and our social objective. It is only apt that we commemorate this milestone by not only giving back to the less fortunate, but also to galvanising the community to share in our efforts to make lives better for one and all,” said CEO of NTUC FairPrice Seah Kian Peng.
About the Beneficiaries
To kick off the month-long initiative, senior management staff from FairPrice and representatives from U Care Fund Board of Trustees, NTUC Central Committee and NTUC Care & Share Committee accompanied five low-income families supported by the U Care Fund on a free grocery shopping trip to Singapore Sports Hub’s FairPrice Xtra. Each family had up to $50 to spend.
One of the beneficiaries was a family of four, whose sole breadwinner is 30-year-old Ramdan Bin Samat. Juggling two jobs with alternate shifts, he hardly finds the time for his two sons aged three and 10.
“The U Stretch and U Care Back To School vouchers help us a lot with the respective living and education costs. Every year, there are also family events and discounts for chalets or resorts that bring us together,” shared his wife Sri Rahayu Abdul Hamid, 37, who has been a union member for five years
About FairPrice Foundation
NTUC FairPrice established FairPrice Foundation in 2008 to give back to the community by lending support to: the poor and needy; nation building and community bonding; and workers’ welfare. FairPrice has since donated over $100 million to the Foundation, of which some $80 million has been disbursed. One of the recipients is U Care Fund which has received a total of $24.3 million since 2009.
