A total of 130 cars got a special wash in a unique charity drive over the weekend, with over $3,800 raised for donations to the Lions Befrienders Service Association.
Anyone who passed by the Esso service station along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8 in the morning would have seen a big group in blue and white NTUC FairPrice t-shirts rolling up their sleeves to do their part in giving back. The deal – drivers of each car washed would donate $10 or more.
The group, led by FairPrice CEO (Singapore) Seah Kian Peng, consisted of senior management from
FairPrice and Cheers (the convenience store arm of FairPrice) and volunteers from Hock Cheong Automec and Lions Befrienders Service Association.
“Today, we are happy to support the work that Lions Befrienders does for the elderly through this charity car wash and thank the community for their participation in this meaningful cause,” said FairPrice CEO Seah Kian Peng.
Lions Befrienders Service Association Executive Director Goh Boo Han added they were thankful for the support from partners.
“Such community events not only help raise funds but also raise awareness of lonely and needy seniors living in our community who need our help and support. We hope more organisations and volunteers will come forward to lend a hand in such initiatives,” he said.
Other supporters included Philip Morris (S) Pte Ltd, Yakult, F&N, Koka, Field Catering, Yeo’s and Red Bull. Philip Morris sent 15 company vans for the car wash to support the event.
FairPrice had pledged to increase volunteerism among staff in May this year during the launch of the FairPrice Volunteer programme.
Since then, FairPrice staff volunteers have clocked about 1,400 man hours over the past six months, a significant increase from 200 man hours for the whole of 2011.
Part of FairPrice’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) framework in caring for the community, it targets to increase staff volunteer hours to 2,300 hours per year by 2016.
Mr Seah said this spirit of volunteerism “is something that we want to inculcate in all our staff. It is something that I know many of our staff and, for that matter, all Singaporeans want to give of generously."
"This year we have launched this volunteer programme in a more structured way which we believe is more sustainable also," he added.
