At the U Care Charity Dinner held this evening, a total of $10,838,748 was announced as NTUC-U Care Fund’s total donations garnered in 2016. This brought the Labour Movement’s fund-raising efforts to a grand total of $88.58 million since the inception of NTUC-U Care Fund in 2009.
For the fourth year in a row, NTUC-U Care Fund received full support from all of its affiliated unions and associations which collectively donated $483,833 this year. This reaffirms and demonstrates the Labour Movement’s strong commitment towards helping low-income union members and their families.
The charity dinner, jointly hosted by NTUC President Mary Liew and NTUC Secretary-General Chan Chun Sing, was graced by some 850 guests comprising union leaders, management partners, and corporate donors, who have contributed to NTUC-U Care Fund. Some of the U Care beneficiaries and their family members were also invited to attend the dinner to partake in the joyous occasion.
NTUC Assistant Secretary-General and Director of Care and Share Department Zainal Sapari said, “We are always grateful for the continued support from all our donors, especially so during this time of economic uncertainty. Their collective effort displays the true ‘U Care’ spirit and greatly helps us in our mission to help improve the lives of our low-income union members and their families. We thank the Singapore Labour Foundation (SLF), our NTUC social enterprises, all our affiliated unions and associations, unionised companies, corporate and individual donors for their staunch support year after year.”
Assistance Programmes for Low-Income Union Members and Families
This year, NTUC-U Care Fund has set aside $2.675 million and $3.8 million for NTUC U Stretch vouchers and U Care Back To School vouchers respectively. Other U Care Assistance Programmes include U Care Education Co-Funding scheme; U Care Caring∙Sharing∙Reaching out (CSR) Grant; and donations to Bright Horizons Fund and Eldercare Trust.
Mdm Joanna Yap, beneficiary of various U Care Assistance Programmes including NTUC U Stretch vouchers, U Care Back To School vouchers, and the U Care Education Co-Funding scheme, shares, “I am extremely thankful for the assistance I have received from NTUC-U Care Fund. Being a part-time worker and single parent to two children, every cent counts. With the assistance, I am better able to manage my daily expenses, and have greater peace of mind in looking after the needs of my children”.
Continuous Support from Major Donors
Besides the SLF which donated $3.5 million, other major donors that pledged their donations through the U Care Charity Dinner included NTUC INCOME, Mercatus Co-operative Limited, Singapore Maritime Officer’s Union and United Workers of Electronics & Electrical Industries.
NTUC FairPrice Foundation contributed a total of $2.6 million this year through the “We Care for families b’coz U Care” campaign in August. Launched in July, NTUC Club also organised three runs of the Family Fun Fiesta amounting to $1.5 million in sponsorship value.
Among the corporate donors this year, two of the bigger ones are long-time supporters of the U Care Fund, ComfortDelGro Corporation Limited which donated $120,000, and Singapore Telecommunications Limited with a donation of $100,000.
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