NTUC-U Care Fund has raised $10 million in donations in 2019 to help lower-income union members and their families, making the grand total of funds raised to $140 million since its inception in 2009. Money from the fund will go to some 26,000 beneficiaries through various assistance programmes such as U Stretch Vouchers and U Care Back to School Vouchers. This was revealed at the U Care Charity Dinner this evening, held in conjunction with NTUC-U Care Fund’s 10th anniversary. President Halimah Yacob was Guest-of-Honour at the event.
A total of 110 donors contributed to the fund this year. NTUC-affiliated unions and associations contributed more than $920,000, testament to the Labour Movement’s long-standing commitment to helping our lower-income members.
NTUC Assistant Secretary-General and Director of NTUC Care and Share Department Zainal Sapari, said, “Our utmost appreciation goes to all our esteemed donors for the past ten years, whose kind gestures have helped to improve and make a real difference in the lives of our lower-income union members and their families. It is with their support that our members and their families continue to have hope and are motivated to better their lives and secure a brighter future for themselves and their loved ones.”
Singapore Labour Foundation, staunch supporter and top corporate donor since 2009, contributed $3.5 million this year. Other top corporate donors who have contributed to the fund since 2009 include ComfortDelGro and Singtel.
Targeted efforts to help members impacted by sudden loss of income
Monies from the NTUC-U Care Fund is disbursed via various assistance schemes to help lower-income members and their families alleviate some of the cost of daily necessities and schooling needs. This year, a new programme, the CapitaLand-U Care Resilience and Enablement Fund (CAP+Ure), has been launched to provide interim support for low-to-medium income union members who are impacted from sudden loss of income.
With a sponsorship of $500,000 by CapitaLand Hope Foundation and partial matching by NTUC-affiliated unions, eligible members can receive a one-time disbursement of $250 NTUC FairPrice vouchers per child to help them tide over their children’s basic nutritional and educational needs during unforeseen circumstances such as retrenchment or illness in the family.
About 2,500 children are expected to benefit from this programme, which will run for a period of two years starting from Q4 2019. Members can apply for the programme via their unions.
Members who have been retrenched will be provided with employment and employability assistance via referral to the NTUC LIFT-UP Pathfinder, a programme launched in February 2018 and supported by the President’s Challenge Empowering for Life Fund. Members and their families will undergo customised training to level up their employability, skills and resilience.
Mr Tan Seng Chai, Chief Corporate & People Officer for CapitaLand Group and Executive Director of CapitaLand Hope Foundation, said: “As a socially responsible company, CapitaLand plays an active role in building an inclusive and caring society. Tapping on NTUC’s network enables us to broaden our reach to underprivileged children who need immediate assistance. This partnership with NTUC to launch CAP+Ure allows us to help union members with sudden loss of income tide through a difficult period. The fund ensures the health and education needs of their children are provided for. We believe each child is to continue to be nurtured to their full potential and bring significant value to future societies.”
NTUC Care and Share Committee Co-Chairman and NTUC Central Committee member Abdul Samad Abdul Wahab said, “Workers always share with us about how their families are their main source of inspiration, and that it takes a village to raise a child. This new programme is thus especially meaningful, as it targets the needs of children. The unions are glad to do our part to provide the much-needed financial boost for our union members who are in unfortunate times of need, so that they can continue to do their best for their children.”
NTUC-U Care Fund: Evolving with members’ needs
The NTUC-U Care Fund was established in 2009 to consolidate the Labour Movement’s fundraising efforts to better the welfare of low-income union members and their families. A total of $23.2 million was raised in 2009 to help workers affected by the economic downturn. $8.6 million went to helping the retrenched and those who suffered a pay-cut or were on temporary layoff, while the remaining sum went to the various U Care assistance programmes.
Today, key programmes include the U Stretch Voucher Programme and the U Care Back to School Voucher Programme, in which a total of $5 million to $6 million are disbursed yearly, benefitting an average of 24,000 members and their families as well as 26,000 children respectively. In 2009, eligible union members received $80 worth of U Stretch Vouchers. With continued support from donors, the disbursement amount has since increased – now, members with dependents receive $100 worth of vouchers, while those with no dependents receive $50 worth of vouchers. Another key programme is the U Care Education Co-Funding scheme aimed to motivate union members’ school-going children to excel in their studies via education bursary awards co-funded by unions.
Commenting on NTUC-U Care Fund’s journey for the past 10 years, NTUC Care and Share Committee Co-Chairman and NTUC Central Committee member Eileen Yeo said, “Every bit of assistance matters a lot to our lower-income members and their families. We hope that the help rendered for the past years have left a deep impact on the lives of our members. For the years to come, NTUC-U Care Fund remains committed to providing for our workers’ welfare, not just for the short-term, but also enabling them to better their lives in a more sustainable and meaningful way.”
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