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In the sixth edition of the annual U Heart campaign, jointly organised by Young NTUC, the youth wing of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), and nEbO, the junior membership arm, in collaboration with NTUC Income, Young NTUC and nEbO rallied 1,000 individuals to pen messages of support and appreciation to 3,000 healthcare workers.
Concurrently, in support of this campaign, a total of $18,000 was pledged by NTUC Income for the NTUC-U Care Fund to help lower-income workers and their families tide through this pandemic. The donation was presented by NTUC Income Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mr Andrew Yeo to Mr Raymond Chin, Co-Chairman of the NTUC Care & Share Committee and NTUC Central Committee member. NTUC Secretary-General Mr Ng Chee Meng and representatives from nEbO and Young NTUC witnessed the donation today at a cheque presentation ceremony held at Sengkang Community Club. Over the course of four days, NTUC Secretary-General Mr Ng Chee Meng, Labour Members of Parliament (LMPs), youth leaders and volunteers from nEbO and Young NTUC would be distributing the messages along with a gift to 3,000 healthcare workers at various vaccination centres and NTUC Health nursing homes in Singapore.
Do-good project to show appreciation to healthcare frontliners and raise funds
Launched in 2016, the U Heart campaign aims to impact various groups of beneficiaries through youth self-initiated do-good projects. The initiative has supported up to 200 projects and brought together close to 8,000 volunteers. This year, U Heart took on a hybrid mode. In the virtual space, members of the public were invited to submit messages of appreciation to healthcare workers. For every message received, $3 was pledged by NTUC Income. In support of the do-good spirit, NTUC Income further topped up the amount and raised a total of $18,000 for the NTUC-U Care Fund, which helps lower-income members and their families through various assistance programmes to defray their cost of living and children’s school expenses, as well as members whose livelihoods have been affected by COVID-19.
Distribution of gift packs over four days
From 20 to 23 December 2021, NTUC Secretary-General Mr Ng Chee Meng, Labour Members of Parliament (LMPs), youth leaders and volunteers from nEbO and Young NTUC would be visiting various selected vaccination centres and NTUC Health nursing homes across Singapore to distribute gift packs to 3,000 healthcare workers. Each gift pack would contain one printed card with a message of appreciation from the public to healthcare workers, and a microfiber towel featuring artwork designed by youth.
NTUC Secretary-General, Mr Ng Chee Meng said, “NTUC wants to do more to champion the welfare of our workers and their families. These collective efforts by our youth from Young NTUC and nEbO, Labour MPs and NTUC Income affirm our strong commitment to rally everyone to support frontliners. It is especially heartwarming to see how these messages of appreciation bring a smile to the silent warriors who work at the frontlines. We are also going an extra mile to uplift those affected by the pandemic during this challenging period, as these efforts will help the NTUC U-Care beneficiaries with their cost of living.”
Mr Desmond Choo, NTUC Assistant Secretary-General and advisor to Young NTUC said, “A closely knitted society will tide us through the pandemic. A caring and inclusive culture will cultivate and nurture good leaders of the future. As we grow the community of young active citizens, Young NTUC stays committed to develop our youth into change leaders through volunteerism. U Heart was initiated and curated as an easily accessible and well supported platform that provide our youth with the necessary resources to advocate their causes. It has since further evolved to be a joint platform with the junior membership arm of NTUC, nEbO. We hope this will enable more youth to step out of their comfort zones to initiate and lead future campaigns that make a difference in society.”
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