- First ever hybrid Giving Week with virtual activities and events for public
- Over 200 Giving Partners and NPOs on board this year
- Launch of SG Cares Giving Week Fund in support of smaller charities
Singapore, 1 December 2020 — Celebrate the spirit of giving with the launch of the inaugural SG Cares Giving Week 2020 from 1 to 7 December 2020! For the first time ever, the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (“NVPC”) has partnered the SG Cares Office and the National Council of Social Service (“NCSS”) to jointly organise this annual national movement that heralds the start of the giving season.
Themed “The Best Week Ever”, SG Cares Giving Week celebrates giving in all forms and hopes to rally the people, organisations and leaders in Singapore to come together to give their Time, Talent, Treasure and Voice to uplift those in need. The Covid-19 pandemic has brought challenges and hardship, but it has also shone the light on the many acts of giving, both big and small, in our City of Good. SG Cares Giving Week hopes to encourage the public to remember those who continue giving in whatever ways they can, because these little acts when multiplied by millions, can make a world of difference.
Inaugurated by President Halimah Yacob as the Guest of Honour at the launch of the SG Cares Giving Week earlier this evening, she said in her opening remarks, “Through this year’s SG Cares Giving Week, I hope we can highlight the collective efforts of individuals, businesses and organisations that have been working together to build a Singapore that cares. As we enter the festive season, let us not forget to keep the giving and caring spirit at the centre of it all. Together, we can make greater impact in helping the vulnerable groups in our society.”
Making Virtual a Reality: Engagement Beyond Boundaries
The President was joined by Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Law at the hybrid launch event that was streamed to the public on the Giving Week Facebook page and the City of Good YouTube channel.
Minister Edwin Tong said, “Through the SG Cares Giving Week, we are working together with partners from various segments of Singapore’s society to create a bigger impact. Over 200 organisations and partners have come on board to give, donate or volunteer, and I thank them for their support. I urge all Singaporeans to continue spreading this spirit of SG Cares to people around us. Together, we can tide over this pandemic and build the society we want for our future generations.”
Comprising in-person speeches and virtual performances, the opening event offered a preview of the week-long calendar of online performances and activities that the public can look forward to at the Giving Hub on GivingWeek.sg. A first of its kind, this year’s Giving Hub is completely virtual compared to previous iterations of Giving Week where physical spaces were sponsored by partners as venues for marketplaces, performances, workshops and other community activities that the public could participate in.
Esplanade, Dream Academy, Love Kuching Project and RedDot Bhangra are just some of the partners this year who have given their time and talent with entertaining performances and workshops that will be streamed on the Giving Hub throughout the week.
Making Giving a Part of Everyday Life: Simple and Meaningful
Want to give but aren’t sure where to start? Take your pick from the list of Everyday Giving or Giving Partners initiatives. Over 200 partners have come on board the SG Cares Giving Week movement with a whole host of ways in which you can give your treasure, ranging from shopping and dining to retail and finance.
Not just limited to Singapore, celebrities from Korea have also lent their voices to the SG Cares Giving Week Movement. Creator of one of the most watched videos on YouTube and children’s singalong stars Baby Shark and Pinkfong, Hyerim from K-pop girl group Wonder Girls, and Leo of K-pop boy band VIXX will be doing video shout-outs on social media for Giving Week to encourage their fans to give.
Supporting Underfunded Charities and Causes
Charities have not been spared from the effects of Covid-19. Causes not directly linked to the virus have taken a hit to donations as annual fundraising activities and events have had to be postponed or cancelled. With the aim of aiding these struggling charities, SG Cares Giving Week has categorised 13 underfunded causes under three pillars — People, Nature, and Passion. Give your time and treasure when you volunteer and donate to any of the fundraising campaigns under the Giving Trees via Giving.sg. The causes under each pillar are as follows:
| People | Families, Elderly, Women & Girls, Children & Youth, Health, Disability, Community and Humanitarian |
| Nature | Animal Welfare, Environment |
| Passion | Education, Sports, Arts & Heritage |
Anotherway in which SG Cares Giving Week is uplifting struggling charities is through the SG Cares Giving Week Fund, where proceeds from the various SG Cares Giving Week activities and initiatives between 1 to 31 December 2020 will go towards. At the end of the collection period, NVPC will disburse the pool of donations equally among the 30 smaller charities with less than $500,000 in annual receipts that have registered to be beneficiaries of the Fund. The impact that these smaller charities make to their beneficiaries is crucial and our wish during this season is to lend them a helping hand and boost donations from this campaign.
Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for Health, will be delivering the opening remarks at the virtual closing ceremony of the SG Cares Giving Week on 7 December.
Ms Melissa Kwee, CEO, NVPC says “This year has been enormously challenging but also defining. In crisis, our true nature is revealed, and I see this spirit of care arising, strengthening us all, so I know that no matter what, we can still choose to make this our week and best year ever.”
For the complete list of ways on how you can make this the Best Week Ever, visit www.GivingWeek.sg.
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About SG Cares Giving Week
In partnership with SG Cares and NCSS, NVPC is catalysing Giving Week for the sixth consecutive year, from 1st to 7th December 2020. SG Cares Giving Week is a national movement that celebrates the spirit of giving – where individuals, leaders, businesses and non-profit organisations come together to give their time, talent, treasure and voice in support of the causes they are passionate about, to help build a City of Good. 2020 has illuminated the community spirit and little acts of giving that have resulted from the Covid-19 pandemic. Through this movement, we hope to encourage the public to continue giving in their personal capacities to make this the Best Week Ever! As the movement grows, NVPC hopes to embed giving into our DNA and our culture so that it becomes our way of life. Take action and support the movement, visit www.givingweek.sg.
