Giving Week offers opportunities for Singaporeans to make a difference by giving their time, talent, treasure, and voice.
Singapore, 22 November 2018 – National giving movement Giving Week, is returning for its fourth year, with more diverse opportunities for Singaporeans to embrace giving as a way of life throughout the December festive season.
Taking place from 27 November to 5 December this year, Giving Week is catalysed by the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) to celebrate the spirit of giving, by rallying individuals, businesses, and non-profits to share their time, talent, treasure, and voice. The movement will feature a myriad of festivals, activations, and activities that provide constant opportunities to inspire people to support any cause they are passionate about in all ways big and small, to build a City of Good.
Singapore is the only country globally to extend the international day of giving, Giving Tuesday (27 November), into a week-long national movement that concludes on International Volunteer Day (5 December).
“Anyone can experience the joy and dignity of giving. We encourage everyone in Singapore to participate in the diverse giving activities during Giving Week as well as discover and create their own ways to give. No act or donation is too small, because small acts, when multiplied by millions, can make a world of difference and transform lives,” said Melissa Kwee, CEO, NVPC.
“Giving Week is about celebrating what we have and not what we lack. As we celebrate the gifts in our lives, we naturally extend this out to share with others. We hope that Giving Week will create a ripple effect beyond the week and beyond Singapore, inspiring other cities around Asia and globally. As the movement grows, we hope to see giving become part of our culture and way of life – we joyfully live and give.”
Through partnerships, research, and initiatives such as Giving Week, NVPC has been building a cohesive and sustainable ecosystem across various sectors in Singapore that facilitates giving of all forms, in order to meet growing social needs. In 2017, over 30,000 individuals and 180 corporates and non-profit organisations participated in Giving Week and throughout the December festive season, and S$12 million was raised on Giving.sg, Singapore’s national giving portal by NVPC. This figure was double that of 2016. Individual volunteerism is also on the rise, having increased from one in 10 in 2000, to one in three in 2016, according to NVPC’s Individual Giving Survey 2016.
As giving becomes more embedded in Singapore’s culture, companies are recognising the value in giving, with 64% of corporate givers surveyed in NVPC’s Corporate Giving Survey 2017 having integrated giving into their business.
For the first time for Giving Week, many iconic buildings like Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, The Helix Bridge, Singapore Flyer, The Fullerton Hotel, and The National Stadium will also light up in red in support of the movement this year. Corporates like Deloitte, Expedia, P&G, Pontiac Land Group, and Singpost will also be engaging their employees or tenants in various giving activities.
The line-up of activations and activities featured in Giving Week this year reflects new and emerging definitions of giving. Highlights include:
1. Have fun while doing good at The Good Hubs
‘The Good Hubs’, festivals that are free to members of the public, will take place across the island throughout Giving Week. Communities, non-profits, businesses, and social enterprises will be hosting a variety of carnivals, food fairs, performances, charity runs, and volunteering workshops.
- Sports Hub Community Play Day: Season of Giving (1 and 2 December)Singapore Sports Hub (SSH) is organising a weekend of fun and play for the whole family, with activities such as carnival rides and games, craft workshops, sports, film screenings, and charity runs where proceeds will be donated to Make a Wish Foundation and the B60 Charity Run. In addition, The Salvation Army is holding a clothes donation at Sports Hub and just for Giving Week, Zalora will be helping us to thank donors with a token for their help. Members of the public can also stay on till the evening for a visual treat as the ChariTrees light up the Stadium Riverside Walk through the month till 1Jan.
Date: 1 – 2 December 2018
Time: 9am – 7pm
Venue: OCBC Square (Outside Stadium MRT, Exit A)
- Ng Teng Fong General Hospital: Good Neighbour Day (30 November)Members of the public, especially those living and working in the West side of Singapore, can shop for Christmas gifts and pre-loved deals at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital’s flea market, with proceeds going to charities and community partners in the neighbourhood. Individuals can also give by donating blood, new and used books, and finding out more on how to support communities in need within their locale.
Date: 30 November 2018
Time: 10am – 5pm
Venue: Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (Tower A and Tower B, Level 2)
For the first time and for one evening only, Club Street and Ann Siang Road will be transformed into The Giving Street where it will be taken over by a carnival of music, munchies and magic – all in the spirit of giving. Members of the public can watch parkour ninjas show off their craft, catch circus acts on the street, design and build a giant Jenga, craft their own jewellery, and even get their holiday shopping sorted while supporting non-profits, ground-up movements, and social enterprises.
Christmas food and gifts that will go on retail include log cakes by APSN, cookies by Beyond Social Services, and merchandise by Habitat for Humanity, CPAS, and Cat Welfare Society. Proceeds will go towards supporting various beneficiaries.
Date: 1 December 2018, Saturday
Time: 7.30 pm to 10.30pm
Venue: Club St & Ann Siang Hill
- Mini festival hubs will also be held at TheFullerton Hotel Singapore, Singapore Innovation Park and the Volvo Showroom. More details can be found under the Appendix.
- Shop, dine and live better with The Good Life
Over 40 brands, including McDonalds, FairPrice Online, Carousell, and CapitaLand will be collaborating with non-profits to celebrate the spirit of giving. By purchasing from these retailers during Giving Week, members of the public will contribute funds that will impact the lives of many beneficiaries. UOB is supporting New Life Stories and will be having a matching campaign to encourage the public scan and donate to New Life Stories via SGQR or PayNow.
There are also several social enterprises, supported by “The Better Traveller”, an initiative by Singapore International Foundation to encourage Singaporeans to choose better even when they are out of Singapore during the Giving season.
There are also a full list of activities like Build-a-Bicycle by Society Staples, jewellery-crafting workshops by Mimento and Sherol’s Creations, as well as Parkour and Tactical Workshops by Superfly Monkey Dragons to encourage learning and activation, with some requiring pre-registration listed in The Good Life. For full listings, visit: https://givingweek.sg/the-good…
- Adopt a cause on Giving.sg
Members of the public are encouraged to visit Giving Week campaigns hosted on Giving.sg, Singapore’s national giving portal, and explore causes championed by over 500 local non-profits. They can donate to the causes they are passionate about, sign up for a volunteer activity, or start a fundraising campaign. An example is this initiative that invites members of the public to clean up Singapore’s waterways), organised by local celebrity Julie Tan and Waterways Watch Society.
Support any of the causes and campaigns featured, including:
#GivingWeekSG: Pillow Project by Bethesda Care Services
#GivingWeekSG: Fundraising for SNM Art Programme
#GivingWeekSG: YMCA Charity Challenge – Conquer Mt Fuji
To support more causes, please visit: https://www.giving.sg/
- Watch 5 new local films that inspire giving and support the causes
The second phase of a landmark film project, “15 Shorts” premieres during Giving Week, and will showcase inspiring acts of giving to raise awareness on social issues. Through these films, members of the public are encouraged to support the empowerment of children, youth from low-income families; visually impaired community; social integration of prisoners, ex-offenders and their families into our society; and learn more about reducing HIV-related stigma and discrimination in Singapore.
Produced by 15 Singaporean filmmakers in collaboration with NVPC and Blue3Asia, “15 Shorts” showcases lesser-told stories of everyday Singaporean heroes from the 1970s to the 1990s,
in support of 15 charities. This first-of-its-kind collaboration, “15 Shorts” hopes to remind Singaporeans of our giving spirit that has always been part of our identity as a nation, and aims to raise awareness on critical and emergent social issues.
From 30 November onwards, members of the public will be able to catch “Plague” by Singapore filmmaker, Boo Jun Feng on www.15shorts.com, which sheds light on social acceptance of infectious disease survivors (HIV/AIDS) and social discrimination against marginalised communities. The film is dedicated to Action for Aids.
Four new films by Singapore’s notable filmmakers, Chong Yu Lun (“Shanti”, a film dedicated to Mainly, I Love Kids fund), Kee Swee San (“Guilty”, a film dedicated to Boys’ Town), Chai Yee Wei (“Sister”, a film dedicated to 70×7, an initiative under Prison Fellowship Singapore), and K Rajagopal (“The T(h)ree Lives”, a film dedicated to the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped) will be released throughout December 2018 and February 2019.
Members of the public can also show their support by donating to the various charities adopted by each filmmaker on Giving.sg. Additionally, public screening of the first five films of the “15 Shorts” initiative is available at the Singapore Sports Hub Library (4 Stadium Walk, Singapore 397697) over two weekends on 15 and 16 December, 22 and 23 December. More information is available here.
For media interviews and queries, please contact:
Jessica Chai Pei Shan
NVPC, Lead, Comms and PR
HP: 9823 8554
Email: [email protected]
More information on Giving Week 2018, the full list of activities and social media tool kits can be found at:
Website:www.givingweek.sg
Facebook: www.facebook.com/GivingWeeksg
Instagram: @GivingWeekSG
Video:branding video here
Visuals:https://tinyurl.com/y9wjwles
Social Media Toolkits:https://givingweek.sg/take-par…
Hashtag: #GivingWeekSG
For the full list of partners, please see: https://givingweek.sg/partners…
Appendix
Mini festival hubs include:
a) The Fullerton Hotel Singapore: Annual Christmas Light Up (23 November)
In support of Giving Week, The Fullerton Hotel Singapore is part of the light-up of key buildings in Singapore which includes Singapore Flyer, Esplanade, and The National Stadium. Activities include:
- Fullerton Christmas Light-up Ceremony (23 November)
- Fullerton Charity Cook Off Buffet Dinner: Priced at $98 nett per adult and $25 nett from each adult dining in. Proceeds will be donated to REACH Community Services in support of the underprivileged and the needy
- Performances by REACH Community Services during Christmas Light-up Ceremony
- Fullerton Santa Bear (will be sold for the full month of Dec): $28 nett and $10 nett. Proceeds to be donated to REACH Community Services
b) Social Innovation Park Tour & Seed Open House (2 and 7 December, 5 – 6pm)
With container-concept F&B, Glamping Grounds, and plots of green spaces, Social Innovation Park incubates social entrepreneurs to bring positive innovation to lives and societies through new, disruptive, and impactful approaches.
During Giving Week, members of the public can sign up for the free Social Innovation Tour to discover how different people are contributing back to the society in their own unique ways (minimum 15 pax for tour to commence and maximum 30 pax per session). They can also join the SEED Community Farm Open House and learn more about growing their own food organically, or dine at SEED’s Container Restaurants (refurbished from shipping containers and each adopting a different mission).
c) The Volvo Showroom: Shop for Good (24 and 25 November)
Volvo is organising a showroom carnival featuring non-profits and social enterprises like Foreward Coffee, Angel Hearts, Care Community Society Services and Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore (CPAS), that will be selling items made by their beneficiaries to raise funds for their causes. Angel Hearts for example, is conducting Beanies and Bow Accessories workshops suitable for all ages. Volvo will also be donating $500 for every V40 or S60 sold between 22 November and 5 December. Members of the public can also donate to CPAS via the donation boxes, at the event.
