November 29, 2002 – The Boys’ Brigade Sharity Gift Box 2002 was officially declared open
by His Excellency Mr S R Nathan, President of the Republic of Singapore. This
is the fifteenth consecutive year that The Boys’ Brigade in Singapore is holding
the annual drive to collect food items for the needy. The project has also
undertaken over 4,000 specific wishes from the beneficiaries.
Participating in the ceremony at
the Singapore Recreation Club (SRC) with over 100 beneficiaries, President S.R.
Nathan remarked, “Through this BB Sharity Gift Box project, Singaporeans are
urged to remember to give gifts beyond their immediate family members to the
larger community around them. In these difficult times, this message of caring
and sharing with others takes on greater significance. Through it, we
strengthen our sense of solidarity as a people and as a nation”. He then made a
personal contribution to five needy families.
Project Shifts Focus Towards Developing ‘Spirit’
President of The Boys’
Brigade, Mr John Tan, stated that focus will be directed towards the project’s
second and third objectives of inculcating community spirit in members of The
Boys’ Brigade, and increasing the awareness of caring and sharing among
Singaporeans. The project’s first objective, which is bring cheer to the less
fortunate during the festive season of Christmas, by collecting and
distributing gifts to the needy. The organizing committee feels that the time
is right to focus on meeting the loftier goal of developing the caring and
sharing spirit.
Increased Caring Spirit Starts with The Boys’ Brigade
The Boys are the first to be
part of this new drive to build community spirit. The Boys’ Brigade instituted
‘Service Learning’, a concept where Boys learn about the rationale
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behind their community
service activities, thus engaging not only their hands but their heads and
hearts. This year, the Boys have increased their involvement in the Sharity
Gift Box project – by even painting their own Main Gift Box which is placed in
Orchard Road, between Wisma Atria and Orchard MRT station.
Increased Corporate Involvement
Singapore Recreation Club,
the project’s main sponsor for this year, led the Chairman’s call for increased
caring and sharing among Singaporeans. This is the first time that the town
club is supporting a charity project of such magnitude. The different sporting
sections of SRC have been conducting individual charity drives to aid in the
raising of funds. In addition, SRC has adopted a Sharity Wish Tree, currently
placed on its premises and pledged to fulfill 100 wishes. Members have also
organised car convoys to help The Boys’ Brigade with delivery of gifts.
“We are excited to be
supporting The Boys’ Brigade, which is deeply steeped in a history of giving.
In this same spirit of giving, SRC has raised, through the charity golf
tournament held on Wednesday and the club’s 5,500 members, a sum of $30,000
which we hope will light faces with smiles and make Christmas wishes come
true,” said Dr Johnny Goh, President of the Singapore Recreation Club. “Through
today’s event, SRC also played host to beneficiaries, allowing them to
participate in recreational activities such as bowling, karaoke, water
activities, and also in sports clinics for soccer, tennis, hockey and
baseball.”
An increased involvement in corporations may just be the formula for raising the caring spirit among Singaporeans. The Ministry of Education (MOE), the Ministry of Information, Communication and The Arts (MITA) and Fuji-Xerox Corporation are just some organizations that have pledged their staff’s help in packing and delivery of gifts.
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Furthermore, MOE has adopted a Wish Tree to be placed at its headquarters, and Fuji-Xerox has adopted a Satellite Box at Suntec City.
NorthWest CDC’s Satellite
Box will be launched tomorrow at Holland Village. The CDC has also sponsored a
mobile box that will ply through Turf City, Bukit Panjang Plaza and Sun Plaza
for gift collection purposes. Central Singapore CDC has adopted one Satellite
Box, located at the Toa Payoh Central HDB Hub.
Professional Logistics Advice for Sharity
The Sharity Gift Box is also
glad to have SembCorp Logistics on board as the official logistics consultant.
A professional logistics consultant will be stationed at The Boys’ Brigade
Headquarters throughout the project period to advise on operational matters.
Enhanced Online Donation Portal ‘Share-A-Gift-Online’
Another ‘first’ on the
Sharity front is the online aspect – members of the public may now purchase
electrical appliances online to fulfill wishes. Previously,
Share-A-Gift-Online,
the project’s online wish
fulfillment portal, only allowed viewing of wishes. Now, purchases of
electrical goods for purposes of wish fulfillment can be easily made via credit
card. Share-A-Gift-Online is hosted by eMart, the official online grocer of The
Boys’ Brigade Sharity Gift Box.
Released
on behalf of The Boys’ Brigade Sharity Gift Box by Huntington Communications.
For more information, please contact:
Marie
Ong Tel: 6339 2883 / 9451 0701 email:
marie.ong@huntington.com.sg
Edward Tan Tel: 6737 0377 email: edward_tan@bb.org.sg
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