DPM Teo Chee Hean at the Singapore Children’s Society 1000 Enterprises and 1000 Philanthropists for Children-In-Need Appreciation Dinner

Mr Koh Choon Hui, Chairman of Singapore Children’s Society,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Volunteers and supporters,

Good evening,

I am happy to join you in support of the Singapore Children’s Society’s efforts to bring relief and happiness to the children in need.
 
The Singapore Children's Society was founded in 1952 by 13 civic-minded citizens who championed for a charity to support children in need. It has been 65 years. Thanks to your contributions, the Children’s Society has now expanded to 11 service centres island-wide, supporting over 67 000 children, youths and their family members annually through its programmes.

Every Singaporean and every child matters.

DPM Teo Chee Hean

1000 Enterprises and 1000 Philanthropists Programme

The “1000 Enterprises” programme started in 2009. In spite of the challenging times after the Asian Financial Crisis, corporates and their staff identified with the children’s needs and donated generously. Since then, close to S$15 million have been raised from more than 2000 corporate donors, and many contribute on an annual basis.

Our economy is in transition and many corporates are undergoing restructuring. But I am glad that this spirit of giving remains strong. Last year, more than 700 corporate donors raised over S$2.9 million.  

A similar fundraising programme, the “1000 Philanthropists”, was started three years ago to reach out to individuals. In its first year, it raised an encouraging S$1 million from more than 400 philanthropists. This has doubled to more than 800 philanthropists last year, with donations tripling to over S$2.9 million.

With many helping hands and many kind hearts, we have been able to reach out to others. The journey to build a better future for our children in need is long. Your strong support has helped the Children’s Society to develop and grow its programmes. We can create more opportunities for the beneficiaries to lead fulfilling lives and be better adults in future. I’ll highlight two key areas where the Society can help bring long-term benefits.

First, early interventions can help provide a safe environment for the children in need to develop good character and pick up life skills. Community programmes use a combination of storytelling, puppetry, arts and songs to teach young children positive moral values.  The children also learn effective communication and conflict resolution techniques, and become better team players.  These upstream interventions will help our children in need to be more self-reliant, and equip them with skills for a brighter future.

Second, the research in children-specific domains will provide insights to raise awareness and help channel limited resources into areas of high impact. The Children’s Society is already working with researchers, education experts and health specialists to produce parenting guides on child development. It will be doing more to study the social and emotional well-being of children in need, and emerging areas in an increasingly digital world. This will help fine-tune existing programmes and bring together best practices to better support the children and their families.

Our volunteers and supporters have given much time and support for the Children’s Society’s programmes.  I hope the journey has been as enriching and fulfilling for you, as it has been for the beneficiaries. Every Singaporean and every child matters. Together with our agencies and corporate partners, we can help fulfill the dreams of the children in need and equip them with skills for a brighter future.

Your actions are meaningful and you have made a real difference for a worthy cause. Thank you and have a pleasant evening.