Even with COVID-19, Singaporeans are still full of love and still will go all out to help those from disadvantaged backgrounds one leh. This can be seen from FairPrice’s Share-A-Textbook which has collected more than 895,000 old textbooks this year! The highest amount in 39 years sia!
According to Zaobao, this amount is the highest since this project was launched in 1983 wor. In case you didn’t know hor, this FairPrice Share-A-Textbook is an initiative by NTUC FairPrice where those pre-loved textbooks were collected and then distributed for free to needy students.
And every year, NTUC FairPrice will collect these used textbooks at its stores then makes them available at distribution centres across Singapore. This year is also the same.
This year, the distribution event was held at Our Tampines Hub last Saturday (11 December) with more than 2,100 volunteers, from community partners and schools, along with FairPrice staff and members of the general public, participated in the collecting, sorting, and organising of textbooks for the FairPrice Share-A-Textbook Project.
Selected by social service organisations and Community Development Councils, about 25,000 beneficiaries aged seven to 16 years old were given priority today to collect textbooks before access is given to the general public from 12 to 15 December 2021.
FairPrice group chief executive Seah Kian Peng said that he is very grateful and overwhelmed to see so many organizations as well as members of the public coming forward to help, adding that he is more determined that the project should continue so that the community, especially those impacted by the pandemic, can benefit from it.
https://www.facebook.com/SeahKianPeng/posts/427351735730721
Social and Family Development Minister Masagos Zulkifli who also graced the event said: “The government, society, and enterprises cooperate to provide free textbooks, implement meal delivery plans, and provide educational courses for children. We hope that by helping the children, parents can also gain a foothold in this society full of opportunities and ensure social mobility.”
Mdm Huang, 37, who works as a cleaner, learned of FairPrice’s Share-A-Textbook through Fei Yue Family Service Centre. Due to her low income, she couldn’t let her three children, aged between 2 and 13 years old, attend tuition lessons. Besides receiving the free textbooks, she also took some extracurricular books for her children.
Another beneficiary Mr Liang, 48, received the textbooks for his child for the first time. Mr. Liang works as a private-hired car driver when the pandemic hits. His income was thus also affected, and his working hours have also been extended as a result. Upon receiving an email from National Private Hire Vehicles Association (NPHVA), he decided to sign up and collect the free textbooks for his two children studying in Primary One and Primary Five respectively.
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