Speech by President S R Nathan at the President's Challenge 2006 Thank You Reception

Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan,
Minister of State Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon,
Mr Teo Ser Luck, Parliamentary Secretary, MCYS,
Mr Niam Chiang Meng, Chairman, President’s Challenge Steering Committee,
Distinguished Guests, Friends and Fellow Singaporeans,

1  Thank you for taking time off from your many engagements to join in this year’s President’s Challenge “Thank You” reception.  Many of you who are present have consistently supported “President’s Challenge” over the years.  I am also heartened to see so many new supporters – both individuals and organisations – who have come onboard to do their part for President’s Challenge this year.  Your presence here today is an affirmation of your concern and support for our cause, which is to show our support for the many “causes” aimed at helping the less fortunate in Singapore society.  Your contributions and support will help to plant that all-important seed of hope for their future.

2  This year marks the seventh anniversary of the President’s Challenge, and this campaign has evolved over the years.  Initially, we focussed more on how much we have raised for the charities.  Much emphasis was placed on meeting our target.  President’s Challenge has met its target every year.  Even during the economic downturn, thanks to the generosity of Singaporeans, both individuals and organisations, we were not disappointed.  We always raised the bar, but never sought excessive “donation dollars” away from other deserving charities.  More importantly, President’s Challenge has always been about being personally involved in caring for the less fortunate; raising the awareness of every Singaporean that they can make a difference, and fanning the spirit of volunteerism in our community.

3  I think two recent incidents illustrate the impact that President’s Challenge has had.

4  Two girls from Henry Park Primary noticed their mother reading a newspaper article on one of the President’s Challenge beneficiaries and said to their mother, “We want to help.  We want to raise money for President’s Challenge.” With a little help from their parents, the siblings made the loveliest pieces of art – bookmarks and photo frames – out of the simplest materials and sold them in their neighbourhood to raise funds for President’s Challenge.

5  The second incident, which I am sure many of you would have read about in The New Paper, is about a seven-year-old who is already a charity veteran.  He brought a plastic bag full of coins to school for The New Paper’s “Be Yourself Day”.  His teacher thought he was being cheeky; his family and friends knew better.  It turned out he had emptied his entire piggy bank to donate to the President’s Challenge.  I take this opportunity to salute siblings Lee Ng Lin and Lee Eng Xian, and “charity veteran” 7-year old Chua Jin Chou for their compassion and concern, and for doing the little things, in their own way, to help the underprivileged in our midst.

6  The point is that it does not matter how much you give, it is that you do give at all.  Giving not just money, but your time, effort and expertise as well.  I am heartened to note the increasing number of individuals, especially the young, and smaller organisations who are doing their part for President’s Challenge year after year.  If our young already set such sterling examples, I am confident that we can build an even more compassionate and cohesive nation with each passing year.  That augurs well for our future.

7  This year, 44 organisations and 91 schools took part in President’s Challenge, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them all.

8  First and foremost, let me thank Singapore Totalisator Board and Singapore Pools for their consistent and steadfast support over the past seven years, and their generous contribution of $600,000 this year.  As the Challenge Sponsors, they have also underwritten the costs of raising funds and promoting volunteerism with another $600,000, making a total of $1.2 million.  This helped ensure that every dollar raised through the President’s Challenge goes directly to the 49 beneficiaries this year.

9  Ms Rosemary Chng continues to organise the launch of President’s Challenge every year, and her energy and ability to mobilise big groups of volunteers continues to amaze me.  It shows that with initiative and enthusiasm, you can gather many people to do good work.

10  I am also grateful to the Lee Foundation, Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple, Singapore Turf Club, UOB Kay Hian, Continental Steel, ST Engineering, SAF Yacht Club, China Hongxing Sports, FibreChem Technologies, Synear Food Holdings, the Hindu Endowments Board, and Singapore Sogetsu Association for their very generous contributions.  Some have not only been long-standing supporters of the President’s Challenge, but have regularly raised their level of support, especially in this year.

11  Special mention also goes to the President’s Challenge Steering Committee members whose events make up the bulk of our annual calendar of events.  In particular, its Chairman Mr Niam Chiang Meng has by his personal and direct effort brought in many organisations and sponsors that were instrumental in helping us meet our target of $8 million this year.  I would also like to take this opportunity to thank NCSS, NVPC, the participating ministries MICA, MINDEF, MOE and MCYS, as well as MUIS, the People’s Association, MediaCorp, Hewlett-Packard, SBS, SingHealth, Singapore Press Holdings, HSBC, ST Engineering, Siemens, Singapore Polytechnic, the Singapore Sports Council and The New Paper for being stalwart supporters of the annual President’s Challenge exercise.  Your untiring efforts to spread the message of President’s Challenge, getting your employees and friends to volunteer their time and expertise with the beneficiaries, and raising funds year after year are very much appreciated.

12  Thank you to all the generous donors who have contributed $8.2 million dollars for 49 beneficiaries this year.  As there are still a number of fundraising events to go, the final amount will only be known later.  I also thank the many volunteers for sacrificing your time and effort.  It is more difficult to give time than money, so I really admire those who have gone the extra mile to adopt the beneficiaries for a year or more and personally helped out in these charities.

13  Our 49 beneficiaries as well as other Social Service Organisations deserve our special thanks for their untiring and often under-appreciated work in providing for the less fortunate and helping them to lead independent lives.  Your efforts have brought much hope and meaning to their lives.

14  I apologise for not being able to name everyone, but I do seek your understanding.  As you can see, it is a very long list.  Each one of you have contributed to make the President’s Challenge a success this year, and I hope that you will continue to carry on the good work in the years ahead.  I look forward to personally thank the rest of you during the course of this evening.

15  I would like to end by putting forth a challenge to all Singaporeans for next year.  I encourage you to think of bigger, better and more creative ideas for next year’s President’s Challenge.  And to all our beneficiaries, I urge you to continue to provide even better services and programmes for the less fortunate to meet their needs.  As Adam Meyerson of the Philanthropy Roundtable said, “Money alone is not sufficient to solve problems.”  You need money and great ideas.

16  On behalf of all the beneficiaries of President’s Challenge 2006, once again, thank you.  I wish you an enjoyable evening.