Singapore, 17 October 2015 – After months of fundraising and volunteering activities, the SingHealth President’s Challenge 2015 raised a total of $488,000.  A cheque for the amount was presented to President Tony Tan Keng Yam by SingHealth Chairman, Mr Peter Seah, at the finale event held at National Dental Centre Singapore on 17 October.

Themed “Bringing Hope with Compassion”, the campaign is closely aligned with the shared core values of SingHealth – Compassion, Integrity and Collaboration. Leveraging its network of two hospitals, five national specialty centres, nine polyclinics and a community hospital, SingHealth reached out to the less fortunate through various outreach and fundraising efforts.

The four beneficiaries adopted for SingHealth President’s Challenge 2015 are: Alzheimer’s Disease Association Singapore, Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore, Lions Home for the Elders, and Rainbow Centre Singapore.

“Over the last 12 years, SingHealth has been committed to supporting the President’s Challenge. Every year, our staff find creative ways to raise funds for our adopted beneficiaries. More importantly, the activities give staff the opportunity to share hope and care by engaging meaningfully and interacting with our beneficiaries,” said Associate Professor Poon Choy Yoke, Director, National Dental Centre Singapore (NDCS). NDCS is the lead institution that organised this year’s SingHealth President’s Challenge. 

This year, the SingHealth President’s Challenge 2015 introduced an artistic fundraising activity – folding origami butterflies. Members of the public and staff helped to transform 30,000 sheets of origami paper into beautiful 3D butterflies, which were then collected and constructed into a large rainbow display. The folding of butterflies not only encouraged generous donations, but also allowed individuals to pen messages of hope onto the wings of the butterflies. Origami paper was made available at SingHealth healthcare institutions, where donors received a sheet of origami paper with each $3 contribution.

This year’s campaign also saw several firsts in creative fundraising activities – a music concert featuring local bands AlphaBeat and Paraphrase, and dance group, D’Catalyst; an art auction where staff with a flair for painting contributed their art pieces to raise funds.

“This year, National Dental Centre Singapore had the privilege of leading all 10 institutions for SingHealth President’s Challenge 2015 fundraising efforts. Staff from the various institutions were all pumped up from the get-go and wasted no time in putting together a series of fundraising activities.  It was encouraging to see our staff donating generously and volunteering their time and talent to raise funds”, said Dr Koh Chu Guan, Chairman, SingHealth President’s Challenge 2015, and Senior Consultant, Restorative Dentistry, National Dental Centre Singapore.