Stair-climbing charity drive sees 1,200 needy families given household products

SINGAPORE - A MULTINATIONAL manufacturing company donated packs of household products to 1,200 low-income families in the South East district on Thursday.

It came after 3M held a two-month charity stair-climbing drive - the 3M Step-Up Challenge - which it organised with the South East Community Development Council (CDC).

The company had pledged to donate one product for every 500 steps taken by participants.

By the finale on Thursday afternoon, 27,000 participants had racked up 6.5 million steps and a total of 12,000 household products - including mops, hot or cold packs for muscle aches and anti-slip floor stickers. These will be distributed in packs of 10, each worth $100.

Member of Parliament for Mountbatten Lim Biow Chuan, 3M Singapore managing director Arthur Fong and more than 50 tertiary students helped to clean the homes of some beneficiaries at Dakota Crescent on Thursday. They also helped to install products such as wall hooks.

In the next three weeks, ITE College East students will help South East CDC to distribute the rest of the packs.

The 6.5 million steps were taken by participants from 32 community and corporate partners, some of whom did more than just climbing stairs. Participants from Outward Bound Singapore, for instance, climbed up obstacles such as rock walls with each climb earning one product.

At asset management firm Nikko AM, one employee who was on holiday at in Peru climbed 3,000 steps at the ancient Inca site Machu Picchu.

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