Young people from The Social Co raise over $3.5 million for charities in just three months

Founder of The Social Co Rebekah Lin. -- ST PHOTO: AZIZ HUSSIN
Founder of The Social Co Rebekah Lin. -- ST PHOTO: AZIZ HUSSIN

SINGAPORE - In just three months, a group of 50 young people have managed to raise over $3.5 million for 42 beneficiaries.

Under the 50 for 50 programme launched by The Social Co, young people below the age of 35 had until the end of December last year to raise funds for a charity of their choice. The amounts raised were then matched by corporate companies, before the total is matched again by the Government under the $250 million Care and Share Movement. The $3.5 million includes the one-for-one grant from the government.

Among their fundraising activities, the youth sold secondhand branded handbags, held gigs and organised a Christmas luncheon for the intellectually disabled. The programme saw the participation of 61 corporate partners.

Founder of The Social Co Rebekah Lin said it was heartening to see the hard work of all the changemakers. She added: "Given the short time frame of three months, the total sum of money raised is commendable.... The changemakers and I hope that the lesser known charities had benefited in terms of grater public awareness of their organisations."

At the charity drive closing on Saturday, Guest of Honour Ms Low Yen Ling, Parliamentary Secretary at Ministry of Social and Family Development and Ministry of Community, Culture and Youth, called the effort impressive.

"They have sacrificed so much of their time and worked hard to raise money for the chosen charities. It was not an easy task and yet they achieved their goals," she said.

The three charities that received the most funds are the Autism Association, Minds and the Rainbow Centre.

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