Local celebrities are stepping up in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, which has disrupted much of life in Singapore, shutting many businesses and entertainment venues.
Television presenter Diana Ser launched her charity campaign ShowWeCareSG on April 15 with the goal of raising $250,000 in a month for The Invictus Fund, which supports about 80 social service agencies in Singapore serving various vulnerable communities.
The campaign has since raised more than $265,000.
Ser, 48, says: "After the March holidays, the imported cases began to rise and then from there, it felt like we were all chasing after the numbers.
"I felt helpless looking at the cases, but I also know that I can't sit there and lament a situation I cannot fully control.
"I felt like I needed to do something constructive to regain that control."
Ser and her husband, former actor James Lye, both donated their $600 Solidarity payout from the Government to The Invictus Fund and, roping in a long-time friend in the communications industry, Ser quickly put together the campaign.
She says: "My family was not well-to-do when I was growing up and I applied for a lot of bursaries during school, so I think I have some moral obligation to give back to society.
"I hope it will do some kids and families out there some good."
More than 80 of her celebrity friends have helped to promote the campaign on their social media pages, including local singers Stefanie Sun, Tanya Chua and Kit Chan as well as celebrity couple Christopher Lee and Fann Wong.
Other stars have also stepped up for causes close to their hearts.
Theatre practitioners Pam Oei, Janice Koh and Petrina Kow, who founded Pasar Glamour, a charity sale of pre-loved goods in 2017, were already planning to put the sale on hold this year.
"We sort of exploded last year and raised more than $150,000 during the sale," says Kow of the charity sale the trio held in September.
The 44-year-old adds: "Organising Pasar Glamour fatigued us quite a bit because it's a year of planning and about 11/2 months of intense, full-time work, so we thought we would halve the funds from last year to donate this year and maybe make Pasar Glamour a bi-annual thing."
But the pandemic struck, shutting all entertainment venues and hitting the performing arts industry in Singapore like a tidal wave, leaving many productions postponed, cancelled or in limbo.
Kow says that is how Pasar Glamour Art Aid came about, with the trio putting in $25,000 from the funds raised last year and an anonymous donor another $25,000.
The remainder of last year's funds will go to charities that support "women, children and the arts".
The trio hoped the public would donate generously to match the $50,000 dollar for dollar to create a $100,000 fund for struggling freelancers.
That amount has since been raised to $125,000 as donations surged past their initial goal.
Successful applicants to the fund - which is open to freelancers, from actors to musicians to backstage crew, who worked to put up a production for a paying audience in the last six months and can prove that they have lost income due to the pandemic - will each receive a one-time payout of $500.
Kow knows the payout is a small amount, but hopes it can be of some relief for affected individuals.
She says: "It's taking its toll on everyone in varying degrees. Especially for theatre and gigs, it's very dicey - when can we start planning shows again?
"Because if we're being realistic, even if the circuit breaker measures end without delay by June 1, will venues immediately open up again? That might not be the case. Things are in limbo right now for many people."
• Donate to The Invictus Fund at www.giving.sg/campaigns/_showwecaresg
•Donate to Pasar Glamour Art Aid at rayofhope.sg/campaign/pasarglamourartaid
Other celebs doing their bit
PIERRE PNG AND ANDREA DE CRUZ
The celebrity couple teamed up with local soup kitchen Willing Hearts, a designated essential social service that serves meals to underprivileged families, to deliver food to those in need.
The couple distributed the food to needy familiesduring the recent Easter weekend.
REBECCA LIM
Dressed simply in beige overalls, masked up and wearing gloves, the Singaporean actress delivered 400 care packages to the elderly and front-line workers in essential services on April 4, before the circuit breaker measures kicked in.
KIM LIM
The socialite and daughter of Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim has been forking out money to deliver food to front-line healthcare workers since the pandemic broke out. She most recently went to KK Women's and Children's Hospital and Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.
PREETIPLS
Social media influencer Preeti Nair, also known as Preetipls, made a video calling for donations to the migrant worker community in Singapore - which has borne the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic in Singapore with many workers confined to their dormitories.
The influencer was working with activist collective Utopia and had aimed to raise just $100,000, but since the video was released on April 8, the campaign has raised more than $324,000.
