Buy a box of mandarin oranges from FairPrice bosses and help the needy

NTUC FairPrice chairman Bobby Chin (right) and chief executive Seah Kian Peng (centre) selling mandarin oranges as part of the One FairPrice Family Initiative to raise funds for Ren Ci Hospital and Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society. PHOTO: NTUC FAIRPRICE
NTUC FairPrice chairman Bobby Chin (right) and chief executive Seah Kian Peng (left) presenting the first boxes of mandarin oranges to CEO of Ren Ci Hospital Ms Loh Shu Ching (second from left) and CEO of Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society Mr Lawrence Ng (second from right), symbolising the launch of the charity initiative. PHOTO: NTUC FAIRPRICE

SINGAPORE - Customers can help the less fortunate this Chinese New Year by buying a box of mandarin oranges from the bosses of NTUC FairPrice.

From Friday (Jan 26) to Feb 16, FairPrice will donate $38 to the needy for each box of oranges sold by its chairman, board members and senior management team at various stores islandwide, FairPrice said in a statement.

The supermarket chain aims to donate up to $200,000 to the beneficiaries of Ren Ci Hospital and Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society.

This initiative is part of the One FairPrice Family Programme, launched in November 2016, where all 800 employees at FairPrice's headquarters are encouraged to work at least three days a year in one of its more than 140 stores.

FairPrice chairman Bobby Chin and chief executive Seah Kian Peng kicked off the initiative on Friday morning by selling mandarin oranges at the FairPrice branch in Toa Payoh. They presented the first boxes of oranges to Ms Loh Shu Ching, chief executive officer of Ren Ci Hospital, and Mr Lawrence Ng, chief executive of Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society.

Mr Seah said there have already been more than 3,000 pre-orders of boxes of oranges, translating to a donation amount of more than $100,000.

"I am confident that with today's official launch, our customers will also show similar support in bringing the festive cheer to the less fortunate," he said.

Last year, more than 50 per cent of FairPrice headquarters staff participated in the One FairPrice Family Programme and spent more than 8,500 hours working at the frontlines. More than 70 per cent of this time was spent during the Chinese New Year period to alleviate manpower needs.

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