IMPACT 0484: RISING UP TO HELP THOSE IN NEED

Hi! We are Project R.I.C.E.+, an annual, nationwide collection and distribution drive championed by youth leaders from the Singapore Red Cross. We bring food and daily essentials to our beneficiaries, which include the single parent families, skipped generation families, low-income families, the elderly, and migrant workers.

We are a group of passionate youth hoping to render help to the community by alleviating the burden our beneficiaries have to bear. Project R.I.C.E.+ was launched in 2008, and we initially campaigned for the collection and distribution of rice only. We have since evolved to collecting food items, daily essentials and basic necessities such as soap and adult diapers. These are carefully curated items based on the annual needs analysis conducted, which are then categorised into bundle sets.

Sheng Siong has been one of our close partners who have been generously providing us with fundraising and logistical support. Together with the help of our partners and donors, we are proud to have fundraised $229,046 in 2021, which is equivalent to a total of 22,905 bundle sets! This was a significant and heartening milestone for us as we managed to distribute approximately double the number of bundle sets compared to the previous round.

There are three phases to Project R.I.C.E.+. The first phase is the “planning” phase, which involves the project committee members coming together to plan and set goals for the year ahead. The “fundraising” phase is where we gather donations from the community to purchase the bundle sets. This is usually physically conducted in supermarkets, however, it was shifted to a fully online phase in light of the pandemic.

The third phase is the “packing and distribution” phase, where project committee members and volunteers would gather at various social service agencies to pack the bundle sets and distribute them to our beneficiaries. Undoubtedly, this is the most gratifying phase as we witness the wonderful smiles of our beneficiaries when they receive their bundle sets. It is also when committee members get to interact with the community and see our efforts come to fruition. Finally, the last phase is the “beneficiary engagement” phase, where the project committee spends time with our beneficiaries through activities such as healthy cooking demonstrations.

As we journey through Project R.I.C.E.+, we are proud to be able to provide more than just giving rice. While we aim to provide help and support the vulnerable, we also hope to inculcate compassion and volunteerism amongst youth. Always remember that we, as youth, can truly make a difference to the lives of many! Every grain counts!

This article was published on Mar 30, 2022