LATEST NEWS
SowCare celebrates Christmas with the Homeless
With Christmas drawing near, SowCare—the social service arm of The Bible Society of Singapore—has joined hands with Hope Initiative Alliance (HIA) and other partners to organise a Christmas celebration for homeless individuals who are residing in the Safe Sound Sleeping Places (S3P) venues at and around 7 Armenian Street. S3P is a community initiative to provide temporary shelter for rough sleepers, set up in close partnership with the Ministry for Social and Family Development (MSF), as this group is especially vulnerable during this COVID-19 situation. SowCare supports S3P@Bible House (located at 7 Armenian Street), which houses 9 homeless individuals.
As Christmas is a time of gathering with loved ones and friends, we hope we brought some cheer to our homeless friends who otherwise may not have the opportunity to celebrate Christmas. On 19 December 2020, we had a lunch and dinner event for the rough sleepers. The programme included a meal for the homeless individuals, a bazaar and an opportunity for them to receive gifts for themselves and their loved ones. During the mealtime, volunteers from the partnering befriended the rough sleepers. The volunteers were mostly youths, as an objective of this event is also for the youth to better understand the challenges faced by the homeless.
The Minister of State for Culture, Community & Youth and Trade & Industry, Mr Alvin Tan, attended the dinner as the Guest-of-Honour. Mr Lee Kim Hua, Senior Director of the Partners Engaging and Empowering Rough Sleepers (PEERS) Office at MSF, was also present at the dinner. This event was organised and hosted by SowCare, co-organised by HIA, and supported by PEERS and the Inter-religious Organisation, Singapore, in partnership with Homeless Hearts of Singapore, Singapore Youth for Christ and the Evangelical Alliance of Singapore.
SowCare earlier started this S3P effort during the Circuit Breaker period. There have previously been regular visits to S3P@Bible House by our partners, volunteers and donors, and this Christmas event is a continuation of our efforts to engage the rough sleepers in our midst.
As an extension of this event, SowCare and our partners will also be distributing Care Packs to a total of 500 homeless individuals to spread some Christmas cheer during this festive period. The Care Packs consist of foodstuff and hygiene essentials.
Members of the public who are keen to support our cause can visit this site to donate: https://www.giving.sg/sowcare-ltd-_36840538/sowingcareforthehomelessthischristmas. We thank you in advance for your generous giving.
HIA Wins the President’s Volunteerism and Philanthropy Award 2020
Dear Co-labourer in Christ,
We would like to share with you some special news — SowCare’s key partner, Hope Initiative Alliance (HIA), has received three nominations for the President’s Volunteerism and Philanthropy Awards 2020 and has won the Organisation of Good Award and a special commendation in the Leader of Good category. Organised annually by the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), the PVPA is the pinnacle award and platform to recognise individuals and groups that have achieved excellence in giving.
SowCare — the charity arm of The Bible Society of Singapore — has been privileged to be able to partner HIA in a wide range of projects to care for the vulnerable and marginalised communities, especially amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. We celebrate HIA’s PVPA win as affirmation that these collective efforts have made an impact. One key initiative was the Care Meals and Festive Care Pack distribution to guest workers living in factory-converted dormitories. SowCare helped to mobilise volunteers to pack and deliver the Care Meals and Care Packs, and also raised funds for the effort. SowCare also supported HIA in responding to New Hope Community Services’ appeal to rally support for The Innkeeper’s Project, a programme which temporarily houses homeless individuals in HDB estates. As a supporting charity, SowCare has thus far assisted in providing holistic care for almost 260 homeless individuals. For more info on HIA’s projects, visit .
In his letter of thanks to SowCare, the President of HIA expressed gratitude to SowCare and The Bible Society of Singapore for their steadfast support and partnership. Noting that charities working together can reach a wider swathe of society, he said, “Your treasured partnership has helped us multiply efforts to reach the less fortunate in these unprecedented times. Without your overwhelming support during the crisis, we would not have been able to reach so many in such a short time. You are the unsung hero who should share in this Award. We look forward to continue joining our hearts and hands in reaching out to those in need.”
As we look ahead, SowCare will continue to espouse the heart of Christ for the needy, reaching out especially to the guest worker and homeless communities. We will continue to partner HIA and government agencies to make an impact in the lives of the less privileged. Beyond the Circuit Breaker period and Phase 1, SowCare has been running S3P@Bible House to provide temporary shelter for the homeless as part of the Safe Sound Sleeping Places (S3P) initiative, in collaboration with the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF). We have also been encouraging other churches to join the programme and open up their premises to the rough sleepers. Going one step further, we are also working towards opening a shelter for rough sleepers and an integrated social services hub in the south of Singapore, with the support of MSF.
As Jesus said in Matthew 25:35, “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me…” In the spirit of loving our less privileged brothers and sisters, we would like to invite you to partner with us and make a difference in the lives the Lord has entrusted into our care. Head to sowcare.sg to find out how you can donate, partner or volunteer with us!
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About SowCare
SowCare is the charity arm of The Bible Society of Singapore that aims to serve, empower and sow holistic care for the underprivileged communities in Singapore and beyond. Through partnership with various voluntary welfare organisations, we seek to reach out to the guest workers, homeless, poor and needy communities.
About Hope Initiative Alliance (HIA)
HIA is an inter-racial, interreligious and intercultural charity organisation that aims to provide holistic care for the vulnerable and marginalised communities. As a comprehensive aggregator of assistance and services for the needy, we partner with more than 100 organisations, including government agencies, social service organisations, civil groups, corporations and volunteers.
About the President’s Volunteerism and Philanthropy Awards
The President’s Volunteerism and Philanthropy Awards is the pinnacle award and platform to recognise individuals and groups that have achieved excellence in giving. These awards represent the highest honour for giving to the community and are conferred by the President of the Republic of Singapore. It is organised annually by the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), who is the steward of the City of Good vision, with support from the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY).
The “Organisation of Good” Awards recognise organisations (corporates, non-profit organisations and public institutions) who have had exemplary pandemic-specific responses and are active contributors to the community during the COVID-19 pandemic period.
The “Leader of Good” Awards recognise Individuals who are exceptional multiplier leaders, who have devoted their time, talent, treasure and/or voice to create a positive impact in society and galvanised others to do good, thereby multiplying their impact to the community during the COVID-19 pandemic period.
The “People of Good” Awards recognise individuals who are exceptional relational givers and have voluntarily devoted their time, talent, treasure and/or voice to create a positive impact in society during the COVID-19 pandemic period. These individuals should have demonstrated that they went above and beyond their usual daily routine.
PAST APPEAL
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On behalf of the thousands of guest workers who have benefited from efforts led by the Alliance of Guest Workers (AGWO)–a movement of Hope Initiative Alliance (HIA)–we would like to extend our deepest gratitude for support from partners and donors alike.
As the Ramadan period draws to a close, with the commemoration of Hari Raya Puasa on 23 May 2020, many will have to forgo the traditional communal meals with their families due to the Circuit Breaker measures, despite the occasion typically being marked by joyous communal celebratory meals.
For guest workers who have been gazetted in Factory-Converted Dormitories (FCDs) during this Circuit Breaker period—who are also away from their closest family members and friends—the festive occasion may be especially lonely and difficult this year.
As such, for this coming weekend, we will be commemorating Hari Raya Puasa together with the Muslim guest workers under our care. Under this supplementary project, we will seek to provide a special treat to more than 10,000 guest workers–comprising of Muslims workers and also those from other religious backgrounds. This supplementary project will include a festive meal as well as fruits and other celebratory treats.
As an interreligious and interracial movement, it is our hope that the Muslim guest workers will have the opportunity to commemorate this special and meaningful occasion here in Singapore, despite being far from their families. This initiative is organised with the intention of allowing workers to feel cared for by the Singaporean society, even while they remain gazetted. If you would like to contribute to this initiative, we welcome both in-kind and cash donations. Please refer to the details below for the following donation options.
For donations through giving.sg, visit:
www.giving.sg/hope-initiative-alliance/guestworkers
For donations made via bank transfer:
Account Name: Alliance of Guest Workers Outreach
Account Number: 012-902631-0
Bank Name: DBS Bank Ltd
For donations made using PayNow, scan the QR code available at hia.sg/guestworkers
PayNow users may scan this QR code or key in the UEN No: T04SS0054D
For cheque donations:
- Write the cheque to Alliance of Guest Workers Outreach
- Indicate at the back of the cheque (i) your name (ii) contact number (iii) the purpose of donation
- Mail the cheque to: 101 Eunos Avenue 3, TSL Building, #07-10, Singapore 409835
Alternatively, you may bank the cheque at the ATM machine. Our bank details are as follows:
Account Name: Alliance of Guest Workers Outreach
Account Number: 012-902631-0
Bank Name: DBS Bank Ltd
For further queries concerning in-kind donations, please do reach out to us at our hotline (6304 3486) or at covid19@hia.sg. Additionally, you can share this post with your friends to support alongside us in creating greater awareness of the needs on the ground.
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Official Press Release (22 May 2020)
4 May 2020 Appeal: Festive Care Packs @ Vesak/Ramadan
Since its launch on Good Friday, 10 April, your support for the Care Meals initiative under the Alliance of Guest Workers Outreach (AGWO)—a movement of Hope Initiative Alliance (HIA)—has enabled us to distribute 446,779 Care Meals across 267 Factory-Converted Dormitories (as of time of writing).
In continuation of this AGWO’s Care Meals initiative, SowCare—a charity arm of The Bible Society of Singapore (BSS)—will continue to render more holistic care for the guest workers by supporting the ‘Festive Care Packs @ Vesak/Ramadan’ distribution initiative.
As an interreligious and interracial platform, AGWO launches this collaborative project with the aim to enable guest workers to celebrate their respective festivals, knowing that the Singaporean community cares for them. The ‘Festive Care Packs @ Vesak/Ramadan’ initiative will supplement the daily Care Meals distribution, which has been done twice per day since Good Friday, 10 April.
On Vesak Day, 7 May—aside from the Care Meals—we also seek to reach 12,000 guest workers with additional Care Packs across over 260 dormitories. These Care Packs will include the most essential items they need, as reported by AGWO contacts on the ground. The items are as follows:
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Category 1 [Food]: Fresh and dried fruits (i.e. apples, oranges and dates),
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Category 2 [Breakfast Items]: Bread, milk, coffee and tea sachets,
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Category 3 [Medical Supplies]: 12,000 sets of vitamin supplements, and 3,000 medical kits (which will be shared between workers within the same room),
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Category 4 [Hygiene Products]: Surgical masks, hand sanitisers, soaps, toothpaste and toothbrushes).
Given that Vesak Day also coincides with the Ramadan period, “fast-breaking meals” such as dates will also be distributed to 4,000 Muslim guest workers across 260 dormitories.
In order to meet the needs of these guest workers in a sustainable manner, we are continuing our efforts to raise funds, as well as collect donations in kind.
We will also require a minimum of 120 volunteers to serve as (1) drivers to distribute the Care Packs across 260 dormitories on the day itself, (2) packers to put together the Care Packs ahead of Vesak Day, and (3) administrative volunteers to help coordinate and respond to calls for support from FCDs. If you wish to join as a volunteer, please sign up at hia.sg/volunteers.
To support the initiative and to make donations online, please visit hia.sg/guestworkers.
Cheque donations can be addressed to the Alliance of Guest Workers Outreach.
(At the back of the cheque, please indicate “HIA Festive Care Packs @ Vesak Day/Ramadan”)
For bank transfer, below are the following details:
Account Name : Alliance of Guest Workers Outreach
Account Number : 0129026310
Bank Name : DBS
For donations in kind and further queries, please do reach out to us at our hotline (6304 3486) or covid19@sowcare.sg. Additionally, you can share this post with your friends to create greater awareness of the needs on the ground.
We appeal to you to partner with us so that these guest workers who have been gazetted in dormitories—while remaining far from their families—will be able to commemorate these special occasions. Once again, we thank you for your continued support.
Organised by: Hope Initiative Alliance
Co-organised by: Singapore Press Holdings’ Chinese Media Group (CMG) and SowCare
In partnership with: Migrant Workers’ Centre
In the spirit of: SG Cares and SG United and Singapore Kindness Movement
PAST APPEAL
24 April 2020 Appeal: Sowing Care for the Homeless - Inns Keeper Project
In order to care for the homeless amidst the COVID-19 situation, SowCare—the charity arm of The Bible Society of Singapore—has been working closely with the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) in setting up Safe Sound Sleeping Places (S3P).
SowCare has set up temporary shelters for the homeless at S3P@7 Armenian Street and is working towards setting up another transient shelter. Through this initiative to serve the rough sleepers, SowCare has been raising funds and collecting in-kind donations to provide these rough sleepers with holistic care through basic essentials, while working to provide them with a permanent roof over their heads.
Beyond the temporary S3P shelter at Armenian Street, we are also in the process of setting up a more permanent Transient Shelter that will also serve as an integrated social service hub for the poor and needy.
As a member of Hope Initiative Alliance (HIA)—an aggregator of assistance and services among hundreds of organisations and associates—SowCare will also be supporting HIA in responding to New Hope Community Services’ appeal, to assist in providing holistic care for 200 homeless individuals through The Innkeepers’ Project. Other partnering organisations include Methodist Welfare Services, Montfort Care and Singapore Kindness Movement.
Under The Innkeepers’ Project, 200 homeless individuals will be temporarily housed in HDB estates. With each flat being able to accommodate two to four persons, there will be scores of units being utilised.
In support of this project and as a member of HIA, SowCare will assist HIA in rendering services and resources, as well as providing a team of individuals to tend to these homeless individuals, while also handling logistical and administrative tasks. SowCare is also helping HIA to collect in-kind donations.
While we are working to provide holistic 24-hour care for the homeless—inclusive of food, hygiene essentials and medical assistance—we also require these most needed items such as mattresses, pillows, blankets, bedsheets, towels and many more. Owing to hygiene purposes and the COVID-19 situation, new and unused items are preferred. To make in-kind donations and arrange delivery, please contact us at our hotline 6304 3486.
To further support these projects for the Homeless Community amidst the COVID-19 situation, and to make donations, visit www.sowcare.sg/donate. For further queries, reach out to us at covid19@sowcare.sg.
Cheque donations can be addressed to SowCare Ltd, 7 Armenian Street, Bible House, Singapore 179932.
(At the back of the cheque, please indicate “Sowcare for Homeless”)
For bank transfer, below are the following details:
Account Name : Sowcare Ltd
Account Number : 033-905817-3
Bank Name : DBS Bank Ltd
Let us rally together as one Body of Christ to care for the ones who are most vulnerable and in need. Your generous giving will go a long way in allowing these often overlooked and neglected individuals, to know that they matter and are cared for.
PAST APPEAL
April 17 2020 Appeal: Sowing Care for the Homless Amidst COVID-19
Apart from the guest worker community, rough sleepers are another group-at-risk amidst the Covid-19 situation in Singapore.
In a 2019 report titled Homeless in Singapore: Results from a Nationwide Street Count by Assistant Professor Ng Kok Hoe of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy found that there are actually an estimated 1,000 individuals without a roof over their heads. Without a home, they are unable to stay home and stay safe—as a result, they are constantly exposed to the novel coronavirus. As beaches and parks are no longer accessible, rough sleepers are now struggling to find a place to sleep and are highly susceptible to contracting the virus.
In order to care for these homeless individuals, SowCare—a charity of The Bible Society of Singapore, and a partnering member organisation of the Hope Initiative Alliance—is working with the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) to advocate temporal Safe Sound Sleeping Place (S3P) throughout the Circuit Breaker period.
Other than providing S3P at Bible House, SowCare is also working with various Christian organisations to avail temporal facilities where homeless individuals can seek refuge throughout the Circuit Breaker period. During this entire course, we are also looking at giving them a small allowance or ex gratia to sustain their needs. Necessary resources are also greatly needed in order to provide holistic care for them.
To support our efforts for the Homeless Community amidst the COVID-19 situation, and to make donations click the donate button. For queries, reach out to us at covid19@sowcare.sg.
Cheque donations can be addressed to SowCare Ltd, 7 Armenian Street, Bible House, Singapore 179932.
(At the back of the cheque, please indicate “Sowcare for Homeless”)
For bank transfer, below are the following details:
Account Name : Sowcare Ltd
Account Number : 033-905817-3
Bank Name : DBS Bank Ltd
Below is the list of necessary items that the Homeless Community need the most—100 sets of these items are ideally required to better facilitate their needs. To donate in kind and for further queries, call our hotline at 6304 3486. Please call us before sending these below items:
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(Owing to hygiene purposes and the COVID-19 situation, new and unused are preferred.)
Let us rally together as one Body of Christ to sow care for the ones who are most in need. Your generous giving will impact the lives of the vulnerable especially in this trying period. “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” Hebrews 13:16
PAST INITIATIVES
SG UNITED AMIDST ADVERSITY
#CharitiesCaringTogether
Vulnerable communities amongs us – such as the homeless community, elderly, people with disabilities, residents of halfway houses, the poor and needy, as well as the guest workers – often face financial difficulties that prevent them from acquiring daily essentials. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated their difficulties, especially now that they also need surgical masks, hand sanitisers and food supplies.
As part of out nationwide initiative to assist more than 5,000 vulnerable and marginalised individuals amidst the COVID-19 situation, SOwCare has partnered with Hope Initiative Alliance to launch SG United Amidst Adversity – an initiative supported by SG United, SG Cares, Singapore Kindness Movement. and Inter-Religious Organisation, Singapore.
Through this initiative, we aim to distribute surgical masks, hand sanitisers and food packs to an estimated 50 partnering organisations. The supplies will be handed over to our partners at the Inaugural launch ceremony.
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Here are some of our very thankful recipients of the SG United Amidst Adversity #CharitiesCaringTogether care packs! Under the SGUAA joint initiative by HIA and SowCare, these 5,000 care packs—which were lovingly packed by nearly 200 volunteers in a single day—consist of surgical masks, hand sanitisers and essential food items.
FEASTS OF APPRECIATION
- An inaugural ‘Feast of Appreciation’ on 13 October 2019, at the Fullerton Hotel—a feast to appreciate guest workers, with dormitory owners, government officials and AGWO partners. The event will also launch the series of feasts in the last quarter of 2019 throughout Singapore, culminating with the Guest Workers Appreciation Day on 18 December 2019.
On 31 May 2019, SowCare and Hope Initiative Alliance (HIA) signed a memorandum of agreement (MoU) with the pioneering partners of the AGWO—this officiates the sharing of resources and collaboration of various joint initiatives to seek the betterment of guest workers in Singapore.
Immediate preliminary events to be anticipated include:
- The AGWO Cricket Cup on 28 October 2019—a cricket tournament to provide guest workers with an avenue for leisure and enjoyment.
- A guest workers exhibition from 20 to 29 September 2019, at Far East Plaza—featuring interactive demonstrations that will showcase guest workers’ daily work, with opportunities for the public to experience their work.
SOWCARE LTD.
UEN No.: 201918865M