1. Good evening to all of you. Thank you for inviting me to be here tonight. I’ve just taken over the role of Patron for Care Corner Singapore from PM Lawrence Wong. When I asked why I was chosen for this role, Christian, the CEO of Care Corner Singapore, joked that it might be because I share the same initials as Care Corner Singapore – CCS.
2. Tonight, I would like to recognise the many people who have made Care Corner possible – the hardworking staff, donors, pioneers who started this journey, and the generations of leadership and staff who has made all this possible. Without your support, we would not be here tonight, nor would we have achieved all that we have over the years. Once again, thank you to all of you, the real Guests of Honour tonight.
3. First, let’s talk about sustainable giving. It is a topic that many have talked about, and I would like to applaud the many partners who have done this for many years consistently with Care Corner – the importance of having consistent partnership over the years. There's a difference between raising a million dollars from different people every year, versus raising a million dollars from staying steadfast.
4. The work that Care Corner does, similar that the work that many of our Social Service Agencies (SSAs) do, do not involve the short time. Many of the things that we do will not see the result in a year or two, and many of the results will only come perhaps a generation later.
5. When I was in MSF, people always asked me, “How many people have you helped? What was your benchmark of success?” The real benchmark of success in MSF isn’t about how many people we help today. It’s about seeing, a generation later, that those we have supported are standing confidently on their own and contributing to society. That's how we know that perhaps we have contributed a little to their success. That’s why I’ve always advocated against just giving sporadically or shifting our support around. Many SSAs, including Care Corner, rely on long-term partnerships. It’s through sustained contributions that the executive team, leadership, and staff can plan effectively for the future. Many of the programs they develop are not short-term; they require us to walk alongside the beneficiaries through the difficult valleys of life. That is the essence of sustainable giving.
6. Our measure of success isn’t about how many people we’ve helped today. It’s about how many people we won’t need to help tomorrow. That is sustainable giving. This is where I applaud and affirm what Care Corners has done all these years. It’s not just about helping people in the here and now; it’s about ensuring that, in the future, they won’t need our help and will instead be able to help someone else. That is our true measure of success. Again, this is long term work. This requires us to join hands, because many of the things that we do are not unidimensional. Sometimes, agencies do it based on their own capabilities and succeed based on their own abilities. More often than not, they join hands with other agencies that bring different strengths. No single social service agency has all the capabilities, and that’s not how we define social services.
7. True sustainable giving means forming long-term partnerships that allow us to walk through life’s dark valleys with our beneficiaries, through both rain and shine. We should never be too eager to claim credit or judge ourselves based on short-term outcomes. While progress is possible, for many beneficiaries, simply preventing a decline is, in itself, a significant accomplishment. Once again, I’d like to thank Care Corner for all that you have done, and I encourage you to continue on this path, because I truly believe it’s the right one.
8. Last but not least, many of you might wonder why we hold dinners like this. After all, when you look at the charity sector in Singapore, it’s fair to say that most funding for social services comes from public funds, primarily through taxation. In fact, 80 to 90% of many programs are already covered. So, a common question is: Why do we have a system that still requires agencies like Care Corner to raise the remaining 10 to 20%? Why can’t the staff focus all their energy on caring for the beneficiaries instead of fundraising?
9. I believe there are valid reasons for these efforts. No matter how comprehensive government schemes are, local needs will always require local solutions. Even with the best national programs from MSF, there will still be niche areas that need targeted action.
10. On the other hand, if our society relied solely on taxation without personal involvement or contribution—as seen in some countries that have nationalised charitable giving—we would foster a transactional mindset. In such a society, we would pay our taxes and do little more, which isn't the kind of community we want. We should instead promote human agency, allowing individuals to contribute in diverse ways to causes they are passionate about.
11. It sounds a very complicated system to fund 80 to 90% and yet raise funds for the last 10 to 20%, but I think we are better for it, because it allows the Singapore spirit to shine. It allows the Singapore spirit to go beyond one that is just transactional when we pay our taxes. It empowers individuals to make choices, and importantly, fosters an environment of innovation and experimentation.
12. At the national level, accountability is expected, but we also need to explore and pilot new approaches to address the evolving challenges each generation faces. Your contributions help support this broader mission—not just in caring for beneficiaries, but in illuminating the human spirit and the essence of the Singapore spirit within us.
13. So, thank you for your partnership and for your giving. I hope that you will also help us to spread this message, because it is not just contributions of what I call ‘treasures’, but increasingly in Singapore, it's also about contributions of time and talent, beyond just monetary treasures.
14. I hope that in Singapore, we will always distinguish ourselves, not just by our material success, but by the depth of our human spirit. I hope that we will look out for one another - that anyone born a Singaporean can have the confidence that you will be able to reach your fullest potential, because society will always have your backs, not just through Government redistribution via taxation. Beyond the redistribution of treasures, share your time and talent to allow every single Singaporean to reach their potential, so that collectively, we will demonstrate and distinguish the Singapore spirit.
15. Thank you very much for your partnership.