PricewaterhouseCoopers and Kreta Ayer Residents Committee bring Christmas cheer to elderly residents in Chinatown by giving over $34,000 in donations

Singapore, 19 December 2008 - Christmas comes early for 400 households comprising elderly residents living in one-room HDB flats in Chinatown today. This is the result of a joint initiative by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Singapore and Kreta Ayer Residents’ Committee (RC).

The project costs around $34,000 and involves giving 400 hampers of daily necessities such as canned food, rice, instant noodles, shampoo, toothpaste, and even a standing fan to the elderly folks. Each hamper is worth $80. The sum was raised in a week through donations from PwC staff and partners. In addition to the donations, over 180 PwC volunteers will spend their afternoon packing and personally delivering these hampers to every household. PwC collaborated with Kreta Ayer RC to identify needy residents who will benefit from this assistance.

Most of the elderly living in Block Five, Banda Street, are first generation Cantonese-speaking immigrants from China who are in their seventies and eighties, and do not have family or children looking after them. Often immobile, these elderly rely on government assistance for their daily needs, with some even supplementing their livelihood by collecting cardboard for sale.

“It is heartening that despite these uncertain economic times, our people are still enthusiastic about giving and helping the less fortunate. Besides donations, staff also gave their time and effort to pack and distribute the hampers. This event serves as a good round-up to a meaningful year for the firm’s corporate responsibility programme,” says Gautam Banerjee, Executive Chairman of PwC Singapore.

Mr Quek Wei Cheng, Kreta Ayer RC Chairman commented, “The gift bag distribution by PwC came at a time when most corporations are cutting their budgets for social sponsorships. We are targeting to help the residents living in one of the most elderly populated one-room HDB block in Singapore. Block Five Banda Street consists of 430 one-room units and almost 90% of the residents are needy elderly above 65 years old. The items in the gift bags provided are foodstuffs and daily necessities that are very useful to them. Kreta Ayer RC hopes that more such activities can be conducted in future.”