ComfortDelGro launches SG50 fundraising initiative

SINGAPORE — Transport company ComfortDelGro aims to raise up to S$250,000 for charity as part of an initiative in celebration of SG50.

Some of the proceeds will be used to help the elderly living in one-room rental flats, who will receive various electronics and living essentials, to make their lives more comfortable. These include new refrigerators, washing machines and televisions. The net proceeds will go to four organisations, including the Lions Befrienders, the largest beneficiary.

Over a three-month campaign, little “red dots” will be sold for S$10 each at the 40 Singapore Petroleum Company (SPC) pump stations island-wide. Made of durable foam and mounted on a plastic stand, they can be clipped onto car windows. The idea draws inspiration from the oft-used term to describe Singapore.

Mr Tan, 45, a service manager who was one of the first to get a red dot at Ang Mo Kio SPC station, said: “I think it’s a very meaningful initiative, as it’s in line with SG50, and it’s also for a good cause.”

National Trades Union Congress secretary-general Chan Chun Sing, who is the adviser to the SG50 Partnership Committee, launched the fundraiser this morning (May 14).

He also spoke to reporters about the growth of third-party taxi-booking apps in Singapore, which may give cabbies added competition from more drivers.

He said: “This is a new set of challenges that we have to confront, but that is where the unions, together with the taxi drivers and operators, can come up with new models of services that will bring it to a higher level. You can have Uber and UberX, but what is the quality assurance that, say, somebody from ComfortDelGro and the operators can bring to the table. It’s quite different. It boils down to the words, trust and quality.”