Charity Fair

The word "charity" raises a stink these days. All thanks to the unfortunate events surrounding NKF. Nonetheless, we were reminded, time and again by ministers, newspaper commentators that "two wrongs can't make a right" and that if we stop giving to charity altogether, the only group of people who will really suffer would be patients in need of dialysis. While some people have been swayed to reinstate their monthly donation to NKF, others choose to wait until NKF puts its house in order under the new CEO and the Board of Directors.

My office held a charity fair today. This event was planned long before the NKF saga and the committee decided then that the beneficiaries would be MINDS or Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore.

I was worried that the bad publicity resulted from NKF would dampen the charity fair somewhat. But my fear was unfounded. The fair turned out to be quite successful. Business was brisk in my team’s hotdog bun stall. The buns were sold out within two hours. There were other stalls offering games, souvenirs and IT gadgets. The foyer was just bustling with activities. Basically, there were three groups of people - those that make things happen, those that watch things happen, and those that wait for things to happen. It was an event like no other in my office.

At the end of the day, my team collected more than $350 for MINDS. In our very humble ways, I think we can measure up to NKF, if I may say so. At least we are transparent. Though it was a lot of work, the charity fair has been fun. Looking at how we worked as a team, cutting onions, slicing the bun, toasting the sausages, taking orders and playing waiters delivering the orders, I can't help but feel a sense of comradeship with my co-workers. It's a great way to build a team culture and it feels great to be able to contribute to charity in our small ways. We achieved quite a few "firsts" today:
1. The first time a charity event was ever organised in my office;
2. The first stall to sell out the the hotdog buns; and
3. The first time we saw MJM, a colleague of me, wear jeans to work. It made him look 10 years younger. Ha!