Coming Together as One to Celebrate Kindness that Comes from Within

May 31, 2013

SINGAPORE, 31 May 2013 – Singapore came together as a nation of kindness today as thousands gathered at the Singapore River to celebrate the inaugural Kindness Day SG. 26 business organisations, independent kindness groups collectively dubbed the Kindred Spirit Circle, as well as members of the public joined Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM) to mark the occasion and support its mission of encouraging acts of kindness.

Moving beyond SKM’s established initiatives to encourage kindness, Kindness Day SG reached out to businesses and organisations keen on inspiring the spread of kindness and enlisted them as partners. To date, six business organisations have accepted the invitation and developed initiatives of their own that showcase their support for the cause of kindness.

“Singapore is fortunate to have a good many events, organisations and individuals dedicated to spreading kindness across the island and beyond. Through platforms like Kindness Day SG, we hope to bring these advocates of kindness together so we can recognise and support each other, and encourage more people to make personal commitments to being pillars of kindness and graciousness in their own circles of influence,” said Dr. William Wan, General Secretary, Singapore Kindness Movement.

Kindness Day SG kicked off this morning at North View Primary School (NVPS), where teachers and students staged a play to illustrate how kindness can be learnt and demonstrated.

The day’s festivities culminated in the lighting up of a giant floating daisy on the Singapore River this evening, relaying the idea that a kinder Singapore starts with one. Following the light-up, 5000 smaller rubber daisies were released into the river by the riverboats, building a powerful imagery of a sea of yellow gerbera daisies, each symbolising acts of kindness and appreciation.

Partners of the occasion were presented with tokens of appreciation and ground-up initiatives such as Project Awareness, The Morning Greeters, The Hidden Good were honoured as part of the Kindred Spirit Circle at the celebratory event for championing kindness over the past year.

“We are truly grateful to all our partners and various kindred spirits circle that have come together to support Kindness Day SG. A kind and gracious society is never something that we can mandate or enforce. It can only be encouraged and nurtured. That is something that will require effort and consideration on all our parts,” said Dr. Wan, “Yet, despite all the changes our society has gone through, and the challenges that we will face in the future, the fundamentals remain the same. A nation of kindness can only come about when we choose to first start with one – ourselves.”

The night also featured performances by Elson Soh from Project Awareness and local band Contempo. The kindness mocktail, concocted by the students from Shatec Institutes was served to attendees of the event. Some 2,000 daisy origami folded by students and the public were also distributed to passers-by as a reminder to pass on the kindness they receive.

SKM encourages everyone and organisations to join Kindness Day SG in the coming years, not only on the day itself, but also throughout the year to fuel the kindness spirit in Singapore.  SKM hopes Kindness Day SG will serve as a reminder, celebration, and continuing encouragement of kindness.

Kindness Day SG will return annually on the last Friday of Term 2 of the academic calendar.

For more information, please visit www.kindness.sg / www.kindnessday.sg .

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For media queries, please contact

Singapore Kindness Movement
Michelle Tay
Associate General Secretary (Partnerships)
+65 6837 9887
[email protected]

Strategic Public Relations Group for the Singapore Kindness Movement
Robin Chang
+65 6325 8278
[email protected]

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