Special Kindness Day SG display made with hand-folded windmill daisies to be unveiled on 28 May

Singapore, 18 May 2016 ━ Kindness Day SG celebrations kicked off with the Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM) joining hands with several Ground-Up Movements (GUMs) to carry out community activities from 1 May. Building on this year’s theme of “Kindness, It’s Up to Us”, the public is rallied to take part in these activities to inculcate the spirit of organic kindness in Singapore. Minister of Culture, Community and Youth and Advisor to SKM, Ms. Grace Fu, will also unveil a special Kindness Day SG artwork display on 28 May.

From providing free health screenings and raincoats to our migrant workers to distributing food packs to elderly residents of Jalan Kukoh, the slew of activities shed light on often-neglected and vulnerable communities in Singapore.

Youth volunteers surprised nightshift workers in Khoo Teck Puat Hospital with care packages, while participants of Kindness Run spread the message of kindness by jogging and greeting other park users at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Recipients of kindness in these events can show their appreciation towards the volunteers by folding “windmill yellow gerbera daisies” and pen down words of gratitude on them.

Now into its fourth year, Kindness Day SG is an occasion for Singaporeans to come together to celebrate kindness and graciousness, and to inspire one another to take ownership towards creating a kinder Singapore.

Concurrent to the community activities, students also participated in school activities to commemorate Kindness Day. Preschool and primary school students held their own celebrations in classroom using activities and games from celebration packages prepared by SKM. Secondary and JC students took the celebration online with a unique Kindness Quest, where they were challenged to locate Singa and daisy icons hidden on a Google map of Singapore. For each Singa or daisy found, students were treated to a kindness tip or story to further inspire them to put kindness into action.

The folding of windmill daisies was also taken into the corporate sector, where employees of 33 companies penned their gratitude towards fellow colleagues on hand-folded windmill daisies. Members of the public can join in the movement by personalizing their own digital daisy photo using a Kindness Day SG photo filter, and sending it to people who have been kind to them or sharing it on social media.

This year, 1,000 windmill daisies collected throughout the month will form a special artwork display to be unveiled by Ms. Grace Fu. The unveiling event will occur prior to a celebration dinner at CHIJMES Singapore, on 28 May, 7pm. During the dinner, 9 new GUMs who have championed kindness over the past year will be inducted into SKM’s Kindred Spirit Circle, in recognition of their independent effort to spread kindness in Singapore.

Dr. William Wan, General Secretary of the Singapore Kindness Movement observes, “It is really comforting to see more people stepping forward to take a stand for kindness, by initiating their own kindness activities and volunteering with community groups. This is an encouraging sign that we are on the right track towards creating a Nation of Kindness, and is definitely reason for celebration.” He continued, “This spirit of showing care and consideration should be taken into everyday life, where we make it a point to express our innate kindness under different, sometimes difficult, circumstances. It is important to note that the spirit of kindness is not simply commemorated in a day or month, but is a lifelong endeavour for everyone.”

Kindness Day SG falls on the second last Friday of May, or 20 May 2016. The public is invited to view the Kindness Day daisy display from 29 May to 5 June.