Sponsors join #NationOfKindness to help less fortunate

Singapore, 2 October 2014 – In keeping with the theme of “A Nation of Kindness Starts with One”, several corporate sponsors have come forward to support the Singapore Kindness Movement’s (SKM) #hashtag campaign. The campaign, timed to coincide with the Movement’s media campaign, encourages netizens to take time out to speak up for kindness and graciousness. With support from generous corporate sponsors, each social media post that includes the #NationOfKindness hashtag will also directly contribute to a needy family – twice the kindness, for the price of a humble hashtag.

Running from October to December, the digital campaign invites members of the public to upload photos of kind acts or messages of kindness, and tag it with the #NationOfKindness hashtag. These social media posts, on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, will be automatically tracked on the campaign microsite at www.makesomeonesday.sg.

However, it would be a shame for any good deed to go unrewarded. Several corporate sponsors have stepped up to help pay it forward. For each social media post tracked by the www.makesomeonesday.sg counter, the campaign sponsors are also pledging to do their bit for kindness.

To start things off, Gardenia Singapore has pledged to donate a loaf of bread to a needy family in Singapore for each #NationOfKindness hashtag tracked during the month of October. Similarly, F&N Foods has pledged to provide care packages containing a variety of food and beverage products during the month of November, while Super Group has pledged to contribute bags of instant cereal products to needy households in December.

Wayne Soe, Assistant Marketing Communication Manager at Gardenia, said, “The hashtag campaign is an example of harnessing the power of social media to do good. We hope to match the kindness shown by Singaporeans by sharing Gardenia loaves with needy families and spreading some positivity in the community.”

Keith Tong, Marketing Manager at Super Group Ltd, said, “This initiative is a good opportunity for us to give back to society and bring smiles to the needy families. Social media is an effective way to reach out to the public, so that everyone can be more aware and involved in helping the less privileged in our society.”

With support from SKM’s partners, and with the assistance of Singapore’s internet-savvy population, the campaign hopes to hit a monthly target of 2,000 acts of kindness or messages of encouragement. The pledged items from corporate sponsors will be delivered to needy households at the end of each month. The deliveries will be managed by volunteers from SKM, and will also involve several volunteer welfare groups including Post Museum, The Volunteer Switchboard, Project Awareness, who conduct their own outreach initiatives to help low-income households.

Jennifer See, General Manager of F&N Foods (Singapore), said, “As F&N embodies pure enjoyment and pure goodness, we hope that the recipients of the F&N care packages will enjoy the goodies that were lovingly packed for them. We hope this small gesture lets them know that we care, and we invite our large base of consumers to join us in brightening their day by sharing their own kind acts on social media.”

Dr. William Wan, General Secretary of the Singapore Kindness Movement, shared, “I am very encouraged by the enthusiasm of these home-grown brands, who have stepped up to support our #NationOfKindness campaign. Between their generosity, and the giving spirit of those who have, and will, posted their kind deeds and encouraging words on social media, we can truly say that even the tiniest bit of kindness can create ripples in our society. A nation of kindness may start with just one, but we quickly become many when we pay it forward.”

To date, 138 posts hashtagged #NationOfKindness have been uploaded in October.

For more information about the digital campaign and the social media posts by the public, please go to: http://makesomeonesday.sg/#!/nation_of_kindness.