TTSH Community Fund aims to raise at least $500,000 for two charity programmes with the #WeLoveSingaporeHawkers coffee table book
8 December 2022 – Going home is what patients most look forward to during their hospital stay. For needy patients who are ready to go home, their transition from hospital to home requires extra financial support. To help these patients, Singapore's local literary community has stepped forward to put together a coffee table book -
#WeLoveSingaporeHawkers - that celebrates our proud hawker culture.
Published by
TTSH Community Fund and Landmark Books, the book and campaign aim to raise at least $500,000 for two key charity programmes: Iwanttogohome (IWGH) and Help Me Go Home, which support needy patients with out-of-pocket expenses for services and equipment that are essential in helping with their daily living and recovery at home.
#WeLoveSingaporeHawkers presents everything about hawkers past, present and future, through the perspectives of hawkers, customers and suppliers. Stories are told in their own unique way, from personal stories on Singapore being a
'ta pao' (takeaway) nation to comic strips on multigeneration hawkers. The book is a collection of photos, anecdotes, illustrations and interviews contributed by renowned local writers, photographers and illustrators.
"#WeLoveSingaporeHawkers is a unifying book (for all time). If you can, have a copy at home, it's not unlike an encyclopedia, to dip into as and when. Unifying because hawker culture - like Singlish - is at the core of our national identity. And, uniquely, hawker culture equalises the heartlander and the billionaire. Cabbie and CEO unite over a plate of char koay teow or a bowl of chicken rice," said Sylvia Toh Paik Choo, a local writer who wrote about the 'Ta Pao Nation' for
#WeLoveSingaporeHawkers.
This book on Singapore Hawker Culture is published in two editions. The edition published by TTSH Community Fund, titled #WeLoveSingaporeHawkers, will be given as a token of appreciation to those who donate $200 or more to the Iwanttogohome and Help Me Go Home programmes. Donations to this fundraising project are eligible for 250% tax exemption, and will also be matched dollar-for-dollar under the Tote Board Fundraising Programme.
Separately, the Landmark Books edition, entitled Eat Here or Take Away? may be purchased from bookstores at $45.78 (before GST) with all royalties from sales paid to TTSH Community Fund.
Help Our Patients to Go Home
From now till March 2023, the TTSH Community Fund aims to raise at least $500,000 for its two charity programmes –
Iwanttogohome (IWGH) and
Help Me Go Home – through the #WeLoveSingaporeHawkers charity campaign.
Many patients require equipment and services such as ventilators, wheelchairs, transport etc to help them recover at home, and these could cost patients from a hundred dollars to thousands of dollars depending on their individual health needs. The two programmes have supported over 1,500 needy patient cases with almost $1 million since 2018 and will continue to benefit patients who needed the extra helping hand.
Iwanttogohome (IWGH) provides financial assistance for services and equipment required after hospital discharge. The programme helps patients in areas such as interim care services, medical consumables and medical equipment, and subsidised rate for community health team services.
IWGH helps patients like Ms Huang Li Zhen to live well at home. The 34-year-old patient lives with lupus and spinal cord disorder and requires a wheelchair for her daily living. The programme has supported her with maintenance and modification of her manual wheelchair and motorised wheelchair to better cater to her health needs.
"The wheelchair is an important part of my life; it allows me to move around the house and travel independently for my rehabilitation therapy. It is also a 'musician chair' that supports my violin practice and enables me to pursue my passion for music," said Li Zhen.
Help Me Go Home subsidises the cost of home ventilators and consumables for patients under the
Home Ventilation & Respiratory Support Service (HVRSS) scheme. This group of patients have conditions such as spinal cord injuries, muscular dystrophy or stroke.
Find out more about the
#WeLoveSingaporeHawkers fundraising project.