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Sunday February 11, 8:17 PMGovt launches ComCare programme to strengthen community linkagesThe Government will be spending up to S$1 million this year to strengthen community linkages.By the end of March this year, there will be 11 pilot ComCare Local Networks (CLNs) all over Singapore, run by the 5 Community Development Councils. The aim is to deliver help directly to the needy by linking up the grassroots and voluntary welfare organisations. And to get more companies in on helping the disadvantaged, a ComCare Connection programme was launched on Saturday. When it comes to helping the the poor and disadvantaged, the Government has always taken a many helping-hands approach. The CLNs aim to decentralise the outreach of social assistance, and deliver help straight to those who need it. The 11 pilot networks will create links between more than 160 Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs) and grassroots organisations. So the Government is injecting up to $1 million to strengthen the ComCare Local Networks, and to train volunteers. Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, Minister of State - Community Development, Youth and Sports, said: "Besides CLN, besides ComCare Connection, some individual still felt - how to get help? So we're going to launch a hotline within a few months' time. This hotline will really help the older people or individual. They might be too shy to get the RC, or to get the VWO to help. But they can call this hotline, and this hotline will be very easy to remember, repetitive number, that old people can feel it's easy to remember. So within a few months' time we're going to launch this number." The Government hopes to rope in corporate organisations too. ComCare Connection will match them with voluntary welfare organisations. Mrs Tan Chee Koon, CEO, National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), said: "This is different from the usual ad hoc involvement where they may just do a fundraiser and then say "Here's your money!" The idea of this Connection is, as the word says, to connect. So we're bringing companies together with their partnering organisations to structure a meaningful programme that benefits the company, that benefits its partnering VWOs, and the VWOs' beneficiaries." So far, there have been four successful matches. Sidney Lim, GM (Southeast Asia), Avanade Asia, ComCare Connection Matched Partner, said: "We were looking for a sector in the community where it's underfunded. Causes like youth-at-risk are underfunded. We went to NVPC, and they match made us with the three organisations - Ling Kwang Youth Centre, Pertapis, and the Salvation Youth. "These are catering to the youths and events and activities like cycling and inline skating appeal to the youths. So this event will help in several ways. One is the development of the youths themselves because we involve the youths in the event. There's a lot of training - to cycle and blade 400km you really need a lot of training. So we thought that will help in their development." The Ministry hopes to set up another 12 ComCare Connection partnerships by next April. - CNA/ch |
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