Following our adoption of a formal approach to the support given by the Club to worthwhile causes, the Main Committee has endorsed the selection of two organisations who will be our main beneficiaries for the next two years. They are The Gurkha Welfare Trust and The Make-A-Wish Foundation (Singapore).

Our intention is to support both these excellent and deserving organisations by fund-raising at a number of our Club events, donations in kind and volunteering our help. We hope that many Club Members as well as employees will participate in our efforts and we will keep you informed of specific plans. If you have any ideas for ways in which we can support these groups, please contact marketing@britishclub.org.sg

Although these will be the principal beneficiaries of our support, we will of course continue our established low key efforts, for example the Poppy Day Appeal, providing birthday cakes to the children at GraceHaven and sale of Breast Cancer Foundation badges.

The Gurkha Welfare Trust
Gurkhas have served Singapore with distinction since 1949 and many Club Members will now be familiar with The Gurkha Contingent Pipes and Drums Platoon who last year kindly performed at the opening of our cricket field as well as at the Red, White & Blue Ball, waiving their performance fee in favour of the Trust.

Established in the UK in 1969, The Gurkha Welfare Trust provides distress relief to Gurkha ex-servicemen of the British Crown and their dependants in their homeland of Nepal through cash grants, regular monthly payments to those no longer able to support themselves, medical aid, education and aid to the communities in which old soldiers live.

The single major problem facing the Trust at the present time is meeting its commitment to provide a regular 'welfare pension', equivalent to about S$60 a month, to some 10,000 Gurkha ex-servicemen and their widows in Nepal. Many of the young, fearless fighting Gurkhas of the 1940s are now old and weak and need, and deserve, all the help we can give so that they can maintain at least a basic quality of life and keep their pride and dignity in the village. In most cases, the welfare pension from the Trust is their only source of income and all that stands between these gallant old soldiers and destitution and starvation.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation (Singapore)
The Make-A-Wish® Foundation (Singapore) grants the heartfelt wishes of children, between the ages of 3 and 18, who are challenged with a life-threatening illness or medical condition. The Singapore affiliate is part of a global organisation, founded in 1980 in Phoenix, Arizona, that has granted more than 110,000 wishes in 32 countries worldwide over the last 24 years. Singapore was granted its official affiliate status by Make-A-Wish Foundation International in 2002.

Wish children suffer from many forms of illnesses including brain cancer, leukaemia and rare metabolic disorders. Make-A-Wish gives them a chance to put their illness aside for a day and gives them joy, hope and a renewed will to go on. It is the Foundation’s goal to reach every medically eligible child in Singapore.

Grants, event sponsorships, donations and in-kind services from foundations, clubs, associations, corporations and private individuals are vital to the sustainability of the Foundation. Make-A-Wish does not receive any funding from the Community Chest and doesn’t engage in either telephone or door-to-door solicitations. In-kind contributions can include such items as film for regular cameras, venues for events, T shirts, hats, chocolates, transport, cakes, catering and computers. With only two paid staff members, it would be virtually impossible, without the tremendous support of volunteers, to create that ‘once in a lifetime’ experience for many deserving children.