$420,000 for ST pocket money fund

The Straits Times
29 July 2010, Thur

By Lee Su Shyan

PRIVATE investor Peter Lim is donating $420,000 to The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund, which helps needy children cover daily expenses.

Half of the sum, $210,000, will come from damages that he was awarded in a defamation case.

Mr Lim will match the award payout dollar-for-dollar and donate the total of $420,000 to the fund.

Mr Peter Khoo, the fund's organising chairman, said yesterday: "We need to raise $5 million this year to help more than 12,000 children. As of now, we are nowhere near the target set. And this donation will definitely help."

To mark its 10th anniversary this year, the pocket money fund recently launched an initiative encouraging Singaporeans to combine the virtues of thrift and generosity.

It is selling Help-A-Kid Coin Banks at $5 each. When the coin banks are full, users may either save the money for themselves or give any amount to charity.

The coin banks can be purchased at 40 NTUC FairPrice supermarkets, with full proceeds going to the fund.