More than 160 young performers sang, danced and performed their hearts out to raise the largest amount ever in the ninth edition of the ChildAid concert at Sands Theatre, Marina Bay Sands tonight.
Organised by The Straits Times and The Business Times, the charity concert raised $2.035 million – a new record sum – for its two youth-related beneficiaries, The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund and The Business Times Budding Artists Fund. Last year, the concert raised $2.016 million.
The Pocket Money Fund provides children from under-privileged homes with pocket money, while the Budding Artists Fund gives children from similar backgrounds the opportunity to develop their talents in the arts.
Mr Lawrence Wong, Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Mr George Tanasijevich, President and CEO of Marina Bay Sands, witnessed the presentation of the cheque by Mr Alan Chan, CEO of Singapore Press Holdings Limited, to the two beneficiaries at the close of the 90-minute gala night show.
This year’s Carnival theme features youth juggling, walking on stilts and performing aerial acrobatics, to name a few. In the colourful opening sequence, nimble gymnasts from CHIJ (Kellock) pranced across the stage juggling hoops, clubs and ribbons, while others executed perfect cartwheels.
Performers like the Lim siblings Emma, 11, Euan, nine, and Evie, seven, were part of a five-member aerial arts group that wowed the 1,600-audience at the MBS Sands Theatre. Suspended some three metres above the stage by hoops and silk, they executed graceful, gravity defying poses.
Emma Lim, 11, a Primary 5 pupil from Nanyang Primary School said: “I’m very very glad to be able to take part in this event. It just feels special to me. The best part is that we are helping other children.”
Vocalist Corey Koh, 11, who performed the duet “Se”, from the movie Cinema Paradiso with another vocalist, Ananya Diddapur, 13, expressed similar sentiments about performing at this year’s ChildAid. He said: “I get to sing, which is what I like to do and I can get people to donate money – it’s like killing two birds with one stone.”
“But the main thing is that I can help needy children,” added the Primary 5 pupil from Nanyang Primary School.
Some 130 of the performers had auditioned earlier in the year to earn their spots in the show. They were backed by the 33-piece orchestra, made up of members of the Orchestra of the Music Makers and Kids’philharmonic@sg.
Show director Jeremiah Choy said: “As with every ChildAid concert, the highlight is the children who are performing. I am sure the audience can appreciate the hearty and heartfelt performance put up by this year’s talented young performers.”
This is the second year that the show is being held at the Marina Bay Sands, the official venue partner. Citi Singapore and HSBC are the main sponsors of the show.
There will be two more shows – at 2.30 pm and 8pm – on Saturday, Dec 7.
Mr Patrick Daniel, Editor-in-Chief of the English and Malay Newspapers Division, which includes The Straits Times and The Business Times, said: “Aside from the new record sum raised from generous donors, what makes ChildAid so special and meaningful is the voluntary effort put in by everyone, from the young performers to those working behind the scenes to pull together such a fantastic show.”
About ChildAid 2013 – Carnival Edition:
Number of performers: 163
Duration of show: 90 minutes, no intermission.
Youngest performer: Six-year-olds Anne-Sophie Cazaubon (vocalist) and Jessie Meng (pianist)
Inception: 2005. This is the ninth edition of ChildAid
Amount raised to date: $9.8 million.
Issued by Singapore Press Holdings Ltd
Co. Regn. No. 198402868E
For more information, please contact:
Shahrena Hassan (Ms)
Senior Manager
Editorial Projects Unit, EMND
Singapore Press Holdings Limited
DID: 6319 5097
Email: shahrena@sph.com.sg
Deror Wong (Mr)
Senior Executive
Corporate Communications & CSR
Singapore Press Holdings Limited
DID: 6319 1226
Email: derorw@sph.com.sg
About The Straits Times
The Straits Times, the English flagship daily of SPH, has been serving readers for more than a century. Launched on July 15, 1845, its comprehensive coverage of world news, East Asian news, Southeast Asian news, home news, sports news, financial news and lifestyle updates makes The Straits Times the most-read newspaper in Singapore. Quality news, in-depth analyses, impactful commentaries and breaking stories are packaged to give readers riveting accounts of events in Singapore, the region, and beyond.
The Straits Times’ key strength is in its world class coverage of news outside Singapore. With 20 bureaus in major cities around the world, The Straits Times correspondents bring world news to readers on a Singapore platter, helping them appreciate world events from a Singaporean perspective.
In keeping with the times, The Straits Times introduced weekly supplements such as Digital Life (DL), Urban and Mind Your Body (MYB) to complement The Straits Times as well as IN and Little Red Dot to cater to young readers in schools. Its many efforts have won multiple international awards from the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, as well as the Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers’ Association.
The Straits Times also has an online presence at www.straitstimes.com. The site features top stories, blogs and online forum threads. Also under The Straits Times’ umbrella are citizen journalism site Stomp and online television service The Straits Times RazorTV.
The Straits Times has won many accolades and awards, including being named Singapore Newspaper of the Year 2013 by Marketing magazine and voted Singapore’s favourite newspaper 2013 by Superbrands. The Straits Times’ website straitstimes.com also won gold in “Best In Online Media” at the 2012 Wan-Ifra Asian Digital Media Awards.
About The Business Times
The Business Times (BT), published by Singapore Press Holdings, is South-east Asia’s leading business daily. It is Singapore’s only financial daily and provides a complete guide on the local, regional and international business scene.
BT brings to its readers each day a comprehensive and concise package of corporate, financial, economic and political news, analysis and commentary. BT also carries features and the latest lifestyle trends in food, entertainment, shopping, arts, health, travel and design.
In June 1995, BT became the first English-language newspaper in Asia to go on the World Wide Web. Since January 2000, BT Online started to be available from 4am Singapore time (GMT +0800) and to offer news updates throughout the day.
Redesigned in September 2004 to engage a new generation of readers, a refreshing blue masthead, bigger fonts and friendlier layout were introduced. The content has been expanded to reflect a complete read, packing in loads of new features, such as specialty pages, a daily take on the health of the Singapore economy and dedicated regional pages.
For more information, visit www.businesstimes.com.sg
About ChildAid Concert
ChildAid is a charity concert in aid of The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund and The Business Times Budding Artists Fund. It is organised by The Straits Times and The Business Times, two newspapers published by Singapore Press Holdings.
The concert is a platform for young talents who have excelled in their field to showcase their talent, be it in singing, playing a musical instrument or dancing. Some past performers who have showcased their talent on the ChildAid stage have won scholarships overseas to further hone their talent.
ChildAid 2013 is now into its ninth year.
For more information, go to www.straitstimes.com/childaid.