Have you used your SingapoRediscovers vouchers? If you have, good for you! There’s plenty in our little red dot that’s just waiting to be explored; struggling businesses will also welcome the much-needed boost in income and visitorship. However, if you haven’t utilised the vouchers and have no intention of doing so, don’t let them go to waste! Why not pay it forward and donate them to others?
Here are a few ways that you can do so:
‘Pay it Forward’ on Trip.com
The good folks over at Trip.com, which is one of the five official booking platforms for the SingapoRediscovers vouchers, have come up with an innovative ‘Pay It Forward’ Campaign. With this campaign, Singaporeans can use their vouchers to purchase various tourism items, such as tickets for attractions, and direct them towards various beneficiary partners.
Currently, Trip.com is on the lookout for donations equal to the value of 100 tickets for the River Safari. These tickets will be given to the beneficiaries of Boys’ Town, to bring 110 children and youths – together with their caregivers! – on a fun-filled outing.
Sponsor trips with ItsRainingRaincoats (IRR)
Social enterprise ItsRainingRaincoats (IRR) has rolled out a similar initiative, where Singaporeans are able to sponsor trips to the Singapore Flyer for migrant workers. This initiative was kickstarted by Jocelyn Lim, one of the team leaders, who took her inspiration from bus rides that they previously organised for migrant workers.
A survey was done among the migrant workers, with many of them viewing the Singapore Flyer to be an attraction that they would possibly never be able to afford and enjoy. IRR has hence decided to collaborate with Klook, another of the five official booking platforms, to make this possible! Visits could start as early as 31st January, with IRR aiming for a total of 1,000 ticket donations. Interested individuals can do their part, and donate their vouchers here!
Unfortunately, 1,000 tickets will not be able to cover all the migrant workers in Singapore – there are over 300,000! – but it’s a good start. As of last Saturday, around 1,400 tickets have already been donated!
Other heartwarming stories have surfaced as well, such as how volunteers from the Mummy Yummy Welfare Organisation Group used their SingapoRediscovers vouchers to allow a homeless man to spend a night at a hotel. The man was waiting for HDB to allocate a flat to him, and had to go for some time without a roof over his head.
$300 worth of vouchers were used to redeem nine days worth of stay at the hotel. Aptly put by one of the group’s members, “if the mountain cannot be moved, we moved around the mountain” – the group hopes to inspire others to do good with their vouchers too! The post garnered 126 comments, with netizens offering to donate their own vouchers as well. Go, Singapore!
Other netizens are also calling for more avenues through which they can donate their vouchers. After all, many donated their $600 Solidarity Payout back in April 2020 to various charities of their choice; so why not the vouchers as well?
The acts of these good samaritans really warm the cockles of all our hearts. A big thank you to everyone who contributed, no matter how big or small, in one way or another!
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