In the spirit of giving back to the community, FutsalArena @ Yishun Ltd, a social enterprise which runs the Nee Soon Sports Centre, gave back its surplus of around $250,000 to needy residents within Nee Soon GRC on 28 April.
Beneficiaries from 1,160 needy families spread across Nee Soon GRC’s five constituencies received $200 worth of NTUC FairPrice vouchers each. This will go some way in helping them cope with their daily expenses. The beneficiaries were also hosted to lunch and a series of entertaining performances during the event.
FutsalArena @ Yishun has been running sports facilities such as futsal and basketball courts at Nee Soon Sports Centre since 2016.
The success of FutsalArena reflects the hard work and commitment of the different stakeholders in Nee Soon coming together for the common good. FutsalArena not only created a conducive place for leisure, healthy sporting activities for the local community as well as employment opportunities for Nee Soon residents. It also managed to recycle and use its surplus for the more needy residents directly.It is a successful example of how a social enterprise can work and benefit the less fortunate.
Nee Soon GRC MPs including Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Social and Family Development and Education Associate Professor Faishal Ibrahim, Er Dr Lee Bee Wah and Mr Louis Ng presented the residents with the vouchers at the lunch event at MPC @ Khatib.
Minister Shanmugam said that Nee Soon’s kampung spirit is very strong and that has helped the MPs build micro-communities to help different groups of residents, going beyond large government projects.
“Our grassroots and MPs must identify their needs, and the needs are not one-size fits all,” he said.
“Some are health-related, some want to pursue further fulfilment, (there are) different age groups, so you need to target. Parents of young children have different needs from, say, people in their 70s or 80s, cancer support groups have different needs from kampung wellness groups.
“You try and cater across (different groups) and that’s the way you build the relationships and bonds and the links within the community.”
In a speech at the event, Minister Shanmugam assured Pioneer and Merdeka Generation seniors that there are many schemes to help them cope with the cost of living.
“We know our seniors have contributed a lot to our country. We will take care of you,” he said, highlighting support for healthcare costs, long-term care and mobility aids, and income supplements.
Deputy General Manager of FutsalArena, Syed Mohamed Alkhairid said, “Since we started in mid-2016, FutsalArena has operated with the goal of giving back to the community in mind. We offer special rates to residents, schools, students and support grassroots and non-profit organisations. We plan to use a large portion of the surplus from our operations to help needy Nee Soon residents. We look forward to continue working with Nee Soon GRC’s Citizens’ Consultative Committees, Grassroots Organisations and the People’s Association to benefit more residents here.”