Since the 40-Week Friday All-Night Prayer Meetings began on Sep 7, 2012, City Harvest Church has brought a portion of its offerings to bless local charities.
SEP 13: APEX HARMONY LODGE
Apex Harmony Lodge has seven residential wards housing over 200 dementia patients and a day-care center that serves 20. The challenge the Lodge faces is in raising funds to pay for its daily operations. CHC donated S$10,000 to the Lodge, which goes towards meeting this need. Tan Ye Peng, executive pastor of CHC who led the team on the visit said, “It was a privilege for us to witness how others are serving the community.”
SEP 19: MELROSE HOME
Managed by the Children’s Aid Society, Melrose Home houses 65 children and teenagers whose parents or family members are unable to look after them. The home provides residence and also ensures the children attend school. While the government gives support, the home still depends largely on the donations from the public to sustain their operation. The S$10,000 donated by CHC went towards funding the operations of the home.
SEP 26: PERTAPIS CHILDREN’S HOME
Pertapis Children’s Home houses underprivileged children from dysfunctional families who are in need of care and protection. Apart from residential care, the children are given a supportive environment that allows them to develop healthily, both in their body and mind. The CHC team that visited brought a donation of S$8,000.
OCT 19: THE NEW CHARIS MISSION
This halfway house meets the needs of ex-offenders and ex-drug addicts, providing rehabilitation programs, vocational training and assistance with job placement. “Our team also visits a group of elderly people every Wednesday, bringing them food and necessities,” said Don Wong, executive director of TNCM. CHC donated S$13,000 to TNCM, which Wong said would go toward training ex-offenders and benefiting the community.
OCT 25: APSN CENTRE FOR ADULTS
The Centre For Adults set up by Association for People with Special Needs is a place where people with mild intellectual disabilities develop skills for employment and get job placement. CHC donated S$10,000 to the Center For Adults in support of its continual efforts to help people with special needs find their talent and worth in society.
NOV 1: ST LUKE’S ELDERCARE
St Luke’s ElderCare aims to help seniors age gracefully through integrated community care provided at its 11 centers across Singapore. The centers provide wellness programs to promote healthy living among the elderly. The CHC team visited the Hougang center bringing a gift of S$10,000. While the center collects a fee for its services, many needy clients are heavily subsidized. The funds needed to improve the centers’ facilities and to conduct outreach programs are also dependent on donations from the public.
NOV 8: HANDICAP WELFARE ASSOCIATION
The Handicap Welfare Association was founded in 1962 with the aim of helping people with physical disabilities lead an independent life. The two major services offered by HWA are transportation and rehabilitation. It costs HWA S$60,000 a year to operate the vehicles they ferry their clients in and HWA is constantly looking for individuals or corporations to adopt a van. CHC donated S$10,000 to HWA.
SUPPORTING OUR OWN
Offerings collected from the Friday All-night Prayer Meetings also went to supporting educational and charity organizations affiliated to CHC, as well as members of the church who require financial aid. These include: CityCare Limited, City Harvest Community Services Association, House of JOY, People of Destiny, City College, City Harvest Children’s Church and City Harvest Dialect Church.
