Announcing The Milelion’s Christmas Fundraiser 2021

With just a few weeks left to go in 2021, now’s as good a time as any to take stock of a year that, while perhaps not as crazy as 2020, has still been as trying as any in recent memory. 

I’m looking forward to sharing some annual reflections soon, but in the spirit of the season, I thought I’d kick off our annual Christmas fundraiser first. 

Every year since The Milelion started in 2015, I’ve been using some of the proceeds from the website to support a worthy cause. What’s even more encouraging is how the miles community has come out in support of these campaigns, and collectively we’ve raised more than S$50,000 to date for various charities. 

• 2017: S$5,000 for World Vision Singapore
• 2018: S$980 for World Vision Disaster Response
• 2019: S$11,703 for Methodist Welfare Services
• 2020: S$8,760 for New Hope Community Services, S$5,128 for The Food Bank Singapore, S$18,755 for The Salvation Army

This year, The Milelion’s chosen charity is Care Corner Singapore. 

Why support Care Corner Singapore?

With COVID-19 causing people to spend more time at home than ever before, family services centres are dealing with an unprecedented spike in caseloads.

Unfortunately, this period has seen a rise in cases of domestic abuse and suicides, as well as social isolation issues for seniors and difficulties accessing treatment for chronic health conditions or mental health concerns. 

Care Corner supports the vulnerable, disadvantaged and isolated in the Singapore community through the provision of social and health care services. These include family violence protection, mental health counselling, befriending initiatives for seniors, and intervention programmes for at-risk youths, to name a few. 

You can access Care Corner’s latest annual report and audited financial statements below:

• Annual Report FY20/21
• Financial Statements 

How to Help

Our campaign this year aims to to raise S$20,000 to support the work of Care Corner Singapore. It runs from now till 11.59 p.m on 31 December 2021, and is facilitated through Giving.sg. 

Yes, it’s an ambitious target; previous years’ goals were between $3,000-7,500. But The Milelion Community has always amazed me with their generosity, and I’m excited to see where we land up. 

Donate to the Campaign

I’ve got the ball rolling already, and if this cause resonates with you, would you consider partnering up too?

All donations of at least S$10 qualify for 2.5X tax deductions, and to give you an idea of how your money can go a long way…

• S$10 helps provide 3 nutritious meals for our students at Student Care Centre.
• S$120 helps subsidize an individual’s mental health counselling needs for one session
• S$200 helps subsidize a child with special education needs on therapy for one month
• S$1,000 helps support a youth-at-risk to receive positive guidance and participate in the development programme for a year.

Which credit card should I use for donations?

There’s no shame in wanting to earn some credit card points from your donation. Giving.sg is waiving its usual 3% transaction fee all the way till March 2022, so your chosen cause still receives the full value. 

The following cards earn points on donations:

Card	Earn Rate
AMEX HighFlyer Card	1.8 mpd
AMEX Solitaire PPS Credit Card	1.3 mpd
AMEX PPS Credit Card	1.3 mpd
Maybank Visa Infinite	1.2 mpd
AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend	1.2 mpd
AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card	1.1 mpd
AMEX Platinum Charge	0.78 mpd
AMEX Platinum Reserve	0.69 mpd
AMEX Platinum Credit Card	0.69 mpd
AMEX Rewards Card	0.63 mpd

Conclusion

If your current circumstances make it difficult to support financially, please don’t sweat it. There’ll always be another time, and there’s other opportunities to volunteer or donate in kind.

But for those who did OK for themselves in 2021, would you consider partnering up in whatever small (or big) way you can? 

Thank you for your generosity, and God bless!