Date: 28 July 2019

Singapore, 28 July 2019: More than 7,600 participants took part in the Singtel–Singapore Cancer Society Race Against Cancer (RAC) 2019, raising over S$1.1 million for cancer patients and their families.

Over the past 10 years, RAC has raised more than $9 million to support Singapore Cancer Society (SCS) programmes and services that help cancer patients and their families. Guest-of-Honour Mr Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Education, witnessed a cheque presentation of $250,000 from Singtel to SCS, before flagging off the 15km run.

Since the inception of RAC, Singtel Touching Lives Fund has contributed $2.25 million to the SCS Help the Children and Youth Programme. This fund has supported SCS to set up several initiatives that cater to the educational, financial and social needs of the young who are impacted by cancer in the family.

Mr Yuen Kuan Moon, Chairman of the Singtel Touching Lives Fund and CEO, Consumer Singapore at Singtel, said, “Singtel is committed to the wellbeing of our people and our communities. We have been supporting the Race Against Cancer since it started in 2009 as we know that cancer affects the lives of so many among us. Our long-running partnership with SCS is an important collaboration that enables us to promote healthy lifestyles, which is key to prevention, and also raise much needed funds for the fight against cancer. I am heartened to see that more than 500 2 Singtel colleagues and their family members and friends have joined in to show their support.”

Mr Albert Ching, Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Cancer Society said, “RAC invites people of all walks of life to join in the fight and run alongside those who are impacted by cancer. SCS is deeply encouraged to see so many participants and volunteers coming together to support the cancer community. With such support SCS can continue to strengthen efforts to minimise cancer and maximise lives through a holistic care system for the cancer community, journeying along with cancer patients through the different life stages. We also thank our valued partner, Singtel, for standing by us in the fight against cancer over the years. With everyone’s dedication to champion this cause with all of us, no one needs to fight cancer alone.”

Funds raised from RAC goes towards supporting SCS programmes and services. These include the Cancer Care Fund, Cancer Support Groups, Hospice Home Care, Cancer Rehabilitation Centre, Help the Children and Youth, SCS Cancer Treatment Fund and the SCS Welfare Aid.

Spearheading the Fight Against Cancer for the Past 11 Years
RAC is one of the longest standing and largest charity runs in Singapore since it first started in 2009. As SCS celebrates its 55th anniversary this year, a new race distance of 5.5km was introduced to the Fun Run category.

SCS strives to Serve More and Serve Better by providing cancer screening services at no charge, and promotes cancer awareness and prevention through its public education and community outreach programmes island-wide. Last year, the society reached out to more than 76,000 individuals through our cancer screening, as well as public educational and community outreach programmes. 

SCS also assisted some 1,892 individuals from needy or financially challenged families at every stage of treatment to alleviate the cost burden, support them in their illness, and help with the provision of critical supplies to enhance their quality of life.

41 year old Mr. Basri Bin Abdul Rahman is one such beneficiary who has been under the SCS Welfare assistance since Feb 2017 and benefited from the assistance. The father of 3 and sole bread winner of the family was diagnosed with rectal cancer. SCS assisted him with milk supply, diapers and stoma aid. His 3 children are also being supported under the SCS Education Financial Assistance (since Feb 2017) and tuition services (since 2018). In April 2019, two of the children received the SCS Achievement Award. With SCS helping to mitigate the financial strain, Mr Basri and his family have been able to better cope with challenges they faced during the cancer journey.

Remarkable Support from Community
Such community event like this provides a platform for the public to come together and show support. RAC 2019 received encouraging and enthusiastic support from the community, including: 

• 57 cancer patients and survivors from the various SCS support groups such as SCS New Voice Club (Nasopharyngeal Cancer), SCS Walnut Warriors (Prostate Cancer), SCS Colorectal Support Group (Colorectal Cancer), Lung Cancer Support Group (Lung Cancer), SCS Reach to Recovery (Breast Cancer) and SCS Bishana (Female Cancer Survivors)
  
• Charity RACers, who besides declaring their fight against cancer, also raised funds for SCS. This year 42 Charity RACers raised over S$60,000.
  
• 10 senior executives from companies across Singapore came together as ‘CEOs Against Cancer’, a category that was introduced in 2015, to provide community leadership and raise funds from their business and personal network. Apart from participating in the race, they had also set up personal 4 fundraising pages to collect donations totalling close to S$58,000 from their contacts.

List of participants (alphabetical order):
Mr Adrian Ang
CEO, SGAG Media Pte Ltd

Mr Choy Kem-Wah
Vice President, Singapore MFG Operations Thermo Fisher Scientific

Mr Colin Chu
Senior Vice President, Partnerships & Regional Placement, Liberty Insurance

Mr How Ti Hwei
Country President, AstraZeneca Singapore Pte Ltd

Mr Jean Drouffe
CEO, AXA Insurance Pte Ltd

Mr Guillermo Frydman
Managing Director, ONE J&J Southeast Asia

Mr Ravi Shastri
Vice President / General Manager, Southeast Asia & Taiwan Thermo Fisher Scientific

Ms Serene Wee
CEO, Icon SOC Pte Ltd Mr Shane Chang 5 Head of Marketing, APAC, HMD Global

Mr William Woo
Group Chief Information Officer, Singtel 

• 35 teams took part in the 10km Team Challenge
  
  While SCS does its utmost to reduce cancer incidence through various upstream cancer prevention programmes and public education awareness & outreach activities, community involvement is crucial in supporting the cancer community.
  
  Celebrities and influencer showed their support to the cancer community by participating in RAC. 12 cast members from the Channel 5 hit series ‘Kin’, such as Bridget Fernandez, Gayathri Segaran, Adlina Adil, and Jason Godfrey, came together and participated in RAC in the 5.5km Fun Run. Vasantham Channel celebrities such as, Narainda Subramaniam and Hamsapriyeyah managed by Empire Artistes also showed their support by taking part in the 5.5km Fun Run. Radio DJ Joakim Gomez (15km) and social media influencer Victoria Cheng (5.5km) also participated in the race. MediaCorp stars, Pan Ling Ling and Hong Ling, made a special appearance during the event.
  
  RAC also saw support from 489 volunteers, 157 Cancer survivor participants from 14 to 76 years old, 104 Corporates which comprised of 25 corporate teams and 35 corporate sponsors.
  
  

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For more information, please contact:

Kumudha Panneerchelvam
Singapore Cancer Society
DID: 6436 5237
Mobile: 9819 6589Email: kumudha_P@singaporecancersociety.org.sg

Celia Au
Singapore Cancer Society
DID: : 6421 5801
Mobile: 9668 9465
Email: celia_au@singaporecancersociety.org.sg

About Singtel–Singapore Cancer Society Race Against Cancer
Singtel is the title sponsor of Race Against Cancer, an annual fundraising event organised by Singapore Cancer Society. Proceeds from this event go towards supporting SCS’s cancer treatment subsidies, welfare assistance, cancer rehabilitation, hospice care, cancer screenings, research and public education initiatives.
A donation of $200,000 in 2009 kick-started the SCS Help the Children and Youth Programme, to help children and youths whose lives have been affected by cancer. Since 2014, Singtel has increased its contribution to $250,000 annually in support of the programme. The funds are used for home tuition services, school allowance grants, annual book prizes, youth camps and family engagement activities. In addition, Singtel provides in-kind sponsorship for the race pack and prizes for the Race Against Cancer, and also helps to promote participation by publicising the event at Singtel shops and media outlets such as Singtel TV.

About Singapore Cancer Society (www.singaporecancersociety.org.sg)
Established in 1964, Singapore Cancer Society is a self-funded voluntary welfare organisation which provides patient care services to needy cancer patients through its welfare, hospice home care, cancer treatment subsidy and rehabilitation support programmes. In addition, the Society also provides free cancer screening services and promotes cancer awareness and prevention through its public education and community outreach programmes.