OpenRice Gives Back: Rice and Shine, Singapore!

Last beautiful Saturday morning, I went to Toa Payoh to lend a helping for OpenRice's Rice and Shine event. I am supposed to bring my girl along to expose her in doing charity works but she suddenly developed colds and flu on Friday night so I let her have a good rest at home instead and went solo.

OpenRice Singapore gave out 250kg of rice to the needy Singaporeans in Toa Payoh and I was honoured to be invited to participate in the event. I have been an Openricer for some time now and I attest that attending their charity related event beats attending their food tasting sessions. I get to satisfy my tummy from the latter while I get to feed my soul with the former. I wish there will be more of it in the future.

Here's the official press release from OpenRice Singapore about the event:

BRINGING SMILES TO NEEDY FAMILIES IN TOA PAYOH

OpenRice Singapore’s first social initiative “Rice and Shine” saw 250kg of rice donated

to 50 needy households across Toa Payoh

Singapore, January 13, 2014 – OpenRice Singapore, with the objective to ease the burden of low-income families in need of food, has partnered with Central Singapore Community Development Council (CDC) and Care Corner Family Service Centre (Toa Payoh), in its first ever social initiative titled, “Rice and Shine”. The project raised 2,500 pledges from Singaporeans via the OpenRice.com food portal from 1st October till 31st December 2013, amounting to a total of 250kg of rice being donated to 50 needy households in Toa Payoh.

Making A Difference Through Rice

In the first 10 months of 2013, CDCs across Singapore reported an 11% increase in the number of
Singaporeans approaching the CDC for social assistance. The OpenRice “Rice and Shine” project seeks to elevate some of the burden from these families by providing them with a staple food item – Rice. “While Singaporeans use OpenRice to search for good food every day, it is also very important to consider the needs of the underprivileged population. Hence, we feel that we should do our part to contribute back to the community; And what better way than to spread the joy and warmth of eating through donating rice, an essential food item in many Singaporean households” said Kenett Wong, Country Manager of OpenRice Singapore. “Especially with Lunar New Year just around the corner, we hope that our small gesture of kindness will bring a smile to these families” added Kenett.

Singapore’s Largest Rice Mural

On 11 January 2014, the 50 beneficiaries who signed up with Care Corner FSC (Toa Payoh) together with the OpenRice team and member-volunteers, gathered at Toa Payoh Central Community Club for the “Rice and Shine” event. In the spirit of spreading the festive joy, a two by two meter rice mural resembling the iconic OpenRice Smiley was completed with the help of all the attendees.
“Constructed using expired rice, our Smiley rice mural was truly the main highlight of the event. It was very heart-warming to see families gather around and contribute to the rice mural. The Rice and Shine project was aimed at bringing joy to these underprivileged families and I’m happy that the event turned out to be a great success.” said Jeremy Ee, Assistant Marketing Manager of OpenRice Singapore.

Paying It Forward

“We want to instil a sense of volunteerism into the members of the OpenRice community and educate
them about the needs of the underprivileged population. We are glad to have received very positive
feedback and are extremely grateful that they have played a part to make Rice and Shine a success” said Kenett Wong. “OpenRice Singapore will definitely be keen to explore more of such social initiatives in the future” added Kenett.

About OpenRice Singapore
OpenRice.com is Asia’s Premier Dining Guide, featuring a comprehensive restaurant search engine with over 25,000 F&B listings and more than 70,000 user-contributed food reviews. Our growing community of food lovers come to us to search for dining ideas and share their dining experiences by posting food photos and reviews. OpenRice has presence in China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Taiwan. For more information on OpenRice, please visit www.OpenRice.com.

Thank you OpenRice team for letting us be a part of this heart-warming cause. Well done, everyone! Until next time!


*Some of the photos used in this post is OpenRice Singapore's official photos of the event.