Project C.A.N.

Visit Project C.A.N. VIII 's website

Introduction

Project C.A.N. ("Collection in Aid of the Needy") was first introduced in 2004 to collect canned food to provide the needy with the most basic human necessity – food. Canned food and dry rations are collected from the public, and then distributed to the less privileged Singaporeans. With this, we aim to encourage the spirit of giving amongst the public, while cultivating compassion and creating awareness of the poor. Unlike other Special Projects in CSC, Project C.A.N. is the only project that has all its activities held outside NUS compound.


Collectng food from residents

Project C.A.N. VIII

Project C.A.N., which stands for Collection in Aid of the Needy, involves collecting canned food and dried rations from the general public to donate to the less privileged in Singapore, as well as generating awareness about the poor and cultivating a strong sense of volunteerism among youth. Started in 2004, Project C.A.N. has helped the less fortunate across areas like Toa Payoh, Bishan, Sembawang and Woodlands. Over the last 7 years, we have succeeded in integrating volunteers, donors and beneficiaries together as one community through the project.

Now in her eighth year, Project C.A.N. VIII took place in the Eastern region of Singapore and we worked closely with Kampong Chai Chee Community Centre Youth Executive Committee (YEC) over a period of 5 months. They have provided us plenty of support in the form of valuable advice, venues, printing and others.

Traditionally, there are 4 phases in Project C.A.N., namely Collect, Challenge, Sort and Distribute, and it was no exception this year. The first phase was C.A.N. Collect, where a total of over 300 volunteers visited 22,033 households in areas like Bedok and Marine Parade, to seek food donations from the residents. One week prior to the event, we also conducted a Publicity Drive, where we delivered flyers door-to-door in an extremely tiring but satisfying process.

The second phase was C.A.N. Challenge, where we set up booths outside 3 NTUC FairPrice supermarkets, located in Bedok Central, Simei Eastpoint and Tampines Mall, to encourage shoppers to buy and donate. Through this activity, volunteers were given a chance to interact with the general public to explain to them about the project and raise awareness about the needy. We have also witnessed the generosity of the shoppers when we saw many of them arrive at our booths with trolleys stacked with food donations.

The third phase was C.A.N. Sort, where we gathered all our food donations at the Community Centre and we sorted them into each and every beneficiary's needs. Back in June, we also conducted a Beneficiary Visit, where we visited all our beneficiaries to find out about their dietary preferences, health conditions and their everyday life.


Lots and lots of C.A.N. foods

The last and final phase, C.A.N. Distribute, was held over 2 days. In this phase, we delivered our food packs to over 480 households in the region. This year, we helped households under Public Assistance Scheme, Community Care Endowment Fund, as well as elderly living in 1-room rental flats. During these 2 days, volunteers got a chance to interact with the beneficiaries to find out more about their lives. We hope that through this experience, volunteers have had a better understanding of the less fortunate in Singapore.

Project C.A.N. VIII concluded at the end of July after the 4 phases. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the organizing committee, who put in an enormous effort to make everything happen, as well as Daryl from Kg Chai Chee CC YEC, who too gave his all for the project. Thank you everybody who has played a part in Project C.A.N. VIII. See you all in Project C.A.N. IX!

Photos