On 5 May 2010, staff from the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) and industry partners came together for a good purpose – to raise funds for ST School Pocket Money Fund’s needy school children. Through its Charity Night, an event which featured a dinner with ingredients donated by the industry partners and AVA, a charity auction, and entertaining performances, a total of $450,000 was raised.
Generous donations from guests at the dinner came in when Guest-of-Honour, Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong, and Parliamentary Secretary for National Development, Dr Mohamad Maliki bin Osman, took the stage to showcase their musical talent.
While Dr Maliki serenaded the audience with his special rendition of ‘月亮代表我的心’, a popular Mandarin song (‘The moon represents my heart’) on the guzheng, a Chinese musical instrument, Minister Gan also got guests to open their wallets by singing the same song. Upon popular request, Dr Maliki even put up an encore performance of ‘Listen to the Rhythm of the Falling Rain’.
Speaking at the dinner, Minister Gan commended AVA for its efforts to forge an even closer working relationship with the industry in order to address problems and explore new ways of doing things.
“Only through such collaboration can we progress,” he said.
True enough, AVA had a lot of help from its industry partners in making the Charity Night a success. Not only did the local farms, processing companies and slaughterhouses buy tables at the charity dinner, they also donated food and items for its charity auction.
Among the delicacies that the 800 guests tucked into were canapes made from sponsored Wagyu beef, quail eggs, duck meat, spring quail, frog legs and swordfish belly. They also enjoyed eight courses featuring sponsored ingredients like duck breast, eggs laid by Cordyceps-fed chickens, sakura chicken which is said to be leaner and antibiotic-free, rack of lamb, and prawns.
Knight Frank conducting the auction gratis in her effort
to raise funds for the needy school children.
Meanwhile, the exciting items placed for auction included a terrarium donated by the National Parks Board (NParks), a limited edition sparkling wine, two pots of bonsais, return economy class air tickets to Shanghai, a dragon sculpture, Koi, arowanas and an unnamed orchid. Close to $100,000 was raised from the Charity Auction alone.
“The success of AVA's Charity Night is but an example of the heights we can scale when we work hand in hand with our industry partners,” said AVA CEO Ms Tan Poh Hong in her speech to show appreciation to the industry partners for their strong support.
The success of AVA's Charity Night is but an example of the heights
we can scale when we work hand in hand with our industry partners.  CEO, AVA, Ms Tan Poh Hong
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