PAP Community Foundation (

abbreviation An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...

: PCF) is a charitable foundation in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

founded by the governing

People's Action Party The People's Action Party (abbreviation: PAP) is a major conservative centre-right political party in Singapore and is one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the opposition Workers' Party (WP) and ...

(PAP). Its aim includes the social and charitable causes between

Singaporeans Singaporeans, or the Singaporean people, refers to Singaporean nationality law, citizens or people who identify with the sovereign island city-state of Singapore. Singapore is a multiracialism, multi-ethnic, multiculturalism, multi-cultural an ...

and the PAP, especially in

preschool A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary school ...

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

eldercare Elderly care, or simply eldercare (also known in parts of the English-speaking world as aged care), serves the needs and requirements of senior citizens. It encompasses assisted living, adult daycare, long-term care, nursing homes (often called re ...

and

community services Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always performed ...

. It also includes offering financial assistance and promoting welfare of its citizens. Since 1986, the foundation has built many kindergartens and centres islandwide providing childcare, student care and aged care services. Centres are also built close to

public housing estates Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authorities, government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the d ...

, such that the centres are all within a close proximity. The incumbent Council Chairwoman is Minister for Communications and Information,

Josephine Teo Josephine Teo Li Min (née Yong; zh, s=杨莉明, t=楊莉明, poj=Iôⁿ Lī-bêng, p=Yáng Lìmíng; born 1968) is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of the Cyb ...

History

The PAP Community Foundation was founded as a charity organization with roots in

Singaporean Singaporeans, or the Singaporean people, refers to citizens or people who identify with the sovereign island city-state of Singapore. Singapore is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-lingual country. Singaporeans of Chinese, Malay, India ...

origins and society, the first chairperson of the board was former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Goh Chok Tong Goh Chok Tong (; born 20 May 1941) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1990 and 2004, and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party between 1992 and 2004. He was the Parliament of Singapore, ...

between 1986 and 1990, followed by former

President of Singapore The president of Singapore is the head of state of the Singapore, Republic of Singapore. The role of the president is to safeguard the Reserves of the Government of Singapore, reserves and the integrity of the Singapore Civil Service, public serv ...

Tony Tan Tony Tan Keng Yam (; born 7 February 1940) is a Singaporean former politician who served as the seventh president of Singapore between 2011 and 2017. He did not seek for a second term as president in 2017 due to a constitutional amendment. ...

and Coordinating Minister for National Security

Teo Chee Hean Teo Chee Hean ( zh, s=张志贤, poj=Tiuⁿ Chì-hiân, p=Zhāng Zhìxián; born 27 December 1954) is a Singaporean politician and former two-star rear-admiral who has been serving as Senior Minister of Singapore since 2019 and Coordinating Min ...

between 1990 and 1999, and 1999 and 2011 respectively. The foundation is headquartered in Upper Changi Road, Singapore. The mission statement state of the foundation is to "enhance the well-being of the community by providing quality educational services at affordable cost, as well as through welfare and community services". The organisation suggests a vision which will "nurture a multi-racial, fair, just and inclusive society by providing educational, welfare and community services." The group has grown to become a heartland centre, with approximately tens of thousands of

children A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

put through its centres in 87 locations. Four notable purposes of PCF are ''Kindergarten'', ''Child Care'', ''Education'', and ''Charity'', with senior care proposed as the next series of implementations. The first senior care centre will be launched from 2014 onwards in

Simei Simei is a subzone located in the eastern part of Singapore, situated within the town of Tampines. The name ''Simei'' is pinyin for "Four Beauties" in Chinese. Formerly known as Tampines South, it was officially renamed to Simei in 1985. Histor ...

, as the first of 10 to 15 such centres it hopes to open in the next five years. The official website for the organization states that the organization started in the 1960s to help prepare children for entry into

primary schools A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

. Classes were conducted in any space available - from 'wayang' stages to shop-houses. In addition to the benefits of having a pre-school education for children, the

also viewed it as a social outreach programme to gain the support of parents From then till 1986, these kindergartens were run by individual party branches in their respective constituency. Currently, the majority of pre-schoolers in Singapore attend one of the PCF-run kindergartens, and the PCF commands about half of Singapore's pre-school market. The foundation is also notable in offering a variety of bursaries and scholarships. In 2021, PCF was recognised as the best workplace in Asia according to Great Place to Work given good workplace and employee support programmes despite the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

Lawrence Wong Lawrence Wong Shyun Tsai ( zh, c=黄循财, p=Huáng Xúncái; born 18 December 1972) is a Singaporean politician, economist and former civil servant who has been serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore since 2022 alongside Heng Swee Keat ...

was the Council Chairman from 2016 to 2022 as

was slated to be

Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore The deputy prime minister of Singapore is the deputy head of government of the Republic of Singapore. The incumbent deputy prime ministers are Heng Swee Keat and Lawrence Wong, who took office on 1 May 2019 and 13 June 2022 respectively. Hist ...

on 13 June.

took over the Council Chairwoman post since 2022.

References

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External links

Official site
1986 establishments in Singapore Charities based in Singapore Foundations based in Singapore Organizations established in 1986 Socialism in Singapore