Singapore, 20 November 2019 – Discover Tanjong Pagar, one of nine precincts selected to participate in the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) pilot Business District Improvement (BID) programme, announced the launch of its Tanjong Pagar Gives Back movement today.

This platform is designed to involve and bring the Tanjong Pagar community together in a series of projects, partnerships and activities that give back to society. Under this movement, Discover Tanjong Pagar will roll out three key events over the next few months – a precinct-wide Christmas gift donation drive for underprivileged individuals, greening and enhancement works for Tanjong Pagar community green, as well as Tanjong Pagar Day Out, an event organised by URA as part of the 2019 Architectural Heritage Season.

Chairman of Discover Tanjong Pagar and Group Managing Director of GuocoLand Singapore (国浩房地产（新加坡））, Cheng Hsing Yao (郑馨尧) said, “We want to start a Tanjong Pagar Gives Back movement and create a special Tanjong Pagar – a place that cares about the community that we live and work in. I really value the fact that stakeholders, from the businesses to the residents here, have come together to make it easy for the community to join us in doing what we believe in and encouraging all to make the world a better place, a step at a time starting from where we dwell.”

Precinct-wide Christmas Gift Donation Drive
This Christmas, the community will have an opportunity to play their part in giving back to society. Discover Tanjong Pagar will partner eleven adopted charities, non-profit organisations and social service agencies to spread festive cheer to a group of 1,000 beneficiaries. This will include children in need, youths at risk, vulnerable seniors and migrant workers amongst others. Beneficiaries’ wishes will go up on Christmas trees located in properties around Tanjong Pagar, each belonging to members of Discover Tanjong Pagar. The Tanjong Pagar community and wider public will be invited to come forward, pick a gift request from one of these trees, purchase and donate a gift as a way of fulfilling someone’s wish this Christmas.

To date, gifts requested include toys, stationery and school supplies, as well as food vouchers. These must be dropped-off at the concierge or information counter of each participating property, so that they may be sorted and distributed to the respective beneficiaries in time for Christmas.

Discover Tanjong Pagar has also announced its participation in the Plant-A-Tree programme by the Garden City Fund, a registered charity and Institution of Public Character (IPC) established by the National Parks Board (NParks). 16 trees will be planted at the Tanjong Pagar community green bound by Tras Street, Wallich Street and Peck Seah Street. Eight of these trees have been donated by the eight Discover Tanjong Pagar members, and the other eight, by residents and other stakeholders of Tanjong Pagar. The tree planting will take place on 15 February 2020.

Hsing Yao added, “Discover Tanjong Pagar has worked together with URA to bring 30 chairs to enliven the community green and bring people together. The chairs, decorated by eight young children of Tanjong Pagar, are spruced up with images of trees. The inspiration stemmed from feedback by children from a neighbouring school to plant trees to save the planet. We also want to bring to life the dreams of these children by contributing trees back to the community.”

Day Out at Tanjong Pagar by URA
URA, together with stakeholders in and around the precinct including Discover Tanjong Pagar, will play host to Day Out at Tanjong Pagar on 23 November 2019. This event will feature tours, exhibitions, film screenings, family-friendly activities and pop-up installations held across the precinct, as well as a specially designed self-exploration heritage guide of the area. Discover Tanjong Pagar has also invited Urban Sketchers Singapore to capture the precinct on the day according to four themes: Skyline, Streetscape, Lifestyle and My Tanjong Pagar. Sketchers will paint and portray the cityscape from various vantage points, capture diverse facades, celebrate the development of the precinct and pay homage to its stories of yesteryear.

As Discover Tanjong Pagar continues to advance the next thrust of its placemaking programme, efforts will continue to centre around the greening of Tanjong Pagar, enhancements to public spaces, as well as fun and engaging activities aimed at involving the community and enriching the social fabric of the area. As the success of rejuvenating Tanjong Pagar rests heavily on a collaborative multi-stakeholder approach, involving the community will inspire collective ownership of the precinct and build a sense of belonging and place.