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Otters become mascots for a good cause - to aid ST fund

STSPMF general manager Tan Bee Heong and Millennium Hotels and Resorts vice-president of operations (SEA) Lee Richards with beneficiaries Loh Miao Xin (centre), 18; her brother Khim San, 13; and S. Mugunthesh, nine, at Orchard Hotel yesterday, where the youngsters received otter plushies and Christmas gift hampers. 
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG

This year has been tough for polytechnic student Loh Miao Xin, 18, and her brother Khim San, 13.

Their mother, a single parent, lost her job at a Thai food hawker stall during the circuit breaker period.

For the past year, Miao Xin and her brother, a Secondary 1 student at Ping Yi Secondary School, have been beneficiaries of The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund (STSPMF).

Set up in 2000 to provide pocket money to children from low-income families, the STSPMF has since disbursed more than $80 million to help over 180,000 cases.

The money helps Miao Xin pay for travel from her Bedok home to Singapore Polytechnic, where she is a first-year student.

Another beneficiary, S. Mugunthesh, a nine-year-old Primary 3 pupil at Tampines Primary School, uses the money for his tuition fees and school supplies.

The three youngsters yesterday received otter plushies and Christmas gift hampers from Mr Lee Richards, general manager of Orchard Hotel Singapore.

The event marked the launch of Millennium Hotels and Resorts' (MHR) Otter Family Christmas Adventure staycation package, which includes family-themed rooms and Christmas goodies. For every package purchased this month, $20 will go towards the STSPMF.

The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund beneficiaries Loh Miao Xin (left), her brother Khim San (right) and S. Mugunthesh at Orchard Hotel on Dec 8, 2020. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG

Mr Richards, who is also MHR's vice-president of operations (SEA), said the otter theme was chosen as the animal is family-oriented.

Ms Tan Bee Heong, STSPMF's general manager, said: "We are glad to celebrate Christmas this year with a very meaningful initiative as more funds are needed for our students from low-income families."

The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Reproduced with permission.