Ms Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, and Ministry of Communications and Information

Our partners, sponsors and volunteers

Participants of the SPD Ability Walk 2018

Ladies and Gentlemen

Welcome
Good morning and a very warm welcome to the SPD Ability Walk 2018. I hope you are all enjoying your morning so far. First and foremost, I would like to thank you all for waking up early this Sunday morning and joining us here for this charity walk.

We are excited to be able to hold this year’s event at the beautiful Asian Civilisations Museum with the iconic Singapore River as our backdrop.

Objectives of the Walk
The SPD Ability Walk was started in 2016 to raise funds so that we can continue to help people with disabilities to reach their potential through our programmes and services. It also plays a public education role – that of providing opportunities for persons with and without disabilities to walk together and interact with one another so as to increase understanding and acceptance of the special needs community. You’ll find a number of experiential activities along the three-kilometres route and at the post-walk carnival. We hope you’ll learn a bit more about disabilities and the challenges they pose. I encourage all of you to try out these activities.

 
Thanking Supporters & Partners
This being the third year of the SPD Ability Walk, we are very grateful to those sponsors and partners who have been supporting us since the first SPD Ability Walk. They are TechnipFMC, Jurong Port, Phillips 66, Exyte, Eureka! Campaign Associates and That Marketing Guy. We are happy that Hai Leck Holdings Ltd as well as Melbourne Specialist International School and White Lodge Education Group Services Pte Ltd have also come on board as sponsors this year. Not forgetting those participants here today who have been walking with us since 2016 and last year too. A big thank you to all of you.

We are also very heartened to have among us today companies that passionately encouraged their staff to sign up, family and friends who made pacts with one another to come walk with us or volunteer their time. Thank you for believing in our mission and walking the talk to make our society a welcoming one for people with disabilities. To our new friends among us this year who responded to our appeal for support, thank you, and we hope all of you will continue to stay connected and engaged with us.

Conclusion
Last and certainly not least, to our Guest-of-Honor Ms Sim Ann, thank you for gracing us with your presence and doing us the honour of flagging off the walk.

Let us all enjoy this morning’s walk together, soaking in the sights and sounds that the Singapore River has to offer. And we’ll meet at the carnival ground after the walk where treats, performances and more activities are in store.

Thank you