*Editor's note (July 17, 2:45pm): We have received feedback from the event organizers and have updated details in the article accordingly.

Close to 500 participants and volunteers turned up at Punggol Park early Sunday morning on July 16 to participate in the inaugural community walk organised by the charity arm of the Workers' Party.

The WP Community Fund (WPCF) had organised the event to publicise its work as an independently registered charity.

The 3.8km walk was flagged off by WP Secretary-General and also WPCF chairman Low Thia Khiang, as participants clad in the blue, aided by volunteers in yellow, started from the Punggol Park Pavilion, walked along Serangoon River (Sengkang East Drive), before heading back to the Pavilion from the other side of the park.

Formed in February 2014

The WP is believed to be the first opposition party to set up a community fund.

Responding to queries about WPCF in June 2014, Low had said that the party had set up a welfare fund after winning Aljunied GRC in 2011, under its Aljunied Constituency Committee to provide interim aid to residents

"After settling more urgent constituency and grassroots matters which then gave WP MPs a chance to look at how the WP can better assist needy residents, it was felt that setting up an independent organisation as a charity with clear objectives would draw a clear line between political work and social and charitable work."

Formally formed on Feb. 27, 2014, the WPCF currently runs a number of programmes that include interim financial assistance, recycling, food distribution, learning facilitation and health-related events.

Besides Low Thia Khiang, its board of seven directors also includes Members of Parliament Png Eng Huat, Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap and Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) Dennis Tan.

Deputy Chairman of WPCF Tan Hui Tsing told Mothership.sg:

"Our programmes are mainly run and accessed by residents within our elected and contested constituencies but we also reach out from time to time, to residents outside these areas, but that largely depends on referrals and our ability to meet their particular needs."

Celebrating WP60

WP will be 60 years old this November.

Celebrating it with the theme "Walking with Singapore", the highlight will be a dinner event in November, where a publication to commemorate the event will be released.

All WP parliamentarians, except Party Chairman Sylvia Lim who was travelling, turned up for the Sunday event. Booths and activities were also set up to engage the participants after the walk.

It was also a chance for WP MPs to hang out with their supporters.

MP Chen Show Mao who had mounted a challenge for the party leadership was also there, mingling with the crowd.

Looks like the spirit of cohesion is still in the air.

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Top photo from WPCF Facebook