It takes a village to raise a child, and in Singapore, it's the idea that many people play a part in helping our children reach their full potential.

Speaking at a PAP Community Foundation (PCF) alumni event on Sunday (Jul. 16), Josephine Teo, the council chairman of the PCF Council of Management, urged Singaporeans to "make opportunities available to our precious little ones".

Teo, who is also Minister for Communications and Information as well as Second Minister for Home Affairs, drew on her own experience as a PCF alumna from the class of 1975.

"It was a very long time ago. And I can tell you that PCF of yesteryears is not like the PCF today," said Teo.

The PCF of today has better facilities, resources, and staff development to help children in their preschool years.

For instance, PCF teachers today have access to professional training and are supported by a curriculum, said Teo.

"Now, this is a kind of an opportunity that we want to make sure is available to all our students, regardless of their family backgrounds, regardless of the resources that they have within their households."

To that end, Teo announced the launch of the PCF Spark Dreams Programme, which would ensure future generations of PCF students will continue to have access to the same opportunities and resources.

The PCF Spark Dreams Programme

Under this programme, PCF will contribute S$660,000 in total.

This money is estimated to benefit 3,000 eligible PCF Sparkletots students from lower-income families as well as children who are supported by the foundation's community partners.

S$400,000 will be allocated directly through a top-up to the Child Development Account (CDA) of eligible children. This money can be used by parents or guardians to meet the educational and healthcare needs of the children.

PCF is also aiming to collect pledges from the public and PCF alumni. In total, the foundation hopes to collect 26,000 pledges.

For each pledge, PCF will donate S$10, up to S$260,000.

The S$260,000 that PCF donates from the pledging initiative will serve two purposes.

S$200,000 will be used for CDA top-ups while the remaining S$60,000 will be allocated to three community partners – the Children's Wishing Well, Be Kind SG, and Rare Disorders Society of Singapore.

These organisations were selected as they support the holistic education and inclusiveness of children and youth from disadvantaged backgrounds and are committed to improving their lives and creating a positive impact.

Giving every child the opportunity to shine

Speaking at the event, Teo urged Singaporeans to contribute and help our children develop:

"Within all of these children who are here today, and amongst the 40,000 children who come to our PCF Sparkletots centres, there are future musicians, there are future singer/songwriters, there are future presidents, scholars, there are future doctors, and who knows, there may be another Minister Lawrence Wong amongst them, another future leader of Singapore, and that's why we are passionate about children. That's why we want to give them every opportunity to shine."

Photos courtesy of PCF.