Adopt a FFL Share-the-Care Basket & involve our kids in showing appreciation to our unsung heroes

With the impact of Covid-19 - and its escalation around the world as I type this - it is perhaps inevitable that families have been spending more time at home.

And if you have kids like I do, then you will understand when I say staying cooped up at home with them can sometimes drive me up the wall... and age a few years at the same time. 😅 But hey, let's all look on the bright side because as with all situations, there are teachable moments we can share with our kids too.

Which why Families for Life (FFL) kick-started t the FFL movement last Sunday with the “Share-the-Care” launch which supports the nation-wide movement #SGUNITED and aims to encourage families to bond and look beyond themselves to encourage and appreciate our community’s unsung heroes and their families during this period.

For starters, together with People’s Association (PA), Dads for Life (DFL), Mums for Life (MFL) and the National Library Board (NLB), FFL has put together the FFL “Share-the-Care” basket which comprises of games and craft activities that families can do together at home.

Together with other families, we helped to pack close to 100 baskets at Jurong Spring last Sunday morning.

The “Share-the-Care” basket contains the following games and craft activities for family bonding:

- Families for Life (FFL) – FFL Council Chairman’s note to families, DIY materials for the red ribbon badge of appreciation, traditional games (five stones, paper ball)

- MSF Baby Bonus Parenting Resources – Fingerprinting kit, reading and rhyme cards

- Dads for Life – “Knowing Me, Knowing You” family card game, A note to Fathers and Mothers

- People’s Association – Playdate kit, containing 7 family games and activities

- National Library Board - Reading interest profiling toolkit for parent-child bonding

More importantly, it includes a very important item. See the text highlighted in red above?

The basket contains materials for families to make a simple Share-the-Care Red Ribbon Badge of Appreciation, which families can give personally to everyday unsung heroes in their community to show their appreciation.

These include those who keep our community clean and safe or those who help us go about our lives normally such as the cleaners in our estates, bus drivers, school bus drivers and so forth. You can even let your kids bring it to school and have them show their appreciation for the school's canteen aunty or uncle, and school cleaners!

In fact, you don't even need to have the basket to make your own Red Ribbon Badge of Appreciation. All you need is to get some red ribbons from either Popular bookstore or any craft store and you can make the badges with your kids! Here are the instructions:

You can download the badge template below and print it out:

So if you wish to adopt an FFL Share-the-Care basket and pay it forward to our unsung community heroes, all you have to do it is to indicate your interest HERE.

Even though the basket is FREE to adopt, please note that each household is entitled to one basket on a first come, first served basis. As of now, there are 1,000 baskets to be given away... while stocks last! Do like Families for Life's Facebook page so that you are kept updated of the details.

And if you are one of the lucky recipients of the basket, you can even consider paying it forward by by filling it with your own care items and gift it to everyday unsung heroes in the community, or to families who may need them!

Personally, I feel it is a meaningful platform for parents to lead by example for our kids. We all know how kids tend to mimic our actions rather than listening to us. The FFL Share-the-Care basket allows us parents to impart to our kids a heart of gratitude for others who had worked tirelessly behind the scenes to keep Singapore moving.

All with a simple act of appreciation with the red ribbon badge.