the emma yong fund

"Without your support I cannot imagine how I would have managed the extensive hospital bills … I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at The Emma Yong Fund."
- Suven Chan, Lighting Designer and beneficiary of The Emma Yong Fund

The Emma Yong Fund was set up in 2012 for theatre practitioners who suffer from major conditions and diseases. Many theatre practitioners do not have regular salaries, as they are freelance artistes, cast, crew and other personnel who work on and off stage on an ad hoc project basis.

Administration and Management

The Emma Yong Fund is administered, operated and managed by The Community Foundation of Singapore, in consultation with the Grant Authorisation Committee.

Objectives

The main objective of the fund is to give financial aid to theatre practitioners in Singapore suffering from cancer and other critical conditions and illnesses, by making available fixed monetary disbursements every quarter. These disbursements may be used to defray part of a theatre practitioner’s daily living expenses or other needs.

The other objective of the fund is to raise the awareness of and need for adequate medical insurance amongst Singapore's theatre community and educate them about it. This is done with the help of the Singapore Cancer Society which has been tasked with designing and distributing materials tailored specially for theatre practitioners, many of whom are freelance artists, cast and crew members, who do not have any, or adequate, medical insurance.

You can find a brochure about the Emma Yong Fund at this link: The Emma Yong Fund Brochure. 

Fundraising Activities

Upon Emma’s passing in 2012, her friends from the theatre community came together to reaffirm their enduring love for her, in a concert celebrating her life called "We  Emma". It was a one-night only, memorial, and fundraising concert, staged at the Esplanade Concert Hall. Some of the more prominent names in Singapore theatre relived the songs Emma loved, or performed, during her illustrious career. They were assisted by the tireless efforts of all the backstage crew and administrative staff working behind the scenes, all of whom, had worked with, or knew Emma before, and made the concert possible. All the proceeds from the "We  Emma" concert were contributed to The Emma Yong Fund.

Apart from that, donations for The Emma Yong Fund were collected at donation boxes at some theatre productions and events, like, Dream Academy’s Crazy Christmas, Happy Ever Laughter, Kumar: What Makes a Man a Man, W!ld Rice’s Jack and the Beansprout and the 13th Life! Theatre Awards.

Accounts
(As of 21 July 2020)

Total Amount raised is $547,179.27, of which:

• $367,113.52 is deposited into the Endowment Fund; and
• $180,065.75 is made available as part of a Flow-through Fund.

Total amount disbursed is $119,710.77, including:

• $90,000 was disbursed to eligible applicants from 2012-2018;
• $36,900 was disbursed to the Singapore Cancer Society, in November 2013.

$60,368.78 from the Flow-through Fund will be transferred to the principal of the endowment Emma Yong Fund and then closed by August 2020. The remaining endowment Emma Yong Fund has $92,459.46 available for disbursement.

All donations are made to the principal of the endowment Emma Yong Fund, which is invested over time with the annual distributable income from such investment being used for grant-making purposes.  The capital sum is left untouched unless the amount disbursed each year exceeds the income derived from such investment.  The Emma Yong Fund is held for as long as there are sufficient funds and will continue to support its charitable purpose.

Eligibility:

A theatre practitioner¹ that

• is a Singaporean citizen, permanent resident, employment pass holder or who is, at the time of application, residing in Singapore;
• is diagnosed with a critical illness²;
• (i) does not have a gross monthly household income exceeding $8,000; or
  (ii) does not have any regular personal income and was the family’s sole or main breadwinner, since diagnosis;
• completes and submits the Grant Application Form to The Community Foundation of Singapore.
• has not previously received more than $20,000 from the Emma Yong Fund within the last calendar year.

Provided always that the Emma Yong Fund Grant Authorisation Committee (the “Committee”), with the approval of The Community Foundation of Singapore, may, at their sole discretion, at any time, waive any of the eligibility requirements stated above, on a case by case basis.

Application:

Please fill up the Grant Application form and send it, together with the relevant documents, to:

contactus@cf.org.sg
(Subject: Emma Yong Fund Application)

OR

ATTN: Emma Yong Fund Application
The Community Foundation of Singapore
6 Eu Tong Sen Street #04-88
The Central
Singapore 059817

¹For the purposes of the fund, a theatre practitioner includes but is not limited to any actor, performer, singer, dancer, writer, producer, production manager, director, stage or production crew member, technical director, technical manager, lighting designer, light board operator, sound designer, sound engineer, sound operator, set designer, art designer, photographer, videographer, multi media artist, production engineer, music director, musician, stage manager and assistant stage manager, stage hand, hair stylist, makeup artist, costume designer, dresser, arts administrator, manager, or any person who contributes to the creation, production, or execution of a theatre production whether, on stage, off stage, back stage, or at the “front of house”, including but not limited to, any service provider, vendor or sub-contractor that provides any services in relation to a theatre production or the marketing, publicity or merchandise in relation to such theatre production. In determining whether a person is a theatre practitioner, the “Committee may, but is not obliged to, adopt the following guidelines: a person who has been involved in at least 4 theatre productions in the last 24 months and/or 10 theatre productions in the past 10 years. For the purposes of the fund, a theatre production means a play, musical, performance art, mime, variety show, stand up comedy, cabaret, or puppet show, performed on stage, in Singapore, in front of a live audience, put up or produced by a registered theatre company or theatre production company, in Singapore, including school shows conducted as part of the theatre-in-education programme, but excluding pure dance performances by dance groups (e.g. Singapore Dance Theatre) and pure music performances by music groups (e.g. Chinese Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Choirs, Bands). The final determination of whether an applicant is a theatre practitioner for the purposes of obtaining financial assistance under the fund will be determined by The Community Foundation of Singapore in consultation with the Committee, in their absolute discretion.

²The diagnosis should be evidenced by a medical certificate or report issued by a qualified medical practitioner in Singapore that the applicant has contracted or is suffering from an illness or health condition, that is life threatening, or which will cause total or permanent disability, including but not limited to SARS, MERS, bird flu, HIV, Aids, any existing or new, epidemic, pandemic, other disease, or any of the critical illnesses, set out in any reputable insurance company’s critical insurance policies:
1. Major Cancers
2. Heart Attack of Specified Severity
3. Coronary Artery By-pass Surgery
4. Stroke
5. Kidney Failure
6. Coma
7. Paralysis (Loss of Use of Limbs)
8. Heart Valve Surgery
9. Blindness (Loss of Sight)
10. Deafness (Loss of Hearing)
11. Loss of Speech
12. Multiple Sclerosis
13. Fulminant Hepatitis
13. Major Organ/ Bone Marrow Transplantation
14. Primary Pulmonary Hypertension
15. Alzheimer's Disease/ Severe Dementia
16. Surgery to Aorta
17. Major Burns
18. Terminal Illness
19. HIV due to Blood Transfusions and Occupational Acquisition
20. End Stage Lung Disease
21. End Stage Liver Failure
22. Muscular Dystrophy
23. Parkinson's Disease
24. Aplastic Anaemia
25. Angioplasty and Other Invasive Treatment for Coronary Artery
26. Bacterial Meningitis
27. Benign Brain Tumour
28. Viral Encephalitis
29. Motor Neurone Disease

"Thank you for your kind donation, well wishes and prayers. It has been two years since I was diagnosed with chronic leukemia in my bone marrow, acute leukemia and lymphoma in my nymph nodes.

After undergoing three courses of chemo, six 30-minute full body radiotherapy sessions and a stem cell transplant I was finally discharged after a six month stay in hospital. Currently, I am still on medication for chronic leukemia.

Without your support I cannot imagine how I would have managed the extensive hospital bills. It has been a year since my discharge and I have spent it resting at home. The road to recovery is long and I hope to go back to work as soon as my red blood count reaches a healthy level.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at The Emma Yong Fund.

I would also like to thank all my friends whom I have crossed paths with over the years for their thoughts, prayers and generous support.

Finally I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all the doctors, nurses and staff of the SGH Hematology department.

God Bless."

Suven Chan
Lighting Designer and beneficiary of The Emma Yong Fund

Cash/Cheque

If paying by cheque, please make your cheque payable to "The Community Foundation of Singapore" and at the back, please indicate "The Emma Yong Fund",  and send the donation form together with the cheque to the address below.

If paying by cash other than through a donation box for The Emma Yong Fund, please complete the donation form and bring your cash down to:

The Community Foundation of Singapore
6 Eu Tong Sen Street #04-88
The Central
Singapore 059817

Online

Alternatively, you may donate online through Giving.SG donation here (please note that bank charges or administration fees may be charged)

Tax Deductions

All corporate or individual donors, donating to The Emma Yong Fund, will receive a tax-deduction upon the fulfillment of their donation. A hard copy of the tax-deductible receipt is available on request from the Community Foundation of Singapore.

For corporate donors, please provide your full company name, address and ACRA Registration Number.

For individuals, please provide your full name and your identity card or passport number.