<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Lunch box fund for needy students <!--10 min-->
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"-->A $50,000 Lunch Box Fund has been set up to provide needy students with pocket money to buy meals from the school canteen when they have to stay back for school activities.
For a start, 352 students from 22 North East schools will benefit from the fund set up by Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) and North East CDC, and administered by Student Advisory Centre.
'The effort hopes to ease the financial burden of needy families and allow students to stay focus on their studies,' said a statement from the North East CDC on Monday.
Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed, Mayor for North East CDC, said: 'Just because prices of canteen foods are not increasing, do not mean students are immune to inflation. They suffer the ripple effects.'
'Some come from large families or even have single parents. With the increase in prices, these families may fall short of resources and every penny now counts. As a result, we might see students suffering in silence, even to the extent of skipping meals to save money. The Lunch Box Fund is here to help.' Mr Zainul Abidin, who is the Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, will launch the fund on Tuesday at Damai Secondary School.
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"-->A $50,000 Lunch Box Fund has been set up to provide needy students with pocket money to buy meals from the school canteen when they have to stay back for school activities.
For a start, 352 students from 22 North East schools will benefit from the fund set up by Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) and North East CDC, and administered by Student Advisory Centre.
'The effort hopes to ease the financial burden of needy families and allow students to stay focus on their studies,' said a statement from the North East CDC on Monday.
Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed, Mayor for North East CDC, said: 'Just because prices of canteen foods are not increasing, do not mean students are immune to inflation. They suffer the ripple effects.'
'Some come from large families or even have single parents. With the increase in prices, these families may fall short of resources and every penny now counts. As a result, we might see students suffering in silence, even to the extent of skipping meals to save money. The Lunch Box Fund is here to help.' Mr Zainul Abidin, who is the Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, will launch the fund on Tuesday at Damai Secondary School.
