SINGAPORE, Jan 12 – The Singapore Buddhist Lodge (SBL) began its annual "angpau” — red packets of money — distribution yesterday, giving S$300 each to over 3,770 beneficiaries who braved the heavy rain.

Singapore’s Straits Times reported that SBL will deliver another S$20 packets and festive items, including longevity buns and oranges, to 8,200 elderly residents across 50 aged-care homes.

"We hope this initiative serves as a catalyst to inspire others to join us in helping the disadvantaged, ensuring they feel cared for and supported as they welcome the new year with hope and warmth,” its president Tan Lee Huak was reported saying.

Tan said the total of S$1.3 million distributed to nearly 12,000 beneficiaries this year was an increase of S$100,000 from the S$1.2 million given out in 2024.

Established in 1949, the lodge has helped over 300,000 people of all backgrounds and distributed more than S$20 million in aid over 77 years.

Tan said the increase in allocation this year is partly due to inflation driven by global uncertainties, including conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, and extreme weather.

Education Minister Chan Chun Sing, who attended the ceremony and helped distribute the angpau emphasised the importance of community solidarity.

"In Singapore, we never define our success just by how well we did for ourselves. We always define our success by how able we are to take care of the weakest, the least, the smallest among us,” Chan reportedly said.