Singapore Management University undergraduate Wang Peng Fei is back in action again (read about his previous project – WishWuhanWell and other stories here) with “Project Flowers For Frontline”. About a week after the completion of his previous project WishWuhanWell in early March, Peng Fei, a second year Business student, thought of a new initiative to help the local community.

The first group that came to his mind was the frontline workers at National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID). He then decided to form another project team to offer moral support in the form of personal care packages for the frontline workers at NCID.

On 15 April 2020, 100 specially curated care packages, each comprising an appreciation card, Elijiah Pies, Nivea hand cream, Baby’s Breath flowers, were delivered to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) by four representatives from the team. NCID’s HR Director, Esabella Chan received the care packages on behalf of the staff.

At the initial stage of the Project, the cross-institutional student team thought about raising funds to bring in medical equipment but soon realised that this was not feasible as the virus outbreak had caused many countries to restrict their export of essential medical equipment. Then a volunteer proposed flowers and appreciation cards to boost the morale of frontline workers. This led to further building on that idea and for the team to come up with a care package instead. They asked their friends in medical schools and doctors that they had worked with for Project WishWuhanWell what items they would need the most during this period.

With the list of potential items, the team then cold-emailed up to 50 suppliers to obtain the items. Even before the Circuit Breaker measures kicked in, responses were low. In the end, Elijah Pies and Far East Flora offered their support by giving the team huge discounts for their bulk purchase, way below the market rate. They also purchased the hand cream online and had the items delivered to their homes.

According to Peng Fei, “With the previous experiences in WishWuhanWell, the process has become much smoother. I managed to assemble both the volunteer team and an organising committee within two days. I have realised one key lesson after the two initiatives – love and thoughtfulness for others is always the best way to get people to join your mission”. Using Telegram, Peng Fei called out for volunteers via Telegram and he said he was moved that there were many students who personally expressed their interest to help out, and this far exceeded his expectations.

In fact, the entire fundraising process had also been smooth and successful, however, challenges were brought about due to the circuit breaker measures that were imposed in late March meant that the team needed to make many adjustments to the logistics and supplier delivery schedules in order to comply with the changing governmental measures. They had to adjust their project timelines and took extra measures to ensure that they complied with social distancing laws – keeping a safe distance from each other – while putting together the care packages. They even excluded many eager volunteers in the actual delivery process for safety reasons.

Says Peng Fei, “Although we didn’t have the whole team at NCID on the day, their well wishes have been conveyed to NCID. Upon the delivery of the care packages, Esabella had told the team that “they (frontline staff) would be so happy and surprised when they see these.” This was the moment that I knew all the efforts were worth it.”

Added another Organising Committee member, Tommy Goh (Year 2, Business undergraduate), “Project Flowers for Frontline wouldn't have been possible without the support from our peers and generous donors who have journeyed with us. Despite the many hiccups we have faced due to the Circuit Breaker measures, we would like to further extend our gratitude towards our collaborators and vendors – for delivering the goods on such a short notice, and for expressing great enthusiasm towards the initiative, even in the face of evolving uncertainties. Last but not least, we would like to thank the essential service providers for their hard work throughout this outbreak. We hope that everyone continues to stay home and stay safe for this extended period. All of us can play a part in the fight against this pandemic."

The team has set-up a website to give an update on the project and thank their contributors. They would also like to express their sincere gratitude to everyone who has helped to make Project Flowers for Frontline a reality.