Caritas Humanitarian Aid & Relief Initiatives (Singapore) Ltd (CHARIS) is the umbrella body for overseas humanitarian aid and disaster relief efforts of the Archdiocese of Singapore. CHARIS is a member of Caritas Internationalis and was launched on 20 August 2010 by His Grace, Archbishop Nicholas Chia.

As the umbrella body for overseas humanitarian aid by the Archdiocese of Singapore, CHARIS has contributed and supported numerous relief responses and humanitarian efforts in Asia and beyond.Humanitarian situations cover natural disasters and other adverse circumstances faced by the poor and needy, especially in developing countries in the region.These includes funding for food, medical aid and shelter for immediate relief as well as the long - term support of those displaced and in need.

Join us in being the helping hand of the Church – reaching out to those afflicted by natural disasters and poverty – and making hope happen!

CHARIS and Caritas Singapore are both organisations that fulfil the Church’s social mission. CHARIS focuses our efforts on overseas humanitarian aid and efforts, while Caritas Singapore focuses on serving communities in Singapore. 

The Catholic Foundation supports the operating and building needs of the Archdiocese of Singapore. Contributions received by the Catholic Foundation are used for the work of formation and evangelisation. 

While the funds are managed by Catholic groups and organisations, please be assured that there is no discrimination on race, religion, or nationality for the end beneficiaries.

The Humanitarian Aid Fund was established to support the humanitarian work of the Church in Singapore. It enables CHARIS to provide humanitarian assistance beyond just victims of natural disasters to all other forms of crises, adverse circumstances or humanitarian need that may occur overseas.

We rely on donations from the Catholic community to help us in our humanitarian mission. Your contribution, of any amount, will go a long way to make a difference to our brothers and sisters overseas who live in poverty or are affected by disasters or strife.

In accordance with the permit granted to CHARIS by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY), please note that this request for funding is extended to the Catholic Church congregation of Singapore only. The money collected is used to provide grants to organisations undertaking disaster relief and humanitarian work and the operations of CHARIS.

Specific Funds are a segment of donations from people who identify with a specific cause, region, or organisation. These funds will be used for the specified intentions and will be restricted from use in other areas. Examples of such Specific Funds include past funds collected for JRS and the people of Gaza. CHARIS also holds fundraising campaigns that are dedicated to such Specific Funds.

If you would like to support CHARIS in our mission and not for any specific causes, you may consider donating to our Humanitarian Aid Fund, where the funds will be channelled to various disaster relief and humanitarian causes approved by our Grants Committee on a case by case basis, in accordance to our Grants funding principles and processes.

Here are the available modes if you wish to donate:

More detailed instructions can be found in the donation pages for the Humanitarian Aid Fund, and the respective campaigns.

All donations are non-refundable.

We regret that contributions to CHARIS do not qualify for tax deductions, as CHARIS is not registered as an Institution of Public Character.

We welcome donations of any amount.

You may make an anonymous donation via our site Make Hope Happen, by sending a cheque to CHARIS without providing your personal information, or dropping off your cash donation at CHARIS. 

The crossed cheque should be made payable to “CHARIS HAF”, bearer only (i.e. strike out “Or Bearer”) and send it to:
Caritas Humanitarian Aid &Relief Initiatives, Singapore (CHARIS)
55 Waterloo Street #07-02 Catholic Centre Singapore 187954

Cash should be put in a sealed envelope, marked “For CHARIS” and dropped at our office at the address stated above. Please do not mail cash.

Do note that with anonymous donations, you will not:

• Receive an acknowledgement email for your donation.
• Receive updates on how your donations have made an impact, and other updates from CHARIS.
• Request for changes or disputes to payment

If you are a registered user who has made a donation previously, do log into the Make Hope Happen account. On the homepage, click your name on the top right and access the "Donation History" tab to view your past donation records. 

Kindly note that only donations made by registered users after 1st July 2022 can be accessed via the Make Hope Happen portal.

Yes, you can make monthly contributions by credit/debit card. Simply visit this page Humanitarian Aid Fund and click on “Monthly”.

Monthly deductions will be made from your credit/debit card within one to three days of the anniversary of your pledge each month. For instance, if you signed up to be a regular contributor via credit/debit card and your first transaction was successfully charged on the 10th of the month, the next deduction will be made between the 10th to 13th of the next month.

An exception to this will occur if your first transaction was successfully charged between the 29th to 31st of the month. In this case, monthly transactions will be charged to your card on the last day of each subsequent month.

You can make changes to your monthly contributions via through the Make Hope Happen portal, by logging in with your username and password.

You can stop your regular contributions through the Make Hope Happen portal, by logging in with your username and password. Alternatively, you can write to info@charis-singapore.org or call us at 6337 4119 to make your request.

"All of us are created in God’s image; yet as individuals each of us is unique. We have special talents and skills that can be used to help others in need. In the words of Mother Teresa, “We can do no great things, only small things with great love."

Volunteering, or giving of one’s self to help others, does not have to involve large complex initiatives. You may wish to consider signing up as a volunteer with CHARIS or its Member Organisations. 

Volunteering is integral to the work we do in CHARIS and does not have to involve large complex initiatives. We need volunteers for a myriad of activities and no effort is too little. At CHARIS, there are several areas of volunteering: 

• Service-Based Volunteering

Service-based volunteerism involves coming in contact with beneficiaries, often on a regular basis, making a lasting impact on our member organisations, our team, and the communities we serve. In CHARIS, service-based volunteering commonly relates to going on mission trips. We work closely with our Member Organisations, many of whom organise mission trips to benefit victims of disasters and other humanitarian situations, including helping to uplift communities. Many volunteers return regularly after being touched by the joy of the communities they helped, and the compassion which Christ had for the suffering. Read more about their experiences in Stories or about mission trips in our Activities page.

• Skills-Based Volunteering

Skills-based volunteerism allows individuals or groups to leverage their talents and experience to support, strengthen, and multiply the efforts of CHARIS and our member organisations who might have constraints on resources or expertise in certain corporate functions. Examples of skills-based volunteering including administrative work, counting, graphic design, communications, photography, videography, etc.  

• Events-Based Volunteering

Events-based volunteerism involves providing support in various areas during events to enable it to run smoothly and efficiently. Such events include our courses and trainings like the mainstay Humanitarian Forum and Fair or Overseas Humanitarian Foundation Course, or outreach events held in parishes.

The latest volunteering opportunities are updated on the Make Hope Happen site, and you will be able to browse through the various volunteering opportunities listed by CHARIS and its Member Organisations. 

To stay updated on the latest news or volunteering activities, sign up for a Make Hope Happen account here or join our mailing list. 

On the Activity registration page, select registration type "Participant".

If you are not logged in yet, you will be prompted to log into your account to proceed with the registration. If you do not have an account, kindly proceed to create an account. 

After you have logged in, click “Sign Up Now”. After which, you will be brought to the payment page. Payment can be made via PayNow or Credit Card.  

Once payment has been made successfully, you will be brought to a “Thank You” page and also receive an acknowledgement email for your activity registration. 

All paid activity fees are non-refundable once the transaction is confirmed.