DPM Gan Kim Yong at PCF40 Family Day 2026

Mrs Josephine Teo, Chairperson of the PCF Council of Management,
Mr Victor Bay, Chief Executive Officer of PCF,
Members of the PCF family,
Our partners, seniors, parents and children,

Good morning, PCF staff and children. Are you excited today?

Today we are here to celebrate PCF Family Day, our 40^th Anniversary, and also we are bringing you to this Mandai Wildlife Reserve. I really hope you enjoy yourself. I am very happy to join you for PCF’s 40^th anniversary Family Day.

During my time as PCF Council Chairperson, I have had the privilege of working alongside our staff, our partners to strengthen PCF’s preschools and support our younger families because it is a pleasure indeed to be back here among our PCF family to celebrate this very important milestone. 

Growing with Singapore’s families

PCF began by helping young children prepare for a smooth transition to primary school.

As families’ needs evolved, we opened up the first childcare centre at Telok Blangah in 1991. Later, as our population grew older, PCF expanded its services to include senior care.

Over the last 40 years, together with thousands of staff, volunteers and partners, PCF has educated more than one million children, served around 30,000 seniors, and supported more than 46,000 vulnerable beneficiaries.  

In many ways, PCF’s story is the story of Singapore’s families. As our families grew and changed, PCF also evolved and developed with them.

Today, PCF is one of Singapore’s largest preschool operators, almost 350 preschool centres. It is also our third-largest senior care provider, with 11 Senior Care Centres and nine Active Ageing Centres.

Generations of Singaporeans lives have been touched by PCF – children, parents and grandparents. We are also blessed with a strong team of educators, care professionals and volunteers.

Our anniversary theme, “One Foundation. Many Dreams. A Shared Future.”, captures this very important and exciting journey.

Within the PCF family are people of different ages, backgrounds and aspirations. Our task is to understand their needs, help them to fulfil their hopes, and bring them together as a community.

Helping every child get a good start

Let me begin with our children.

Parents want their children to learn with confidence, make friends and grow up well. But each child is unique, they develop differently, families have different circumstances. Giving every child a good start means recognising these differences and providing the support that each child needs.

At this year’s National Day Rally, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced further support for families, including measures to make preschool and infant care affordable and accessible. 

Families also need educators and care professionals who understand their children and work closely with them. PCF’s Headstart Fund helps children from different backgrounds access a wide range of learning opportunities. PCF has also worked with its partners to strengthen early intervention for children with developmental needs. 

Early interventionist Ms Jessica Ho has spent nine years supporting children and families at PCF Sparkletots. One of the children she worked with sometimes found it difficult to manage frustration or disagreements in class. Jessica worked closely with his educators and his family so that he received the necessary support at the preschool and at home. This child is now increasingly able to express his feelings, consider possible solutions, and participate in class more independently. 

Progress like this does not happen by chance. It takes patience, and close coordination and cooperation. I want to thank Jessica and our educators and early interventionists for working together with families to help each child move forward. Let us give them a round of applause. 

In PCF, we want every child to have the chance to learn, participate and discover what he or she can achieve.

Bringing generations together

However, our journey with the family does not end when our children leave us. Parents grow older, and the children they once cared for may become caregivers themselves.

PCF responded to these changing needs by opening its first senior care centre at Changi-Simei in 2015 Ten years on, its Senior Care Centres and Active Ageing Centres have become another pillar of support for families. 

We want our seniors to live well, enjoy the company of families, friends and loved ones, and continue doing things that are meaningful to them. We also want the younger and older generations to have opportunities to spend time with one another – as you have seen on the stage in the dance just now, we have seniors and our children dancing together and exercising together.

The anniversary musical, Threads of Time, celebrated these connections through stories across generations. Charity Week also brought children, families and seniors together through activities such as outings to Singapore Oceanarium. Such occasions give different generations the chance to get to know each other better. Children can listen to the experiences of older people, while seniors can share in the curiosity and enthusiasm of the young.

I hope these relationships will continue well beyond the anniversary celebrations. We should always make time for one another in our daily lives – for a conversation, for a shared activity, or simply to enjoy each other’s company.

A community that cares for one another

There are so many ways for each of us to contribute to the wider community.

Mdm Halima, from PCF Sparkle Care@ Eunos, has been a volunteer since its Active Ageing Centre opened in 2023. Her willingness to keep giving her time reminds us that helping others need not begin with a large initiative. It can begin with just deciding to lend a hand. I want to thank her and all our volunteers for the care and commitment they bring to the community. 

Alongside our volunteers, donors and partner organisations also make this effort possible.

For today’s Family Day, the Central District has raised $312,000 for PCF to share with 36 beneficiary organisations. Thank you to everyone who contributed to our partner organisations for the work they do. Thank you very much.

We can also help our children find simple ways to care for one another as well. And as they grow up, we hope they will see contributing to the community as a natural part of their life journey.                                                                                                   

Looking ahead

As we mark forty years of contributing to the community, I want to thank PCF’s leadership, staff, volunteers, partners, past and present. My thanks also to the organising team and everyone working behind the scenes to make today’s Family Day a success.

Going forward, PCF will need to continue adapting its services, just as it has done over the past forty years, to remain a place where families can find people they can trust and support they can count on.

And I hope that, years from now, families will look back not only at the support that they have received through PCF, but also at the opportunities they had to contribute and to help one another.

That is the meaning of today’s theme: “One Foundation. Many Dreams. A Shared Future.” By helping each generation fulfil its aspirations, and bringing generations together to care for one another.

Happy 40th anniversary, PCF. Thank you, and I wish all of you an enjoyable Family Day!