Single dad with fatal disease starts charitable fund

Mr. Yeo Whee Jim, 52, has established a six-figure charitable fund to support young caregivers, utilizing payouts from his critical illness and other insurance policies.

The initiative, known as the Lok Yan and Whee Jim Fund, was started in May 2025 in partnership with the Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS) to assist youth from lower-income families who are caring for parents with illnesses or disabilities.

The Lok Yan and Whee Jim Fund

The fund operates as an endowment where donations are invested, and the returns are given to charitable causes of Mr. Yeo’s choice. While he declined to disclose the exact amount donated, he stated it is more than the $200,000 minimum required for a donor-advised fund at the CFS.

To accelerate the disbursement of funds, friend Yap Su-Yin launched a fundraiser on Giving.sg on March 27. Within two weeks, more than $50,000 was raised toward a $100,000 goal.

The fundraising effort aims to allow Mr. Yeo to meet beneficiaries sooner, rather than waiting until May 2027, when the endowment’s first official tranche of disbursements is scheduled.

Battling ALS

Diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 2023, Mr. Yeo is battling a fatal disease that causes the progressive degeneration of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. There is currently no cure for the condition.

ALS affects the muscles required to move, speak, eat, and breathe. Mr. Yeo’s condition has progressed to a stage where he relies on a ventilator around the clock and requires assistance for basic functional tasks, including feeding himself.

The former training consultancy firm owner now depends on two caregivers from Myanmar for his daily needs at his residence in Ang Mo Kio.

A History of Philanthropy

This is not the first time Mr. Yeo has turned personal loss into community support. In 2014, approximately one year after his wife, Grace Hui Lok Yan, died of breast cancer at age 39, he used a portion of her insurance proceeds to start a bursary for lower-income pupils at Mayflower Primary School.

A former Public Service Commission scholar who studied mechanical engineering in Japan, Mr. Yeo credits Singapore’s meritocratic system and scholarships for his own advancement and seeks to pay that support forward to others.

Building a Lasting Legacy

In addition to the charitable fund, Mr. Yeo has published a book of photographs and reflections, a collection of poems—including a book titled Itinerary—and a series of essays.

These efforts are intended as a legacy for his 20-year-old daughter. To ensure her future stability, Mr. Yeo has set aside money in a trust and appointed a family member and a friend as her guardians.

Mr. Yeo expressed that his primary goal now is to show his daughter the importance of resilience, love, and the value of allowing others to help, emphasizing that “to live is to give, and to live audaciously is to give generously.”