Duric, 3 kids send message of love and care for elders

Duric, 3 kids send message of love and care for elders

The football pitch is usually the canvas for him to paint his masterpieces but this time, Aleksandar Duric, has to actually pick up a brush to produce art pieces.

Singapore football's evergreen striker has teamed up with his three children, daughter Isabella, 11, and sons Alessandro, nine, and Massimo, three, to paint three plastic doves that will be put up for exhibition and sold to raise funds for Dover Park Hospice.

They are priced at $200 apiece and $500 for the set of three.

Jointly organised by the hospice and Lasalle College of the Arts, the exhibition, entitled "Hospice is...", will be held at the art school's Project Gallery from Oct 3-7 and will be open for public viewing.

Duric said: "I am really happy to do this for Dover Park Hospice. We are all so busy with our lives that sometimes, we forget about our parents and elders who cared for us when we were younger.

"Our parents need us in their twilight years. Five minutes with them is probably what they have been waiting for."

The 43-year-old, who is the leading scorer in the S-League with 13 goals for Tampines Rovers, added that the death of his children's great-grandmother Maria Bondarenko at the age of 96 last year moved all of them to help the hospice.

And the doves painted by Duric and his family come with a special touch as well.

He said: "Alessandro and Massimo thought that the people who buy the doves might need money. So they put a handful of coins into the two doves they painted."

Other personalities who have agreed to contribute painted doves to the exhibition are former video jockey Nadya Hutagalung, Nominated Member of Parliament Nicholas Fang, comedienne Irene Ang and celebrity couple Mark and Beatrice Richmond.

Duric is known for his charity work. Last year, he drove a taxi for two weeks to raise funds for The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund.

In 2011, he ran the half-marathon at the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore alongside radio deejay Rod Monteiro and Dr Tan Swee Kheng to raise funds for Sanctuary House, which provides foster care for children.

meng@sph.com.sg


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