Another Week Beyond – 2420

Comms Team Another Week Beyond, Children and youth, Volunteers

Community offers the promise of belonging and calls for us to acknowledge our interdependence. To belong is to act as an investor, owner, and creator of this place. – Peter Block In 2021, as we were trying to get activities in the community up and running again following the gradual relaxation of the COVID-19 safe-distancing rules, we met 10 youths who were mighty pleased to see us. They were bored stiff and were ready to join any activity that we introduced. Initially, they helped with the distribution of food and other household essentials, and they surprised themselves when they concluded …

Another Week Beyond – 2413

Comms Team Another Week Beyond, Community, Volunteers

Yesterday, I had a discussion with some colleagues about how we may get residents in the neighbourhoods we engage to present themselves “better” to volunteers especially those from corporations who provide funds and other resources. This discussion was triggered by feedback that these residents do not brief the volunteers well enough on their tasks or explain to them how their time and efforts add value to their neighbourhood. The goodwill from corporations is important for the sustainability of our work and obviously, we want to create a positive experience for these corporate volunteers lest we lose their support. However, this …

Another Week Beyond – 2409

Comms Team Another Week Beyond, Community, food insecurity, Volunteers

Community offers the promise of belonging and calls for us to acknowledge our interdependence. To belong is to act as an investor, owner, and creator of this place.  – Peter Block Yesterday, lunch for 22 neighbours was prepared by our members of our community, at our premises with the harvest from our very own vegetable garden. While it was not quite a harvest festival celebration, it was nonetheless a joyous occasion. We were commemorating the end of an 8-session programme-cum-pilot study to explore the positive effects of urban farming on the physical and mental well-being of those aged 50 and …

Another Week Beyond – 2402

ek kiat Another Week Beyond, community, food insecurity, Volunteers

When Covid-19 was at its peak and we were busy coordinating food drops, some of us wondered aloud if those who were able to grow their own food would also be anxious about not having enough to eat. In 2021, we were made aware of the SG Eco Fund which support projects that advance environmental sustainability and foster community, and we thought that offering people an opportunity to grow their own food would be a good way to transform a community’s anxiety and concern about food insecurity into constructive action that strengthens community ties. Today we have a vegetable garden …

Another Week Beyond – 2344

Comms Team Another Week Beyond, Community, Volunteers

Dear friends, “What are the most important values to hold in being a local volunteer?” This was a question on a Kahoot quiz put forth to 72 volunteers who also reside in the public rental neighbourhoods we engage.  Last Saturday, these volunteers were attending a Neighbourhood Volunteers Appreciation Event which was also an opportunity for volunteers from different neighbourhoods to collectively reflect on their experiences. Apart from appreciating their efforts, we facilitated activities that encouraged everyone to clarify if they really understood the purpose of our presence in their neighbourhood. The answers to the above question that participants could choose from were: A. …

Jeramy, on Helping Agencies

Comms Team Volunteers

“People may think that in order for volunteering to be valuable, they must give in a very direct and physical manner and that the act of “raising awareness” is minor and insignificant. It may feel trivial to just click share or ‘like’ a post. It may seem small to perform an instant act of simple engagement that amplifies our work, but the cumulative impact can be immense for us. While it’s not a numbers game, making more people aware of our organisation and how they can volunteer with us strengthens the depth of the work.   Every month I mass-email our Volunteer …

Another Week Beyond – 2237

Comms Team Another Week Beyond, health, volunteer, Volunteers

Dear friends, 15-year-old year Habib serves as an interpreter for his Tamil speaking mother regularly. Last Sunday was yet another occasion but this time he found himself really interested in what he had to convey to his mother. He was accompanying his mother to meet a chiropractor, and he found Dr Brian Teo’s assessment and explanation of the procedure intriguing.  His mother listened to him carefully as he assured her that when she hears a popping sound, it is not because her body is breaking but air is being released from her joints.  His mother has been complaining of pain …

Another Week Beyond – 2235

Comms Team Another Week Beyond, Children and youth, Volunteers, youth

Dear friends, A teacher at our early childhood centre got her students to clap as they spelt out “papaya” loudly together with her and everyone was moving energetically to the rhythm of a rhyming cheer, “P-A-P-A-Y-A, P-A-P-A-Y-A, P-A-P-A-Y-A, PAPAYA-YEH!” When it was clear that everyone could easily spell “papaya,” she carried on with the lesson by introducing the fruit for the children to hold and to discuss its features. This was a learning experience that attended to the children’s physical, intellectual, emotional, and social development. Importantly, it was one where each child succeeded in learning something new. Understanding how a student …

Another Week Beyond – 2113

Comms Team Another Week Beyond, Community, Volunteers, youth

Dear friends, When they were told that they were the 14 most active youth volunteers in their neighbourhood, those present were most surprised. Many said that whenever they helped with food distributions or community events, they were just doing what they have always seen their friends and neighbours do. They were just going about their lives normally and never thought that they were volunteering or that we were noticing their efforts. Nonetheless, they appreciated being recognized and were proud that they had been helpful to others. The idea that they had been contributing and could continue to do so seemed …