Written by Nina, Community Relations
It was 8am on a weekday, and we were far from the spaces we usually occupy – a warehouse with heavy grey doors, a maze of corridors, and huge loading bays. A stark contrast from the HDB blocks and community spaces we’re used to.
My teammate and I were there to issue over 200 bundles of Charity Draw tickets to Singapore Pools outlets across the island. It was supposed to be a straightforward task: pack, log, hand over, repeat. We were prepared for a long day of admin. Instead, we found ourselves in the middle of something that felt unexpectedly familiar.
One of the Singapore Pools staff sat at his cubicle, eyeing the vehicles arriving at the bay. Without glancing at a list, he could identify which outlet someone was from, or who they might be collecting for. We assumed at first it was an exceptional memory. But over the course of the day, it became clear it was something else.
There was a rhythm to the way they moved and spoke. Not hurried, not forced. Just the kind of ease that comes from working alongside one another for years. Conversations were brief but thoughtful: kind words about the day ahead, how business was going, someone’s recent holiday, or how a child was settling into school.
A few hours in, someone approached our table and paused. He looked at the stacks of tickets marked with our name and smiled.
“Oh! Beyond Social Services. I remember Beyond.”
He told us he had worked with us many years ago – close to a decade, maybe more. He had helped with soccer clinics for children and youth. He asked after a few names. Some we recognised, some we didn’t, but all were remembered fondly. Not through grand stories, but small details. A child who always forgot his shoes. A staff member who brought Milo every week. He spoke with warmth. The memories felt intact, as if waiting to be recalled.
We shared how Beyond’s work has shifted over the years, that we now focus more on walking alongside communities as they take the lead. The goals may look different in each neighbourhood, but the spirit has stayed the same.
There was something grounding about the conversation. We didn’t know each other, and yet we did. The names had changed, the settings too. But the feeling of being part of something shared – something built with intention and care – that remained.
That’s the thing about familiarity. It’s not loud or immediate. It lingers. It’s what helps people notice when something’s changed, or remember what someone once cared about. It builds slowly, often invisibly. But once it’s there, it becomes the thread that holds people together, even when they’re apart.
We often talk about community as if it only exists in certain spaces – in designated neighbourhoods, in projects or initiatives. But that morning, in a warehouse filled with moving parts and numbered parcels, we were reminded that community doesn’t always look the way we expect it to. Sometimes, it lives in the rhythm of everyday responsibilities. In people knowing one another well enough to care, even in passing. In old connections that still remember your name.
And when we recognise it, it becomes something worth nurturing.
Supporting our Charity Draw 2025 is one way to do that.
Tickets are just $3 and available at all Singapore Pools outlets until 31 August. Proceeds support community-led efforts in neighbourhoods where connection is a powerful force for change.
If you’d like to bring your workplace, community group or friends in to support together, bulk purchase options are available too.
A little goes a long way when it’s carried by many hands.
To find out more, contact partnerships@beyond.org.sg or visit www.beyond.org.sg
To support the campaign directly, visit: