Story contributed by Anne Marie, Resource Mobilisation
It has been some years since we last stood behind a volunteer recruitment booth in a school setting, and so earlier this month, when we were invited to take part in Nanyang Technological University’s Social Impact Week, it felt like a return of sorts.
For two afternoons, we found ourselves in the middle of student activity, surrounded by clubs, social enterprises and fellow agencies. We were there with a simple invitation: to talk about volunteering, particularly in support of the older youths in our academic programmes. At our booth, we asked visitors to respond to three prompts — what motivates you to volunteer, what hinders you, and what causes draw you in.
Among those who stopped to engage, close to seventy percent indicated that time was their greatest barrier.
The responses were not surprising. Schedules are full. Life moves quickly. In Singapore, most of us understand that instinctively. Time often feels like the scarcest resource we have. What the board revealed was not a lack of care, but a familiar tension – the desire to contribute sitting alongside the pressure of everything else.
Even so, students lingered. They asked about the youths we journey with. They wanted to understand what secondary school students struggle with today. Some wondered aloud whether they themselves would be “enough.”
One visitor shared that he had just arrived in Singapore for a three-month stay and was looking for something meaningful to be part of during that period. It was a small comment, but it stayed with us. Giving does not always begin with permanence. Sometimes it begins with a season.
In our work, funding often takes centre stage. It is visible and necessary. But there is another resource that cannot be replaced by dollars: consistent presence.
For the children and youth in our academic support programmes, what makes the difference is the familiar face who returns week after week. The volunteer who notices when a student is unusually quiet. The adult who listens long enough for trust to form. These are small acts, repeated over time, that shape confidence and belonging.
During quieter stretches of the roadshow, when students had returned to class, we stepped away from our booth to speak with other agencies and student groups. Some conversations rekindled existing connections. Others opened new possibilities. Relationships that might take weeks to initiate over email can begin with a simple exchange across a table. Showing up in shared spaces allows for partnerships to grow more naturally.
A roadshow may seem like a small act – a booth, a board, a few hours of conversation – but it widens the circle of who might see themselves as part of the work. Not everyone will sign up immediately. Not everyone has the time right now. But sometimes, in the midst of busyness, someone pauses and considers what it might mean to offer even a portion of it.
We have been invited to another roadshow next month, in a different space, with a different group. And we will go again – not simply to recruit, but to remain visible and to continue the conversation.
Because while funding sustains programmes, it is people who sustain relationships.
And relationships are built with time.
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