Story Contributed by Karen Bock, Volunteer
When Karen first walked into Beyond in 2019, she was looking for a place to keep giving through her hands. Years before, she had taught sewing and handicraft to helpers in a shelter, and when that programme ended, she carried their stories and laughter with her. She hoped to find a space where creativity could continue to build connection.
She started with an art class for children in Lavender. When COVID reshaped everything, the class moved online. Then, after the pandemic, it stopped entirely. Yet even when the programme ended, something inside her didn’t feel finished. So when a Community Worker introduced her to the Sew Can We, Karen said yes – not just to volunteering, but to beginning again.
In Sew Can We, Karen found more than a place to teach. She found women who welcomed her without hesitation, who carried both strength and softness in the same breath. Her trained eye as a visual merchandiser became a gift: she designed new items for the seamstresses, guided them as they learned, and helped style the booth displays at fairs. But beneath all that, the real work unfolded in the pauses between stitches, in conversations that had nothing to do with sewing at all.
There is one moment she returns to often.
After the team lost a member they loved, the room felt heavier than usual. As the session wound down and the others slowly left, Karen stayed behind with one seamstress. The two of them talked – not as teacher and learner, not as volunteer and participant, but as two people sharing space in grief.
“It changed the way I see life,” Karen shared. “And it changed how I see them. I’m not someone standing outside their circle. I’m part of it.”
Over the years, Karen has learned to teach differently – at the pace of trust, not technique. Each seamstress has her own rhythm, her own way of approaching a piece of fabric. She has learned to honour that. To slow down, to listen, to celebrate the small but steady steps that accumulate into confidence.
“I found so many new friends,” she said. “I receive so much love and trust. And to watch them improve, to see them ask for feedback without fear – that means more to me than anything else.”
When asked what she’d say to new volunteers, her advice is simple but rings true in every corner of community work:
“Don’t judge. Create a safe space for them to enjoy the craft and you’ll be surprised by how much you receive in return.”
Karen’s story carries the heart of volunteering – relationships shaped slowly through care, reciprocity, and the courage to keep showing up. It reminds us that leadership often begins in places that look ordinary: around a sewing table, beside someone grieving, in the gentle work of helping another person grow.
On International Volunteer Day, we honour Karen and every person who walks this path – those who teach, listen, laugh, and stay. Those who believe in small steps. Those who help communities stitch possibility into their everyday lives.
To all our volunteers:
Thank you for the time you give, the relationships you build, and the humanity you share. Our work is steadier because you are part of it.
If you’d like to journey alongside families and neighbours the way Karen does, you can explore volunteering opportunities at: www.beyond.org.sg/volunteer