On 8 November, the 5th annual President’s Volunteerism & Philanthropy Awards 2016 honoured eight winners for their contributions to the community in Singapore. Here are the winners:
Individual, Youth winner: Ms Noor Mastura
Having survived a tough childhood, Ms Noor set up Back2Basics in November 2013 to help disadvantaged families from different religious backgrounds to meet their daily basic needs by delivering groceries and essential items to them.
Her other pet project, Interfaith Youth Circle, was started with two other friends in a bid to build stronger understanding between the various religious groups, after she became distraught at how acts of terror in other parts of the world were giving Muslims a bad name. The group’s inaugural campaign, SGMuslimsforEid, was held in 2015, which encourages Muslims to open their homes to strangers of other faiths or those who do not have a place to celebrate Hari Raya Puasa.
Individual, Adult winner: Mr Jack Sim
Known to many as a go-getter, Mr Sim’s determination to serve may not come as a surprise. After retiring at age 40, he made sanitation issues his cause, and founded the Restroom Association Singapore and World Toilet Organisation to educate on the importance of sanitation in improving the well-being of individuals, families, communities and even nations.
The World Toilet Organisation grew steadily and eventually led to the establishment of a social enterprise arm, SaniShop, which trains communities in developing nations to produce low-cost latrines and treatment systems. These are then sold through local women who are commissioned as agents, empowering them in the process.
Read Mr Sim’s story here.If you’re inspired by him, If you’re inspired by him, show that you give a crap about sanitation.
Individual, Senior winner: Mr Lim Hang Chung
In 2004, Mr Lim started a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) clinic at Arumugam Road. Since then, Cheng Hong Welfare Service Society (CHWSS) has grown into an organisation of six TCM clinics. All offer free consultations, acupuncture and medication to the public.
He also started the pro bono Afterlife Memorial Service in 2012, which pays for and sees to the funeral arrangements of the disadvantaged.
Kampong Spirit winner: Project Intan
Project Intan aims to keep the kampong spirit of yesteryear alive and thriving by uniting friends, families and business associates to make a difference in the community.
The charitable offshoot of The Intan, an award-winning private Peranakan home-museum, started in 2008 as a fundraiser for local charities. One day a year, founder Alvin Yapp, leveraging on his love for and knowledge of Peranakan culture and heritage, brings people together for a good cause.
Project Intan has supported charities such as the Assisi Hospice, ARC Children’s Centre and Singapore Children’s Society.
Mr Yapp says: “#CityOfGood is about a caring society. And people who care about what happens to the person next door, vendors on the street, and respecting each other’s differences, no matter if they are elderly, children or of a different culture.”
Read Project Intan’s story here.
Non-Profit Organisation winner: SPD
Since1964, SPD has been serving people with disabilities and has grown from providing just one service to more than 20 today. The voluntary welfare organisation also actively strives to build an inclusive Singapore.
SPD spearheads several national programmes that support people across disability types, including the Employment Support Programme and Transition Programme for Employment that prepare people with disabilities for employment through therapy and other support.
Educational Institution winner: Singapore Management University
Singapore Management University (SMU) became the first university in Singapore to make community service a compulsory component of its undergraduate education. Each student is required to serve a minimum of 80 hours in social causes that they feel strongly for. This is to ensure that their education at SMU is both knowledge and values-based.
The university established the Centre for Social Responsibility (C4SR) in December 2010, which guides students to undertake meaningful and sustainable projects while assisting them to understand best practices in the areas of community engagement and social responsibility.
In 2015, together with close to 250 senior students, three of its local projects reached out to over 5,000 children, elderly folk and persons with disabilities across 18 non-profit organisations.
Read SMU’s story here.If you’re inspired by SMU’s giving efforts, support its Paul S. Goodman Learning Innovation Award.
Corporate, Small & Medium Enterprise Winner: Samsui Supplies & Services
Samsui Supplies & Services uses their central kitchen to prepare meals for various non-profit organisations such as the Singapore Christian Home, The Salvation Army, Peacehaven Nursing Home, APSN Centre for Adults, Ren Ci Nursing Home and SWAMI Home.
With an insatiable appetite for doing good, the company has mobilised employees, customers and business associates to give together. Hoping to rally its partners to create a collective giving movement, it reached out to an estimated 100 corporate partners in January 2016 to donate 2.5 per cent of the total revenue earned to the Community Chest.
Read Samsui Supplies & Services’ story here.
Corporate, Large Enterprise Winner: Singapore Power
Singapore Power (SP) has been actively advocating for the public to use less energy to contribute to a sustainable Singapore. During visits to its beneficiaries, the company’s staff would share energy saving tips.
SP has institutionalised giving through staff volunteerism, where its employees drive outreach programmes to raise funds for their beneficiaries, which includes low-income families, children with special needs, the elderly and more. Over the past decade, SP Heart Workers have helped raise over $12 million for more than 31,000 beneficiaries.
