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Teo Chek Liang, Manager at NVPC’s Knowledge & Insights team, is no stranger to volunteering. As a working professional, he has mentored students through the Advisory Mentorship Programme run by Advisory. This time, though, the opportunity came through his colleagues. When an interest group for volunteering with children through art took shape within NVPC, Chek Liang and some other colleagues signed up for an eight-week long volunteering programme: Artful Play, developed by Playeum in partnership with SHINE Children and Youth Services.
It’s a small but telling example of how NVPC walks the talk: every staff member is entitled to up to six days of Volunteer Leave a year, making it possible for staff members to commit to a regular, weeks-long programme.
Artful Play helps children from disadvantaged backgrounds learn about play through art, creating their own games using craft materials rather than following a fixed set of rules. As a volunteer, Chek Liang took on a hands-on role across each three-hour session.
Each session began with a briefing on the day’s objectives, followed by preparing materials and assigning roles among the volunteers. As the children arrived, volunteers ran a short check-in on their well-being and helped them warm up for the activities ahead. During the session itself, Chek Liang’s role ranged from accompanying children through their crafts to helping the main facilitators run resource stations. When the session ended, volunteers helped pack away materials and the children’s creations, before a final debrief with the facilitators on what went well and what to improve.
What drew him to the cause in the first place was the concept itself: helping children build their own games from scratch and discovering how their creations could come to life.
One particular child left an impression on Chek Liang. For most of the programme, he was more drawn to exploring the room than settling into the craft activity, leaving the volunteers quietly wondering what he would eventually create. Then, during one session, he found his focus. Upon seeking help from the volunteers, he created a simple but complete game using the materials provided.
It was a small moment, but a meaningful one: a reminder that every child has an idea waiting to be drawn out, even when it is not yet visible.
Volunteering regularly with the same group, over an extended period, gave Chek Liang more than just a chance to give back. It was an opportunity to interact with both the children and his fellow volunteers, and to learn from their different life experiences along the way. Through these interactions, his perspective of society broadened — something that carries through to how he approaches his work and colleagues at NVPC.
For colleagues considering using their Volunteer Leave, Chek Liang’s advice is simple: find something you’re genuinely interested in and bring a few friends along. Volunteering together, he says, creates a sense of mutual accountability, making it easier to commit and more enjoyable to follow through.
Stories like Chek Liang’s are a glimpse of life at NVPC, where colleagues go beyond advocating for a culture of giving — they live it out together. Ready to start your journey of purpose and meaningful impact? Explore a career with NVPC today.