Savvy Experience, SA-V Experience

An Interview with Arty Big Brothers & Big Sisters

2011-12-07T16:55:00.000+08:00

A photo with arty big brothers and big sisters...

Children at the Ang Mo Kio Child Care Centre were treated to storybook art on 4 Oct, by a group of volunteers from the Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) School of Interactive and Digital Media. Led by Ms Wendy Tan, their lecturer, the student volunteers read a story from a children's storybook and then participated with the children in a hands-on art session inspired by the story.

It was heartwarming to see the children, child care teachers and the Nanyang Polytechnic volunteers interacting with one another and smiling away, as they worked away on their masterpieces.

We had the chance to hear from them on their experience volunteering with the Child Care children.

Is this your first time volunteering?

Wendy: Yes, it is my first time with The Salvation Army.

Grace: Happily, nope - though it is the first time I'm volunteering with The Salvation Army.

How have you volunteered before?

Wendy: I volunteered in the Youth Expedition Project (YEP) in 2010. 34 students with 3 colleagues and myself travelled to China, Hainan Island for a community service project. I am also a Docent (Volunteer Guide) with Asian Civilisation Museum. I guide at least once a month in the museum for 2 years now.

Grace: Quite a variety of things throughout the past few years. Volunteering has seen me doing anything from paint jobs for the homes of the elderly to giving tuition to underprivileged kids.

What was your role as a volunteer in this assignment and what did you do?

Wendy: I organised and facilitated the whole assignment. In preparing for the project, I recruited students, coordinated the dates, brought them to an exhibition for children and subsequently also brought them to the centre for a short visit before the project day. In addition, I assisted to seek funding from my school to buy the art materials.

Grace: I supervised and guided the kids in making their art pieces based on the story read to them.

What prompted you to volunteer for this assignment?

Wendy: A few reasons. From my last YEP in China, Hainan Island, we did an art workshop with the less fortunate children in a village and they enjoyed a lot. Then I thought "why not do the same for the less fortunate kids in Singapore?" since many kids in Singapore are still not exposed to art. The fortunate ones get to pick up art with enrichment courses their parents put them through. But the less fortunate ones will not get that kind of opportunity, especially when art is seen as a less important subject in our society. However, many parents and teachers are not aware that art helps promote literacy. If children are encouraged to draw based on the storybook they read, it will inspire them to read more and to learn more. Children who are less expressive will find ways to express themselves through art; expressing themselves and their personality through their drawings.

Grace: I like the idea of experiencing art with children and saw it as something meaningful to engage in during the holidays.

How was the experience volunteering with the children?

Wendy: The workshop turned out to be more challenging than I had thought it to be. I was quite ambitious and thought that my 5 students will be able to handle 5 kids at a time. But I have observed that the smaller the group, the better it will be as each child will be attended to. Even though so, my students enjoyed the interaction with the kids in the centre very much. We are also quite pleased with the outcome of the artworks.

Grace: It was great! :D I guess the children did enjoy it as well.

The children's masterpieces

What did you like about the volunteer assignment? What makes it memorable?

Wendy: To see that the children enjoying themselves! Especially the shy ones; they are the most creative. I have come to see that their works are surprisingly beautiful. I think some of them might not have realised the talent they have and I hope they are proud of their own art pieces. I was so excited to see the final output of the children’s work. And most importantly my students also gained a lot from this workshop.

Grace: The kids made this assignment memorable; it was just fun to see the ideas they came up with.

What have you gained from this volunteering experience?

Wendy: As previously shared, I have learnt that smaller groups would be more manageable for us. As the children are 6 years old, thus we need to attend to the children so as to guide them through with our instructions.

Grace: The idea of future volunteering involving kids and art.

What "words of wisdom" would you give to those who are considering to start volunteering?

Wendy: Just do it, don’t think too much. If there is a will, anything can be done. I came up with this idea only like 6 months ago and I proposed it to my Reporting Officer (RO). As soon as my RO approved the idea, I went ahead without procrastinating to plan it.

Grace: Open your heart, open your mind.

Tell us a little about yourself.

Wendy: I am an Art Lecturer with Nanyang Polytechnic for 10 years. I graduated with a bachelor degree in Fine Arts and a Master degree in Arts Education. I exhibit my works once in a while and am now already working on my next exhibition. I teach art, make art and think about art almost every day. Art has become a very important part of my life. Teaching art and design in NYP allows me to get in touch with art almost every day. It is a great pleasure for me to share my interest and impart my skills to others, apart from my own students. Hence, I have decided that I should conduct art workshops for the public whenever I find time. But my focus would be for the less fortunate. It is also essential for my students to be able to share their skills with the society. I want them to leave their comfort zone, work with the community; experiencing that same rewarding feeling I get whenever I am sharing.

Grace: I'm currently studying animation at NYP.

Give me a high five!

The Salvation Army thanks all student and teacher volunteers in this project for making it possible and meaningful for the children.

International Volunteer Day 2011 - Word of Thanks

2011-12-05T09:54:00.001+08:00

Hello there,

On this special day on International Volunteer Day, we would like to just pause to send a personal greeting to you, to thank you for your time, talents and treasures you bring to The Salvation Army and our beneficiaries.

Thank you for being a colourful part in building this family of care for our beneficiaries.

Together with our beneficiaries, we are well blessed by your kindness.

Thank you again and may God bless you.

Colonel Gillian Downer
Territorial Commander
The Salvation Army
Singapore, Malaysia & Myanmar Territory

Love for a Dollar 2011

2011-10-28T13:48:00.000+08:00

Going Christmas Shopping?

Do you know that you can bless more than one person with the same Christmas gift that you buy? Share a little love and joy this Christmas and bless someone as you go about Christmas shopping.After all, it's the season of giving. Support our volunteers as they chip in to do their bit for the beneficiaries of The Salvation Army.

Here’s when and where…

Between the 5 and 24 December 2011, our volunteers will be offering gift-wrapping services in exchange for donations to The Salvation Army’s work with her beneficiaries. You can find Love for a Dollar at the following locations:

Far East Plaza: 14 - 24 December 2011 (Mon-Sat)
Parkway Parade: 5 - 24 Decmber 2011 (Mon-Sun)
Tampines Mall: 14 - 24 December 2011 (Mon-Sat)

So while you shop in the malls, why not drop by to say “hi!” to our volunteers, encourage them and have them gift-wrap your gifts?

Here's how you can help:

Donate: Simply shop for your gifts and bring them down to our gift-wrapping booths for them to be wrapped by our volunteers.
Volunteer: Sign up as a volunteer (Volunteer recruitment closed as at 29 Nov 2011).
Read more about our volunteers' experience at http://bit.ly/loveFAD.

Spread the Word: Spread the word by sharing this with your friends and/or share about the project and volunteer opportunity on your facebook wall/blogs etc.

So just look out for them, present them with your receipts and share your love today.Support “Love for a Dollar” today!

For enquiries, please email to loveforadollar (AT) gmail.com (replace (AT) with @ to email LFAD)

* Terms and conditions apply for the gift-wrapping service. Please find out more about the service from our friendly volunteers at the booth.

Going Beyond...

2011-08-17T14:04:00.021+08:00

The Salvation Army's Family Support Services (FSS) has been working in partnership with volunteers from the Australian & New Zealand Association (ANZA) for a few years now. And with each passing year, the partnership is growing to be more exciting, as new partnership initiatives germinates; providing volunteers with more ways to partner us in caring for our beneficiaries.

One of these initiatives is the new Healthcare Programme developed for our food ration clients. The programme is carried out in conjunction with the Food Ration Programme and has to date, been successfully ran at both Bukit Merah View and Jalan Kukoh. With this programme, FSS hopes to be able to better serve the seniors by proactively monitoring their well being in the community.

Together with FSS staff, qualified regular volunteers from ANZA including Shirley, Virginia, Bernadine, Patricia, Chen, Leanne and Lynn, set up and manned health stations at the void deck of the block. At each station, the volunteers helped to conduct simple health checks e.g. checking of blood pressure and blood glucose. As necessary, the clients are also encouraged to follow-up with checks at their polyclinic.

Upon completing their health checks, the clients were invited to the snack corner to enjoy hot beverages and snacks which have been specially prepared by the ANZA volunteers. The volunteers and staff also took the opportunity to interact and catch up with the seniors at the same time to find out how they are doing and if they are facing any problems.

After the short food break, the volunteers continued to distribute the food packages to the self-collection and door-to-door clients.

We have received positive feedback from our clients who were appreciative of the staff and volunteers' help in conducting the health checks, befriending them and helping with their food rations.

In another "first", FSS also brought the Mothers Support Group outdoors to Hort Park together with children and youth from the Youth Programme. Joining the event was ANZA volunteer, Antonia, who helped as a facilitator for the Mothers Support Group Workshop. She shared with the mothers how one can learn to cope with life stresses e.g. sharing their problems with someone that they trust or exercise and outdoor activities etc.

For many of the mothers, this is their first visit to Hort Park. So having the sharing nestled among the greenery and beautiful landscape while watching their children having fun with one another; running and playing brought much joy to the mothers.

At the end of the informal and relaxing chat with Antonia, Mdm R, one of the Mothers Support Group member, presented Antonia with her hand-made cookies in appreciation of her time with them. Mdm R had just completed her baking course and this presented a wonderful opportunity for her to build up her confidence and utilize her baking skills.

And while the mothers were occupied in the workshop, the youth were taken on an adventure trail . It was an enjoyable nature walk where they got to bond with one another. Friendship blossomed as everyone helped one another along the trail; encouraging one another when they were tired. It was heartwarming to see how the older youth took the initiative to take care of the younger ones.

The Home Care Services is an ad-hoc programme where volunteers offer help such as painting, refurnishing and cleaning to needy elderly clients.

In June, FSS received a request for assistance from a food ration client in her 80’s. The client had recently fell and fractured her fingers. Hence she was having difficulty going about her daily household chores and preparation of meals.

To support the client, FSS partnered with ANZA volunteers to provide her with home care help. Both Linda and Patricia were kind enough to respond to the call and visited the client weekly to help her with basic cleaning.

Even with the help from the volunteers, the client, who is particular about cleanliness of her home, continued to perform some house chores daily despite her injured fingers. However, with Linda and Patricia's help, it has definitely help relief her of some of the more challenging chores e.g. mopping the floor and changing of bedsheets. The client is deeply grateful and pleased with the assistance she had received from FSS and the volunteers.

We are glad to have been able to grow our support programme to our clients with our staff and volunteers. What began as a simple food ration distribution project with ANZA has now grown into a meaningful in-community project.

Thanks again ANZA volunteers!

Extracted & Edited from
Family Support Service's 2011 2nd Quarter Newsletter

The Intergenerational Xchange

2011-08-16T16:32:00.008+08:00

Someone writes that "every wrinkle tells a story".

Grooming the next generation of media professionals, lecturer from the Singapore Polytechnic's School of Digital Media & Infocomm Technology, Leon Chua, wanted his students to continue to use and apply their skills for society.

Earlier this year, the students volunteers went on an overseas volunteer project to Vietnam where they shared their photography skills and knowledge with the local students. After returning from Vietnam, Leon proposed an initiative to have 13 of his students participate in a local community service programme, together with The Salvation Army's Family Support Services (FSS).

And the mission: To tell the life stories of our seniors in the Elderly Drop-In Programme (EDIP). After an initial discussion with FSS, Leon decided to adopt FSS' idea of helping our EDIP members create a Life Story book, featuring photography and interview sessions with every EDIP member. And the shoots and interviews will take place in the very community where the seniors and FSS are in.

Although it rained on the day of the shoot, it definitely did not dampen the excitement of the EDIP members.

During the project, EDIP members were divided into three groups with each group well taken care of by Leon's students. The volunteers took initiative and proactively approached the elderly to get to know them better. Rapport was soon built as the students attentively and patiently attended to the seniors, who shared their stories and posed for the photo shoot. Throughout the informal chat session, the seniors shared about themselves and their life experiences with the volunteers.

And we believe this simple but meaningful intergenerational project has not only allowed the volunteers and the seniors' lives to connect, but also that the seniors' life stories, lessons and experiences will go on to touch and bless our volunteers.

Extracted & Edited from
Family Support Service's 2011 2nd Quarter Newsletter

Showing Hospitality...

2011-08-16T15:55:00.009+08:00

The best way to learn hospitality is to put it to practice and show it...

And this was just the case when students volunteers from the Tourism Management Institute of Singapore (TMIS) visited The Salvation Army's Family Support Services (FSS) to bless our beneficiaries.

This is the second time TMIS volunteers render their services to FSS' Food Ration Programme. Prior to the distribution day, volunteers put together food rations. A week before, Gina (Student Welfare Executive of TMIS) visited FSS with 5 other student representatives and delivered the food rations they were donating to FSS.

When the day for distribution came, 13 TMIS students lent their "helping hands" at the distribution in Bukit Merah.

Though the TMIS students volunteers come from different countries and spoke different languages, this did not keep them from interacting with the seniors. Their friendliness and helpfulness brought joy and warmth to the seniors and we can see that the seniors were indeed delighted to receive their rations from a bunch of youthful and cheerful students.

Beyond just interacting, the students further showed the spirit of hospitality and helped seniors who required assistance to carry their rations back to their home, as well as helped make door-to-door delivery for the home-bound seniors.

We are glad to have been able to wrap up another meaningful volunteer partnership, bringing joy and our volunteers and our seniors together. Thank you TMIS volunteers!

Extracted & Edited from
Family Support Service's 2011 2nd Quarter Newsletter

A Record Volunteer Feat

2011-05-26T14:47:00.005+08:00

Our friends at Hwa Chong conducted a T-shirt collection drive for The Salvation Army. Though the initial target was to collect 2000 pieces, Darren, Ying Cong and Wen Shen of the 37th Hwa Chong Students Council, through the tenacity and hard work, were able to surpass the target and garner 4500 pieces of T-shirts.

With ingenuity, they were also able to, with a team of students, form a ‘Shirtilicious’ mosaic from 2640 pieces of donated T-shirts.

Though the current world record for this type of display consists of only 2070 pieces, our modest friends chose to have their feat remain as an ‘Unofficial’ record.

Bravo to Hwa Chong for making this collection drive project and experience a fun and meaningful one!

Article extracted from http://sarsifts.wordpress.com/

True Heart Connections

2011-05-24T14:45:00.009+08:00

Every first and third Saturday of the month, a group of volunteer mentors visits The Haven to meet their mentees. The True Heart Connections programme is a two-hour session which comprises of tuition and mentoring. In the first hour mentors help the children with their school work, which is followed by mentoring sessions, where character-building programmes centred on themes such as respect, integrity, and self-awareness are done through discussions, games and lectures.

I had the opportunity to speak with True Heart Connections volunteers Angela, Soon Ning and Yean Ching after their session.

For Angela, the programme was a way for her to ‘give back’ to society, and to help the less privileged get ‘a better footing in society, especially those who do not have good family backgrounds.’ Residents at The Haven are abused or neglected children and many have been referred by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports to The Salvation Army for care.

None of the volunteers felt that it a sacrifice to spend a few hours every alternate Saturday with the children. Soon Ning finds great satisfaction in seeing his mentee change for the better. He shared how his mentee used to spew vulgarities wantonly, but has since changed and no longer uses bad language. The joy one gets out of volunteering stems from the ‘satisfaction of seeing your kid grow’, explained Angela.

In fact, the volunteers see themselves not so much as mentors to the children but more as older friends. It is the trust and the friendship that strengthens the bond between them, facilitating the heart-to-heart sharing, which hopefully helps in character building, increasing self-esteem, and according to Yean Ching, inspire each mentee to ‘have an ambition and work towards it.’

Friendships between mentors and mentees are built on more than just meeting twice a month. Yean Ching, for example, regularly keeps in touch with her mentee via Facebook and short messages service (SMS) throughout the week. Because friendships and trust take time to develop, The Haven’s Programme Coordinator Janis Delariman-Khoo stresses the importance of the volunteers’ consistency in working with the children, which makes such a difference in the life of the child. After all, if a volunteer is going to spend only a few months volunteering to test whether it is suitable for him and then leave, the child will feel abandoned.

Before I left, Soon Ning shared with me an experience which left a deep impression upon him. His mentee called him from a public phone (his mentee had no mobile phone), and told him that he passed one subject in his exams. Although it was only one subject, Soon Ning said that he was really happy for his mentee. Such mutual sharing of joy is one of the reasons why volunteering at The Haven is a fulfilling experience. Such is the impact a mentor can have on the life of a child.

New Volunteer Resources

2011-05-19T16:03:00.008+08:00

In working to support our volunteers to have a meaningful and successful partnership with us, we have compiled a few resources:

Ideas for Volunteer Projects:
http://bit.ly/sav-ideas
Writing Your Project Proposal:
http://bit.ly/sav-proposal
Resources to Plan Fundraising/Collection Drives:
http://bit.ly/sav-fundraising
Volunteer Opportunities at a Glance:
http://bit.ly/sav-opp
Volunteer Resources and Funding (for Self-Initiated Projects)
http://bit.ly/volresources

ANZA House Painting Volunteering Initiative

2011-05-18T15:12:00.007+08:00

Click for larger version

Of Celebration of Friendship, Birthday and Chinese New Year

2011-05-16T15:54:00.016+08:00

pring is in the air; with mandarin oranges, new year goodies and ang baos (red packets) all signifying the coming of the Chinese New Year. This year, Family Support Services (FSS) celebrated this traditional Chinese festive occasion with a steamboat lunch for our Elderly Drop-In Programme (EDIP) members on 27 Jan 2011.

Steamboat continues to be a favourite among many of the seniors; bringing many together for quality bonding time with one another. And FSS is pleased and honoured to have sponsors Jessie and Juat Mui, together with FSS' regular EDIP volunteer, Jazreel, to join in the festivities.

Before lunch, the elderly came together for a simple game of sure-win “Wheel of Fortune”. Five blessed seniors won ang baos from FSS while the rest walked away with consolation prizes. Indeed, everyone is a joyful winner.

After the game, everyone came together for feasting with the steamboat lunch. To round it up, two mandarin oranges (大吉）-a symbol of blessings for the new year-were presented to each sponsor, volunteer and senior.

eniors from FSS had yet another reason to celebrate the Chinese New Year. On 10 Feb 2011, they were treated to a Lunar New Year lunch by our regular volunteer, Jessie, to celebrate the start of the Year of the Rabbit!

That afternoon, FSS was also joined by our Chief Secretary, Col Bob Lee and his wife, Col Wendy Lee, Territorial Secretary of Women's Ministries.

Every dish served that afternoon was specially chosen by Jessie, with careful consideration of the seniors' health and their preferences. Having spent consideration time with the seniors, going on outings with them and faithfully boiling nutritious soups for them every week, Jessie has come to know the seniors well and share a wonderful friendship with them.

That afternoon, the elderly had a great makan time with the wonderful spread chosen by Jessie. And to show their appreciation for this close friend of the FSS family, they had secretly prepared a birthday surprise for Jessie, whose birthday happens to be on the same month. With a birthday cake and a song for her, everyone took the opportunity to celebrate with Jessie her birthday, the Chinese New Year, as well as a dear friendship with each other.

Pack Full of Love & Joy

2011-05-16T14:28:00.011+08:00

mployees from Allianz SE Reinsurance Branch Asia Pacific visited The Salvation Army's Family Support Services (FSS) on 15 Feb 2011. They contributed precious time and participated in the FSS' food ration distribution programme.

Prior to their visit and the actual food run, the volunteers initiated a food drive within their company and collected donations of food in kind. These were donated to FSS’ Food Ration Programme, which supports needy seniors and families living in the community.

Bringing with them well-wishes from fellow staff in the company, five volunteers-Chua Si Hui, Sulastri Yusorh, Christina Tay, Sally Tee and Theresa Han (see right)--participated in the food run.

Together with FSS staff, Si Hui and team arrived at the various distribution points where FSS delivers their rations. There, they had the opportunity to meet the elderly clients and brought smiles to their faces with their cheerful laughter.

With the rations in hand, Si Hui and team even helped the seniors carry their heavy rations home, while walking alongside and sharing conversation. Being well-equipped with trolleys and well-organised into teams, the volunteers worked closely as one to carry out their tasks both effectively and efficiently.

It's indeed a meaningful time for both the seniors and the volunteers, as bonds and friendship are forged. Not only were the seniors happy to meet new friends, but we believe that Si Hui and team took away with them a meaningful and heart-warming experience, as they spent time away from work, bonding with one another, with the seniors

Our appreciation goes out to Si Hui and team and all in Allianz SE Reinsurance Branch Asia Pacific for their packs full of love and joy...

Si Hui and Team

The Sky's the Limit...

2011-04-04T12:16:00.005+08:00

"Crusade for Charity" is here!

Almost 2 years in the making, the video was developed by our video production volunteers from DNA Creative Solutions. It brought together people including producers, graphic and animation designers, makeup artists etc in the spirit of volunteerism.

And the result: a wonderfully made short video which provides a good overview of the myriad of ways one can volunteer in TSA.

Sit back and enjoy!
Link: http://bit.ly/crusade4charity

Volunteer Appreciation Event - 5 Levels of Communication

2010-07-23T13:48:00.006+08:00

What are the 5 levels of communication that parents need to be aware of? How can we connect with our loved ones better? How do we engage our children on issues relating to relationship?

Following the successful conclusion of the 1st family life education workshop on the 5 love languages, we are pleased to bring you yet another workshop on the levels of communication in August 2010.

In this eye-opening and informative workshop, parents will be brought on a journey to discover the levels of communication and our trainer will follow up with insights on the impact of relationship issues as well as offer practical tips and examples so that parents can better manage their teens’ emotional wellness.

This workshop (worth $80 per pax) is free for volunteers and their family members. It is our way of saying thanks to our partners in caring who have been a wonderful blessing to our beneficiaries and The Salvation Army.

Limited seats available and participation in this workshop is by registration only. So REGISTER now.

Obtain more information and/or register through your Volunteer Coordinators today. You may also call James at Tel: 6555-0232 for more information.

ABOUT THE TRAINER & FACILITATOR
Esther is a certified Family Life Educator from Edith Cowan University (Australia) with MCYS (Ministry of Community Development, Youth & Sports) sponsorship. She had completed a Strategic Management Programme at Harvard University and also holds a Honours Degree majoring in Psychology & Gov’t Administration at the NUSU (Nanyang & Singapore University).

Esther has much experience facilitating parents group. She is a much sought after speaker & trainer by schools , companies & organizations. She has regaled thousands with her practical and enriching insights into family life. Esther also made guest appearances on Channel 8 and on radio shows - FM 938 Live as well as www.flyhighradio.net. Esther & her family shared their story in the ‘Celebrating Family’-101 Love and Inspiring story by the National Family Council

Dancing for a Good Cause, No Trouble at All

2010-07-21T16:51:00.009+08:00

What would you expect when you place four teenage boys together? To be completely honest, I have to admit that I was somewhat of a skeptic when I first found out what my writing assignment entailed. Accounts of my very own teenage years, both good and bad, came flooding back into my memories. The feelings of nostalgia soon gave way to a daunting revelation when I put the words ‘Teenage Boys’ and ‘Parties’ in the same equation – trouble.

On the 30^th of June, I arranged to meet-up with the four engineering students from Ngee Ann Polytechnic in an effort to get to know them a little better before penning down the story about their fundraising project for The Salvation Army. I was greeted by Kong Hock, Zak, Wei Sheng and Kai Yao (see photo on left). I was interested to find out what motivated them to put together such an event. Team Leader Kai Yao shares, “Initially we did it to fulfill a requirement for our I&E (Innovation and Entrepreneurship) module, but eventually we decided to use our skills to do something with purpose for charity instead”.

This sparked something within me, as I came to realize that many people have in reality developed some form of misconception towards volunteerism. Many have failed to see that in essence, volunteerism in its most fundamental and basic form, is simply an act of dedicating one’s time and whatever skills they may have to better the lives of others. These four teenage boys showed us just that.

And so, Salvage a Night @ NP was the brainchild of these four friends who came up with a novel, yet unique idea of fusing a modern day dance party with a traditional fundraising effort. The outcome was truly phenomenal! The pulsating music from the guest DJ, coupled with the electrifying atmosphere attracted hoards of crowds to the dance party on the evening of the 1^st of July. The party lasted well into the night with endless laughter, groovy dance moves, and of course plenty of fun. The proceeds from the entire event were then donated to The Salvation Army to help those in need.

In my opinion, “Salvage a Night @ NP” serves as a pinnacle milestone, which marks a new paradigm shift in terms of how we should view and define volunteerism. Presently, volunteerism adorns multiple forms, and in fact anyone can volunteer in their own special way to bless others. Much like this group of inspirational teenagers who dedicated their time and skills to help better the lives of others.

I guess a take-home message for all of us is that a seemingly simple gesture such as our ability to draw a picture, play a musical instrument, or even writing (much like what I’m doing) can also be deemed as volunteerism. Every little bit, regardless of how minute it is, can and will contribute to make a difference in someone else’s life.

Much like how a small pebble when dropped into a pond can create massive ripples, this analogy illustrates how each and everyone’s small contributions can also leave a lasting impact on others. As they summed up their entire experience from this event, the four of them agreed that, “After all the effort which we have put in, we felt really excited and satisfied with what we have done”.

Needless to say, I am genuinely impressed and inspired by what these four quirky teenagers have accomplished. They have proven to me that regardless of age, you can still make a difference in your own special way. Also a reminder to myself, the next time I hear someone joking about engineering students being a boring bunch, I know that this is simply not true at all because these four engineering students are definitely far from boring. J

For more information on how to be a volunteer for The Salvation Army, please visit the SA-V Portal at: http://sg.salvationarmy.org/volunteer

A Loving Way of Appreciating our Volunteers

2010-07-21T16:41:00.007+08:00

Often, we are so caught up in our hectic lives that we unintentionally neglect our loved ones and forget to show how much we appreciate them. The Salvation Army identified this as one of the challenges many individuals face today and hence, organised a session to help volunteers learn more how they can better relate to their loved ones.

The workshop, entitled “5 Love Languages – Family Life Education and Personal Development”, was held on the evening of 29^th June at The Salvation Army Territorial Headquarters, the second in a series of volunteer appreciation events that The Salvation Army is organising for its volunteers, in partnership with the Bishan Chinese Corps. The first was a talk on energy conservation given in partnership with the National Environment Agency in January 2010.

“It’s our little way of saying thank you by investing in our volunteers’ lives just as they have invested in our beneficiaries’,” explained James Lim, The Salvation Army’s Volunteer Resources Manager. It has been challenging, however, coming up with ideas for such sessions, he admitted. After a quick poll with volunteers, family and personal development were identified as some of the areas in which volunteers were interested to be trained, in addition to other capacity building courses and events that might help volunteers perform their roles better.

Esther Lee, a family life educator, was the speaker at the workshop. She hoped that participants would realise the importance of the use of “affirmative, positive language” to express their love for others and hence, build “strong, meaningful relationships”. When asked about how the evening’s event differed from those she usually conducts for schools and other organisations, she replied that the latter are typically tailored to emphasis family or group dynamics, whereas the former was catered to “adult learners who are willing to be equipped with skills so as to reach out to the community in a meaningful, positive and constructive way”.

Esther began the evening by playing two videos of Dr Gary Chapman (whose work the whole session was centred on) explaining the 7 common traits he identified in people described as “loving” – kindness, patience, forgiveness, courtesy, humility, generosity and honesty – which she went on to reinforce with anecdotes. She continued by expounding the 5 Love Languages – words, time, gift, service and touch – before dividing the participants into small groups for sharing. The highlight of the workshop came when Esther tallied the results of the 5 Love Languages questionnaire, which the participants had completed, and taught them to analyse what their scores meant about their varying preferences of the 5 Love Languages. The evening concluded with the opportunity for participants to practise communicating in a positive and encouraging manner.

The workshop was very well-received by the participants, who expressed interest in attending a follow-up session. Lui Lee Leng, a member of the Singapore Central Corps, remarked that he now knew “how to approach people” better by choosing the right “timing and method”. Scott Collison, whose wife is a volunteer with The Salvation Army, attended the session with her and felt that he had learnt “small subtle things” such as the “thoughts and perspective” of his wife, “better ways of communicating with others and the importance of body language”.

To quote Esther, “Love is not just a concept or value system. It should be a way of life.”

Going by the Book to Impact Lives

2010-07-21T16:27:00.009+08:00

Book lovers were treated to a “book-elicious” spread as an estimated 6,000 books were displayed for sale at Bookfest @ Bishan on 12 June 2010 at the Bishan Community Centre. Bookfest has been put together by volunteers from both the Salvation Army Library Enterprise (SALE) and the Bishan North Youth Executive Committee (Bishan Youth CC Youth Club). Working together for the first time, the volunteers worked alongside each other to plan the project, garner the community’s support and run this meaningful event, in a bid to promote reading within the community and at the same time, raise funds for The Salvation Army’s work with its various beneficiaries.

The books were donated by the public to The Salvation Army through its donation bins island wide. These are in turn received by the Red Shield Industries’ collection team and processed by the SALE team; a group of dedicated volunteers who have been helping behind the scenes for more than five years now. Week after week, they come together to process, sort, price and organize the books to raise needed funds for the Army’s social services and programmes, which serves more than 2000 beneficiaries.

To encourage the sale of the books, the team also works to organize the sale of thousands of second-hand books each year. Though an arduous task, avid volunteer Hwee Hian, who pioneered SALE with two other volunteers, takes it all in her stride for a larger cause.

Despite the hard work it entails, she explains that SALE is also focused on reaching out to the community and encouraging service learning in youth. The larger cause is ultimately aimed at improving the lives of low-income families, achieved through the sale of second-hand books. In the end, Bookfest managed to raise more than $2200 in a single day.

SALE’s core volunteer group consists of approximately 15 people who help out on a regular basis, aided by ad-hoc volunteers, mostly students.

Hwee Hian believes that SALE provides a serving opportunity for youth volunteers who find it difficult to lend effort on a regular basis due to various other commitments. “Not many volunteer projects allow students to volunteer without a minimum commitment for a short period of time. But because SALE encourages service learning, we let students volunteer whenever they can… Some of them are quite introverted. By volunteering, they can also build up their social skills,” Hwee Hian says.

Currently, the team helps out at Upper Serangoon and had recently started another team at Upper Bukit Timah six months ago. Several youth volunteers, aged 13 to 17 years, help out at both branches.

It is no surprise that SALE’s annual book sales draw large crowds. The books, some as good as new, retail at a fraction of the price of their unused counterparts. There are books for children, teenagers and adults, with the most expensive being a mere $5. Other than books, soft toys were also on sale to raise funds.

Besides volunteers from SALE and Bishan North Youth Executive Committee, volunteers from Anderson Junior College and an international student were also enlisted and worked alongside each other to help out at the book fair.

Volunteer Tan Jing Hwee, 31, feels that her experiences at SALE have been very enjoyable and fulfilling. A school teacher, she joined SALE in 2008, and has been helping out at weekends since.

Like many other SALE volunteers, she has a passion for reading. “Volunteering at SALE is particularly rewarding, as it enables me to find books that are generally difficult to source in ordinary bookstores,” she says.

In fact, their mutual passion for reading is what gels SALE volunteers together in a close-knit community. In doing what they love, they are also helping to make a big difference in the community.

Home Makeover Down-Under Family Style

2010-07-21T15:46:00.009+08:00

Sunday may be a day of rest, relaxation and fun for most, but Lynn White and her family have no qualms about foregoing it for a meaningful cause. On the 27^th and 28^th of June (Sunday and Monday), Lynn, together with her husband David, daughter Jessica and Jessica’s friend Brittany Klein, lent a helping hand to a senior beneficiary of The Salvation Army’s Family Support Services (FSS) by cleaning and repainting his home in Redhill.

Lynn is a member of the Australian and New Zealand Association (ANZA), a group that facilitates friendship and support within the community of Australian and New Zealand families in Singapore and which, within their 11-year partnership with The Salvation Army, has increased their community involvement in recent years.

It was through ANZA that Lynn, a cardiac technologist, began her frequent voluntary work with FSS. On top of her monthly involvement in the FSS’ food distribution programme, at which her family also helps occasionally, she has also dedicated her time to fundraisers and events like Coffee Morning and Mahjong Morning for the elderly, just to list a few examples.

“(The FSS) is fantastic in coming up with different ideas. The staff are very friendly and open to suggestions,” Lynn remarked. When she found out about the elderlys’ plight through the FSS, she roped in her family to help because the idea of “doing something nice” for someone in need appealed to her. “It’s a form of family bonding,” she added, “and it’s something we’ll look back on and talk about in the future.”

David, a marketing advisor, who was posted to Singapore by his company in 2000, shared his wife’s views. “It’s nice to find occasions where [family members’] interests meet,” he commented, noting that teenagers start to drift apart from their families as they grow older. Hence, volunteering as a family afforded the White family the opportunity to spend quality time together in a meaningful way, an experience which Jessica described as “rewarding”.

In addition, through volunteering as a family, parents are able to set an example and impart the value of community service to their children. Lynn’s parents had always been active in such work and had encouraged her to do the same, she recalled, and she has done the same with her children, getting Jessica and elder brother Richard involved in various projects. Brittany’s mum runs a charity and has organised a fundraiser for a Cambodian orphanage and this spirit of giving has evidently rubbed off on her daughter.

“When you make the effort, it feels good and you get a lot out of it,” summed up David.

Volunteer Appreciation Event - 5 Love Languages

2010-06-01T19:35:00.003+08:00

Are you and your loved ones speaking the same love language?
What is your ‘primary’ love languages?
How can you better connect with your loved ones and friends?

Our volunteers have been a blessing to our beneficiaries and us and now it is time for us to thank our volunteers for their kind effort.

Come June, we will be putting together a family life and personal development workshop on the Five Love Languages, just for our volunteers.

So, come learn about the five love languages by Dr Gary Chapman, author of the international best-seller on this insightful relationship-building tool.

This workshop (worth $150 per pax) is free for volunteers and their family members. Through the workshop, you will learn to identify your unqiue love languages and also understand and learn to speak your loved ones' and friends' love languages.

Limited seats available and participation in this workshop is by registration only. So REGISTER now.

Obtain more information and/or register through your Volunteer Coordinators today. You may also call James at Tel: 6555-0232 for more information.

An Exchange of Culture and of Joy

2010-05-06T12:13:00.011+08:00

Donned in traditional Indian attire, our volunteer Supraja spends her birthday in an extraordinary and special way. What began as a cultural exchange programme during our regular elderly drop-in programme became an exchange of joy, as the lives of Supraja, her family, the beneficiaries and staff of The Salvation Army Family Support Services crossed paths. Supraja shares her reflections of her 17th birthday celebration with us.

By S. Supraja

I am Supraja. I am a junior college student with Raffles Institution. I have always believed that art knows no barriers and service knows no boundaries.

On Wednesday, 17th March 2010, I celebrated my 17th birthday with the elderly from the Family Support Services, accompanied by my parents and my grandmother in this special birthday celebration. I always look forward to spending my birthday meaningfully with the underprivileged; sharing my joy with others on this very special day of my life. In the past, I had celebrated my 12th & 16th birthdays with the underprivileged children from Child at Street 11. This year, I wanted to spend time, talk to and have a great birthday with the elderly. And so, I planned a 2-hour programme for the elderly, with the aim of making them happy on my birthday.

When I first entered the place, all of them were so happy to see me and many grandmas who had gathered there also came to hug me! I felt so touched. :)

I began entertaining them by performing a short Indian dance piece. Then I played a “passing the parcel” game with the elderly. The elderly had to pass a ball while my grandmother was clapping. The moment my grandmother stopped clapping, the person who had the ball in his/her hand had to follow me by doing a simple Indian dance gesture or facial expression, such as gesturing birds, trees etc. It was great fun and the winner of the game was given the ball as a prize.

Throughout the game, I found the elderly so cute and innocent; they were full of smiles and everyone was laughing. Soon, we came to the last activity where we taught the elderly the art of doing Rangoli, an Indian art in which a drawing is decorated with coloured powder. We brought along coloured powder and also drew designs on some cardboard for the elderly to decorate.

The elderly were all super creative and used several colours to decorate the board. In groups of about 5 people, each team worked together happily and completed their masterpieces. I was especially touched by one group who wrote “happy birthday” on the board and gave me a birthday greeting from the bottom of their hearts. It was something so priceless and I am indeed fortunate to receive the wishes and blessings from so many elderly on my birthday.

One grandma even gave me a Hong Bao and it really touched my heart to know that despite being underprivileged, she still had the sweet thought of giving me something as a birthday gift. We ended the day with a sponsored lunch for the elderly.

I felt so satisfied seeing the happiness in so many people’s lives that day. The day was definitely a very memorable and unforgettable one in my life and I love all the grandmas and grandpas there! :)

Celebrations, Entertainment & Befriending are just some of the many volunteer opportunities available in The Salvation Army. For more information, visit http://sg.salvationarmy.org/volunteer

Bookfest @ Bishan

2010-04-29T14:26:00.006+08:00

Click on the poster for a larger version

Get ready this June to take a dip into the pool of knowledge
and unearth timeless treasures!

This June, volunteers from The Salvation Army and Bishan North Youth Executive Committee (Bishan North CC Youth Club) will be putting together Bookfest@Bishan.

Proceeds from the Bookfest will support The Salvation Army's work with the beneficiaries through its network of social service centres and programmes.

With an incredible collection of books to choose from and unbelievable bargains, this bookfest is one not to be missed. Get a bargain and support a good cause.

So come on down to Bishan CC Multi-Purpose Hall (behind Bishan Bus Interchange) from 10am to 6pm on Saturday, 12 June 2010.

See you there!!

In addition, we are also glad to inform that you can catch a free study skills talk by the author of "The Inner Knight" himself at the Bookfest, from 10.30am-11.30am. Participants will also get to enjoy special promotion on the book and the "Become Top" workshop. See details at the SARSI Family Thrift Store blog.

All Effort, Big or Small, Makes a Difference...

2010-02-03T14:12:00.003+08:00

Christmas holds a very special meaning for all believers in Christ and we very well know why. While the rest of the world goes shopping for ‘Xmas’ presents, as children of God we take time to reflect on His majesty, goodness, birth and sacrifice. We also remember that during this festive season, the less fortunate people out there need to experience this Christmas warmth too.

In an article in TODAY newspaper last year, I read that the Salvation Army needed more bell ringers to stand by the kettling pots outside shopping centres. To me, fewer kettling pots simply meant less money for the needy; it was something sad to even think about.

I decided I could volunteer my time and asked around if any of my friends were interested. At the end of this short exercise I managed to get my best friend on board with me.

Last year, we did about three kettling sessions together at Bishan Junction 8 and Suntec City. This year, we completed another three evenings outside Far East Plaza. Because of a work attachment overseas, we could not volunteer for more slots.

Kettling is not a daunting task at all. There are people I know who want to volunteer but feel shy about doing so. These are some things my best friend and I do:

ring the bell,
smile at passers by,
assist the public whenever needed (giving direction, pose for photos with curious passersby),
explain what kettling is,
thank donors when they drop in their money and
enjoy ourselves! (we had the wonderful company of an adorable stray ginger cat this year)

I may not be a regular volunteer in any non-profit organisation but I am not about to feel inferior and give up an opportunity like kettling to help somebody in need. Come next year, the next and the next, you’ll definitely see my best friend and me kettling in the streets of Singapore!

~ Poh Choo

My Christmas Kettling Experience

2010-02-03T14:06:00.007+08:00

During the festive season, we often see the familiar sight of volunteers in red aprons at shopping malls, ringing bells and encouraging passers-by to drop a donation into the kettles.

I decided to volunteer this year and encouraged my seven year old daughter to be my partner in manning the kettle. She was very happy to be able to help out and do something meaningful during her school holiday. Our assignment started from 3 pm, and for 2 hours, we put on our best smiles for hundreds, maybe thousands of shoppers, appealing for donations while ringing the bell and thanking the donors.

I was very touched by the passers by, some of whom were so forthcoming in donating money. Even some elderly people who themselves did not look well, took out coins from their old wallets and donated them. Many parents who saw my daughter standing and ringing the bell, in turn, encouraged their children to donate. Though I had earlier taught my daughter that all contributions count, no matter how big or small, she was thrilled and motivated to see donors dropping into the kettle 50 and 10 dollar notes. We challenged each other to see who could garner the most donors as we took turns to ring the bell. To cap our experience, one kind lady donor even returned to give us drinks she had bought! This experience definitely left us in high spirits and we will definitely be signing up for next year’s kettling!

I am glad I spent a fulfilling and meaningful afternoon this Christmas season by volunteering with my daughter and inculcating the values of altruism and sharing in her.

Would you be keen to volunteer next year too?

~ Jennifer Lee and Daughter

It Does More Than Just Ring a Bell

2009-12-09T12:04:00.003+08:00

Support the Christmas Kettle Appeal today. To find out how your contributions will help our beneficiaries, visit our website at http://sg.salvationarmy.org.

Here's how you can help:

Donate: Contribute to the kettle pot and encourage our volunteers as you see them island-wide.

Volunteer: Sign up as a bell-ringer by visiting the website or calling the kettling hotline at 6452-4093. Read more about our bell-ringers' experience at http://sa-v.blogspot.com/search/label/kettling.

Spread the Word: Spread the word by sharing this video with your friends.

This video has been made possible with the dedicated efforts of volunteers from DNA Creative Solutions.

We would also like to thank Raffles City Shopping Centre for their kind assistance with the filming on location.

Love for a Dollar

2009-12-08T18:34:00.004+08:00

Going Christmas shopping?
Why not share a little and bless someone during this season of giving?
Support our volunteers as they chip in to do their bit for the beneficiaries of The Salvation Army.

Here’s how…
Simply shop for your gifts and bring them down to our gift-wrapping booths with your wrappers.

Here’s when and where…
Between the 14 and 24 December (Mon-Sat), our volunteers will be offering their gift-wrapping service at Bukit Panjang Plaza, Lot One, Sembawang Shopping Centre and Tampines Mall, in exchange for a dollar donation to The Salvation Army’s work with the beneficiaries.

So while you shop in the malls, why not drop by to say “hi!” to our volunteers, encourage them and have them gift-wrap your gifts.

Just look out for them, present them with your receipts and share your love today.
Support “Love for a Dollar” today!

* Terms and conditions apply for the gift-wrapping service. Please find out more about the service from our friendly volunteers at the booth.

A Note of Appreciation from our Territorial Commander...

2009-12-01T19:07:00.005+08:00

Dear volunteers,

International Volunteer Day 2009 provides us with this wonderful opportunity to say "Thank You" to each one of you for your service to humankind through The Salvation Army.

In a world where it is easy to take such service for granted, I want to assure you of our heartfelt thanks for the time and hardwork that you give. The Salvation Army is committed to the service of others and we are delighted that you have chosen to partner with us.

We sincerely trust that in volunteering with us, you will feel a great sense of fulfillment and satisfaction.

May God bless you.

Colonel Keith Burridge
Territorial Commander
The Salvation Army
Singapore, Malaysia & Myanmar Territory

Our Photo Wall of Bell-Ringers

2009-11-11T15:48:00.005+08:00

View the full album at http://picasaweb.google.com/volatwk/WallOfBellRingingMoments

Post your favourite photos of you in action bell-ringing and you might see your photos here.

Send your high-resolution photos, with your names, contact number and any remarks/captions to volunteer (AT) SMM.salvationarmy.org (replace (AT) with @ to email me).

By contributing photos to the Wall, you agree to featuring your photos on the wall.

Check back for more photos...

Get this widget at roytanck.com

View the full album at
http://picasaweb.google.com/volatwk/WallOfBellRingingMoments

Studies + Community Service = Lethal Concoction?

2009-04-15T15:18:00.005+08:00

Not long after the release of the “A” levels results, the SA-V editorial team goes on hot pursuit of volunteers leaders who have not only been a wonderful blessing to the beneficiaries of The Salvation Army, but who have also scored well in their examinations. SA-V takes time to speak to the 2 leaders separately and here is an excerpt of interviews.

How did you do for your A-levels?

Keet Yeng: I am extremely thankful for having attained my desired grades at the A’level examinations. I hope that I will be able to commence a course of my interest in the university.

Fiona: I scored 7 straight As in all the 7 subjects that I sat for.

What stays with you from volunteering? What's memorable?

Keet Yeng: Volunteering has made me realise that every individual has the power to make a difference. Knowing that my efforts will go on to make someone else’s life better drives me to work even harder. The most memorable part about volunteering would definitely be the smiles you see on the faces of fellow volunteers, the public and the beneficiaries. No matter how bleak things might become, as they say, “a smile is a curve that will set everything straight”.

Fiona: Volunteering is especially meaningful to me because I hope to be able to make a difference in the lives of others, be it indirectly or directly. Moreover, the fellow volunteers that I worked alongside, are really great people whose friendships I treasure.

How has volunteering made a difference to you and your studies? What have you gained?

Keet Yeng: Volunteering has opened my eyes to the lessons that one can learn beyond the four walls of the classroom. More often than not, we tend to take life for granted. Be it the warmth of having an intact family or a sheltered environment, volunteering has taught me to treasure what I have been blessed with. As such, I make it a point to give back to society as often as I can.

Fiona: I have learnt that the human heart is good, and even though modern society is generally perceived by many to have an ugly face, indulging in materialistic wants that have no value to the human soul, there are still people out there who care and who want to help. These experiences and life lessons are priceless.

What would you say to those who want to volunteer? How does one find joy in volunteering?

Keet Yeng: I would tell all those who intend to take up volunteering to stop hesitating and to take the first step forward. There are many people who will benefit from your service and doing so will give them the opportunity to kick-start many things. For instance, the funds that you help raise as a volunteer at an event might allow a needy family to purchase textbooks for its children. Volunteering provides one with the platform to help others to help themselves. In the process of doing so, one will definitely gain immense joy because one’s efforts has allowed another individual to be better off in society.

Fiona: Be prepared to make sacrifices, and don’t give up easily. I have met many people who have given up volunteering after a few attempts because they find it difficult to balance it with their other commitments. It takes a while, so give yourself time to experience the indescribable joys of volunteering. There is no greater happiness than helping others. Nothing else will buy you that.

What advice would you give to them on balancing their studies and community work?

Keet Yeng: The key to finding balance would definitely lie in proper time management and prioritizing. Seek advice from others and don’t remain ‘mum’, bottling up your feelings if you experience difficulties in coping. Share your problem with fellow volunteers and try to even out the workload.

Fiona: Like I mentioned, be prepared to make sacrifices. It won’t be easy at first, but you’ll get into the hang of things after a while. I have always been one to go out with my friends on a regular basis but that became a rare luxury for me in 2008 because of my lack of time. Be prepared to lose sleep too. I slept at 2am on average on weekdays because I was just too busy with school, rehearsals and homework. The temptation to sleep in on Saturday mornings was great, but I continued to go for my regular volunteer work because that was where I got my real break from studies.

What would you say to parents who are considering volunteering for their children?

Keet Yeng: I would tell them that volunteering is a life-changing experience, primarily because it gives you the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life. Every individual has their own story to tell and in getting to interact with them opens their eyes to the world out there. Volunteering redefines one’s perspective and in doing so, one can definitely be assured that someone else out there is benefiting from one’s effort.

Fiona: GOOD FOR YOU! Haha. Volunteering is truly a life-changing experience, and can teach your children lessons that they’ll never be able to learn from school alone. To top it off, why not get involved in community service with your kids from time to time too? It’ll definitely be a great family-bonding exercise!

What's your next step?

Keet Yeng: I am looking to take up a degree in Podiatry in Australia. In a nutshell, podiatry is the study of disorders afflicting the lower limb, including the knees and the feet. Personally, I feel that many people take their feet for granted and more often than not, we only come to realise their importance when we are on the brink of losing them. Such awareness is lacking in the masses and I hope that in my pursuit of a career in the health sciences, I will be able to share my knowledge and continue to help others to help themselves.

Fiona: For my career direction, I aim to carve a niche for myself in the public relations industry and establish myself as a reputable PR professional. I’m applying for scholarships now and crossing my fingers that I’ll get a couple of offers so that I’ll be able to continue my studies without financial worries. Wish me luck!

Tell us how you have volunteered (both within and outside of The Salvation Army)?

Keet Yeng: Within The Salvation Army, I’ve been involved in the planning of “Project Love for a Dollar”
together with my classmate Fiona for the past two years. “Project Love for a Dollar” is a Christmas gift-wrapping project started by my Junior College class for our service learning project in 2007, but we have since decided to conduct it on a long-term basis, as it is a meaningful move to make during the season of giving. I have also volunteered at Gracehaven as a tutor to the children residing there and done book shelving at the thrift store in Upper Serangoon Road under Red Shield Industries. Externally, I have organized activities for the elderly at neighbourhood links under the Thye Hua Kuan Moral Society.

Fiona: You can find me at the Family Thrift Store on Saturday mornings whenever I’m free. Apart from that, I’m a member of the organising and planning committee for “Project Love for a Dollar”, our annual Christmas fund-raising activity which is being held alongside Kettling in December. Feel free to come up to me if you see me sitting at the booth wrapping presents for the customers!

Article originally published in the SA-V (Salvation Army Volunteer) Bulletin April 2009 © All Rights Reserved

Before the Wrapping Begins...

2009-04-15T13:26:00.007+08:00

Way before the crazy shopping for Christmas begins, volunteers for “Project Love for a Dollar” begins training volunteers, and SA-V Editorial journalist, Ms Grace Wong, takes us on a behind-the-scenes look at the volunteer training.

Seasoned shoppers at CapitaLand malls – namely at Bukit Panjang Plaza, Junction 8, Lot One and Tampines shopping malls, would have noticed something familiar brewing in the air of festivity during the 2 weeks leading up to Christmas in 2008. “Project: Love for a Dollar”, a fundraising initiative for The Salvation Army (TSA) by student volunteers from Anderson Junior College, was back for Christmas again! Making its debut in December 2007, volunteers would offer gift-wrapping services to shoppers, in return for donations in aid of The Salvation Army and its beneficiaries.

Beginning with just a hand full of volunteers and only 7 facilitators, the task of coping with the potential gift-wrapping demands at the malls appeared to be a daunting one. However, it was clear that everyone was not prepared to give up without a fierce fight. A briefing cum training session marked the start of the volunteers’ journey through the project. Although it was just the preliminary stage before the actual run of the fundraising, everyone was already geared up and raring to pick up gift-wrapping skills from the student facilitators, as well as learn the protocol for serving patrons.

As the initiative is student-based, spotting a grown-up amid all the youth was certainly unexpected. Doris, who engages in gift-wrapping as a hobby, got wind of this project via the volunteer recruitment advertisement. She had shared that she had signed up to help in the project with the hope of contributing to The Salvation Army (TSA) and her beneficiaries, especially during times of the gloomy economy as such.

A short chat with the overall project coordinator, Nicole, allowed me to unearth more about the initiative, which was in its second year running since its inception in 2007. According to her, it was first initiated as a Service Learning project by the then Year 2s student volunteers in Anderson Junior College (AJC). To Nicole, it was simply “continuing the legacy” left behind by her senior batch as they worked to make a difference through the project. Indeed, one should not belittle this seemingly simple act of gift-wrapping. As Nicole put it, this fundraising would help raise awareness of the services and beneficiaries of The Salvation Army, especially shoppers who “may not have heard of TSA before”.

Notwithstanding the student leaders’ task of coordinating such a large scale project and volunteers for the first time, this apparent inadequacy was made up for in leaps and bounds by big hearts and big sacrifices on their part. As such, everyone contributed greatly in pulling off this large-scale initiative. Many would agree that it was well-coordinated and a success in many rights. Through everyone’s passion and hard work, the fundraising raised a tremendous total of close to $11,000 within a short period of 10 days, thus setting even greater heights for the Project Team of 2009 to scale in future!

Article originally published in the SA-V (Salvation Army Volunteer) Bulletin April 2009 © All Rights Reserved

THAT'S THE SPIRIT: Salvation Army thanks volunteers, public

2009-04-15T13:24:00.001+08:00

THE Salvation Army would like to thank all our kettling volunteers who answered our call for help through the press and made a difference in our time of need this Christmas. We are encouraged by volunteers of all ages, from different backgrounds, many family volunteers with young children in tow, coming forward to give of their time.

We are also very appreciative of members of the public who gave generously. A staff member was very touched when she met an elderly man wearing an old torn shirt who put $20 into the kettle pot; he chose to donate rather than use it to buy a new shirt. The Salvation Army organises Christmas Kettling yearly and we hope to keep it a tradition in Singapore like in many other countries. Besides raising needed funds for our social programmes, there are many other good reasons for us to do so. It's the time to share and what better way than to link as many hands as possible to demonstrate that we are a caring nation.

It is our privilege to serve the needy and we thank everyone who has helped make this a reality. May we take this opportunity to wish one and all a blessed Merry Christmas!

Gregory Lee, Director (PR)

Letter sent to ST Forum, 22 December 2008

The Ringing Continues...

2009-04-15T12:49:00.007+08:00

Every November and December, we hear the familiar ring-a-ling from The Salvation Army’s Christmas Kettle stands, where volunteers are seen cheerfully ringing the bells and encouraging passers-by to donate to the pots.

More than just an annual tradition, the Christmas Kettle Pot is also where the love and concern for the many beneficiaries of The Salvation Army meet. It is the place where the effort of the volunteers who sacrificially give time to help man the pots, meets the generosity of the donors, and the dedication of Salvation Army personnel in caring for the beneficiaries. Whatever role one plays, whether volunteer, donor or Salvation Army care personnel, the focus remains the same—the world of the beneficiaries will be made better through the help given. As the slogan for The Salvation Army’s Christmas Kettle Appeal in other countries aptly puts it “when you put money in a Salvation Army kettle, expect change”, we too believe that changes happen in the lives of people who have chosen to make a difference. This change continues, even as the pots are returned to storage, awaiting the next time they make their appearance on the streets again.

At the conclusion of the Christmas Kettle Appeal in 2008, we have asked volunteers to share with us their stories and experiences of kettling…

Karen Chow and Family
"We had fun kettling as a family this year. My baby truly enjoyed the two hours of bell ringing because he got to meet all kinds of people and the ringing eventually put him to sleep."

Evelyn Koh and Ernest Leong
"My husband and I are first time kettlers and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience! The prospect of 2 hours on one's feet bell ringing and calling out greetings to passersby seemed daunting at first, but we had fun singing carols to passersby and time goes quickly when you're having fun!

We worked the last shift (7 - 9pm) on Christmas Eve at Harbourfront and to help get into the spirit of things, we each wore a red Santa cap. Sometime into oursecond hour, a couple of expats approached us, pointed at the Santa caps on our heads and said, " We've been looking all over to buy ourselves one of these and there isn't a single cap left in this entire shopping complex. How much do you want for yours? We'll buy them off you. How much do you want us to donate?"

... We thought to ourselves, "We could ask for a lot since they desperately want our hats!" but instead, the words that came out were, "Sure, you can have our caps. Donate whatever amount you would like!"

We let them try the caps first and then one of them took $22 dollars from his wallet and put it into the kettle. Not bad for two $2 caps!"

Ms Jeslyn Yong and Felice Yong
We were amazed and happy that many have come forward to donate. Many donors were also very encouraging with their smiles.

This boy and his mum came to take over the kettle after our 2 hours stint. So heartwarming to see parents teaching their young kids the goodness of sharing at such a tender age.

Mr Errol Goodenough
Many years ago, I did scuba diving. Despite diving for several years, there is always some apprehension plunging into the depths on the first dive of each trip.

Kettling in December 2008 brought a somewhat similar feeling for me. Despite having kettled earlier in 2008 for the Myanmar Cyclone Disaster Relief Appeal, I experienced the same amount of anxiety as I did the very first time. Actually, even more.

Questions like: Will people ignore us at this time of hardship? Will thin crowds and even thinner wallets prove to be discouraging? How will I cope with rejection, or snide remarks that I once experienced while kettling at Bugis?

… For the first ten minutes it looked like a self-fulfilling prophecy as no one even glanced in our direction. While the ringing bell helped draw attention, I found (as I did on my first kettling) that something more is needed to win over a prospective donor. And that something comes only when one plucks up courage to make short, yet sensitive verbal appeals.

I found that these worked well, along with all-important eye contact:

"Won't you spare some change? Just a few coins go a long way..."

"Make your Christmas really meaningful by helping the needy..."

"Yes, times are hard, but it's even harder for the under-privileged.."

At the end of my shift I can honestly say I was pleased with the response. At some points it was sheer delight to watch two or three donors queuing up to reach the kettle pot...

… For the moment, I would just like to say: "Thank you for opportunity to help”.

Joyce Tia and daughter
Being a single mum, I am always touched by the help offered by others. Today, I am happy that I can offer my little help to others and at the same time encourage my five year old daughter to be a volunteer to help others who are in need. She was very happy to be able to help out although she was quite tired after the kettling.

I was very touched by the passersby donating money especially when some students opened up their old wallets ,took out all the coins and happily dropped them into the pot. The coins could be their pocket money for the holiday but they donated all. Wow..

It is not an easy job to be the bellringer and in fact quite tiring. Having to man the pots for 2 hours with a hundred or thousand of passersby/shoppers, putting on a smiley face, and appealing for donations while ringing the bell and thanking the donors. Despite all these, it is definitely still a very fulfilling and meaningful experience.

In fact, the credit should go to my daughter who helped. She not only learned to ring the bell but also to bow her head, say thank you and greet donors with a ‘Merry Christmas’ and distribute calendars to them. Many parents saw her standing and ringing the bell and had in turn encouraged their kids to donate. Some even took a photo with her and one uncle who took over the next shift, had even wanted to ‘borrow’ my daughter as a bellringer.

I am glad I spent a meaningful Christmas this year by being a volunteer with my lovely daughter.

Mr. Tan Gim Leong
It was a great experience for me to volunteer as a Christmas Kettle Appeal bellringer. This was my first time doing volunteer work and it was indeed an enriching one for me.

During my stint as a bellringer, it was heartening to see many parents giving money to their children, getting them to drop it into the kettle pot and explaining to them what The Salvation Army is all about. This is indeed a good way for the parents to instill the notion of giving to charity to their children. Although my stint as a bellringer was a short one, I’m inspired to do more for charity. I would like to continue the volunteer service with The Salvation Army.

Ms Sarah Cumaraswamy
I heard about your appeal for more volunteeers to do kettling and decided to sign up with my friend. This is my first time working with The Salvation Army and I found it to be really enriching! I never had so much fun doing kettling, and my friend Mabel and me were literally “Ho, Ho, Ho-ing” throughout the time we were there…

… While I was reflecting on how this economic turndown was going to affect people contributing, what touched me most was the realization that there are still many kind donors with big hearts out there! They put in whatever they could, big or small amounts, not allowing the economic downturn to affect their giving. A school kid took out his wallet and poured all the coins he had and I thought that was really awesome! Parents were also teaching their kids what it meant to give as they come across the bell-ringers.

I found the whole experience very fulfilling and therapeutic and I have come to recognize that I am not alone in this depressing downturn. Both young and old donors have played a part in helping me understand that life is about giving with love—even if you have not got much to give. Perhaps one’s presence, a touch or smile is contagious enough to help us know that we are not alone in this difficult time. I am glad to have signed up as a volunteer and am thankful once again for this memorable experience!

Ms Elyse Leong and Family
My children had a good time kettling and we were singing to and greeting the donors throughout the whole time. Through knowing that all contributions count— no matter big or small—they were very thrilled to see big donors who would drop 50 and 10 dollars notes. My children left the experience in high spirits and they are keen to help out some more. Thank you again.

Ms Pearlin Kee
Thanks so much. I enjoyed my first experience kettling. I was approached the
previous year but didn't have the courage to do it. Last year when I was asked again, I considered it but still hesitated until another friend gave me the push, saying that she would join the kettling for the first time too.

Article originally published in the SA-V (Salvation Army Volunteer) Bulletin
April 2009 © All Rights Reserved

SA-V Bulletin (Apr 2009)

2009-04-15T12:46:00.000+08:00

Open publication - Free publishing - More volunteer

Congratulatory Messages for International Volunteer Day

2008-12-03T19:19:00.007+08:00

From our Territorial Commander...

Dear Volunteers,

On this International Volunteer Day 2008 I am glad of the opportunity to express to you the sincere thanks of everyone in The Salvation Army for the valuable service you give to us and our clients and residents.

You are part of a great ‘army behind the Army’ and your service helps us to be more effective and efficient in our work amongst needy people. It is our aim to make a difference for good in people’s lives and we want you to know that your contribution by voluntary service plays a significant part in achieving this goal.

I trust that you find pleasure and satisfaction in your service with us. We look forward to your continuing partnership with us as together we put ‘service above self’.

Thank you and God bless you.

Yours sincerely,

David Bringans
Commissioner
Territorial Commander

From our Volunteer Resources Manager...

Ringing the kettle bell…
Befriending our beneficiaries…
Entertaining beneficiaries through song and dance…
Cleaning and improving the beneficiaries’ environment …
Mentoring our beneficiaries in their school work…
Providing consultancy to help us do better in caring for our beneficiaries…
Reading or telling stories to our children…
Distributing food rations to needy beneficiaries…
Processing donations-in-kind…
Teaching sports…
Celebrating festive events with our beneficiaries…
Making handicrafts with our beneficiaries…
Assisting with project management…
Helping in therapy programmes…

This is but a snapshot of how our volunteers have been so wonderful in giving of themselves to those in our Salvation Army Homes and Centres. Giving their time, skills, experience and love are beyond amonetary value because they are ‘heart gifts’.

As we celebrate International Volunteer Day on 5 December, we would like to say a big ‘Thank You’ to all volunteers. The Salvation Army salutes you for always being available and willing to assist in many ways. Your unselfish service has helped the Army provide a broader range of services to our beneficiaries.

Every role played by a volunteer makes an undeniable contribution to a colourful tapestry of love and care; each volunteer being uniquely different but yet beautifully bound together in loving service. Thank you once again and Happy International Volunteer Day!

James Lim Soon Leong
Volunteer Resources Manager

Love-ly Memories from Project ‘Love for a Dollar" 2007

2008-12-03T18:55:00.006+08:00

A team of student volunteers sacrifices their holidays to organize a fundraiser event to touch lives. But little did they expect that they will also be touched by others’ little act of love. Here’s an excerpt from their stories...

A Little Wallet; A Valuable Gift
He was young—probably about six to seven years of age—and he had a pair of glasses which made him look really adorable. From where we were, we saw him tarrying near our booth for some time, seemingly being shy to approach us. Finally, he bravely made his way to our booth and asked for his gift to be wrapped.

I soon realise that the gift he had in his hands was a leather wallet. I started talking to the little boy and asked him who the present was meant for. He shyly told us me that it was for his mother. We continued our little talk and I managed to find out that the wallet cost him $60 and how he had spent a long time saving up for this Christmas present for his mother.

Reflecting upon this brief encounter with this little boy, we have come to appreciate how this little small boy taught us about love. And, despite all the tiredness of having gifts after gifts wrapped, this little boy has renewed the warmth in our hearts, as if helping us to remember why we were doing this project. And how often have we been so frantically moving about in life that we fail to stop and just see the beauty of this world and of the relationships in our midst.

He loved his mom and scrimped and saved just so he could get her something nice… It was as simple as that. Perhaps that is why people sometimes say that children have so much to teach us grown-ups. To us, it was both a valuable gift of love; both for his mother and for us.

Making a difference from where we are
If I were asked to name the most memorable person I met during the entire project, it would be the DJ whom I met at Plaza Singapura.

I can still remember how it was a slow start to our project and the response was poor and discouraging; people were simply passing us by or walked away when they realised that they had to contribute a donation for the gift-wrapping.

Just then, we heard the DJ and an idea struck me to perhaps ask if the DJ would help us in publicising the project. Just as the little boy tarried around our booth, so did I tarried around the DJ’s booth, not knowing how to start asking. But finally, I mustered enough courage and went up to the DJ, sharing with him the rationale and details about our project. Then, I asked him if he would help us publicise the project so we could raise more funds and he agreed readily!

We were so thrilled and at first, we had expected him to help us with merely one announcement. But little did we expect that he would continue to do so once to twice every hour and for the whole duration of the project. It was a simple request but what he did simply overwhelmed us; we did not have the means to pay him for his service, but yet he unconditionally helped us with our project. And as a result of his generosity, customers started to flock to our booth. From sitting around, staring into space, we were suddenly back on our feet with barely any time left for meals.

We are really grateful to Mr Deejay and can only credit him for helping our booth succeed in our project. On the final day of our project, we gave him a box of chocolates to thank him personally for his help. That evening, he even returned to us after his DJ duties were over and passed us quite a number of presents to wrap.

It’s often because we do not dare to make the first move that we miss out on seeing how kind people can be. It is without doubt that this project was indeed challenging and time-consuming to put together, but it is not the time spent that mattered but the humbling experiences we had which has taught us many a valuable lessons.

People who left an imprint of love...
Throughout the project, we met many people and different ones of them, in their own ways, encouraged us on in our project.

Of Mahjong & Love—On the second day of our project, we met a chatty customer from Australia. She had bought a mahjong set and had wanted it wrapped. She shared that the gift is for her husband and continued to chat with us throughout the time she was at the booth.

For a long time, we have considered mahjong to be pretty much an Asian game. So it was really interesting seeing this lady buying a mahjong set for her husband. As we worked on the gift, the lady continued to share how much her husband enjoys playing mahjong and also drinking. She goes on to share how she dislikes her husband drinking, which explains the choice of gift, a mahjong set—her little expression of love for him.

The next day, she returned. But this time round, she had with her more gifts to be wrapped, commenting that she had wanted to support because it’s a meaningful project with a meaningful cause. She stayed at the booth much longer and continue to share with us about Australia, Sydney Opera House and so on. When we had finished with all the wrapping, she made yet another generous donation and bade us goodbye. By then, our spirits were uplifted, to have share a brief conversation with a customer, who not only supported our cause, but also livened our day at the booth.

Sweet Treats—Throughout our project, we met a number of people who affirmed us for what we were doing. One particular lady customer commented, “it heartens me to see young people like you committing your time to do such things for society.” Others showed their support through their generous donations. But one customer left a deep impression in us.

It was Christmas eve. This customer came to our booth and took us by surprise when he came with an entire box of birds’ nest to be wrapped. We also noticed that he was holding a box of donuts bought from the mall. We wrapped his gift, thanked him and handed him his gift. But to our surprise, he handed me the box of donuts and uttered “this is for all of you” before going his way.

It was a heartwarming gesture because we had not expected to be blessed in such a way. He had been in a hurry but had to wait ten minutes for his present to be fully wrapped. But yet, he gave us all donuts; the first meal we had since our duty began. It was a memorable Christmas eve indeed for all of us. For showing such thoughtfulness towards people he did not know, he stood out from the rest of the crowd.

Those donuts were sweeter than any other donut I had ever tasted because of its extra topping…a topping of a stranger’s kindness.

Article originally published in the SA-V (Salvation Army Volunteer) Bulletin

Being in Good Books

2008-12-03T18:17:00.019+08:00

The Salvation Army Library Enterprise (SALE) was recently nominated for the President’s Social Service Award 2008. Here's how it all started.

Visiting S.A.L.E.
Take a walk along the corridor of our Upper Serangoon Road Thrift Store and you will discover that the book section is one of its key features. Come on a Saturday morning and you will greeted by the chatter and laughter of our S.A.L.E. (Salvation Army Library Enterprise) volunteers, as you find them working their way through the books donated to The Salvation Army.

Down Memory Lane...
Four years ago, there were piles of books at the Upper Serangoon Road Thrift Store, and only bargain hunters would have bothered to go through them, hoping to find a literary gem.

A trio of book lovers then approached The Salvation Army and offered to organise the book area. And so, SALE was born.

It took much hard work and numerous volunteers to sort out and categorise the books. Bookshelves of neatly organised books eventually took shape. Finding a book is no longer a hassle, because there's now a systematic book section in place, making book hunting a much more enjoyable experience.

Successful “Book Quests”
Customers hoping to buy a book or two have ended up with a full trolley. And our friendly book volunteers are always on hand to help customers in their “book quests”. The “New Arrivals” section is also updated every week so there is always something appealing to customers.

A Day in the Life of a S.A.L.E. Volunteer
Ever ready with smiles and open arms to welcome new volunteers, the pioneers have seen their “family” grow over the years. From just a handful, there are now more than ten regular volunteers who come to the book-sorting room to mend torn pages and set aside damaged books for recycling. It is evident that these volunteers like what they're doing is evident and their hard work and enthusiasm has not gone unnoticed. The Salvation Army, continues to this day, to be immensely grateful for the success and commitment of these volunteers who we affectionately call our “book volunteers”.

After their Saturday duties, the team would often head out together in search of good food around Singapore. Here is a team of volunteers who are not just passionate about books, but food as well. A team of volunteers who eat together, stay together! This maybe explains why the team is so closely knit and why the project continues to be successful year after year. Student volunteers seeking to fulfill their CIP (Community Involvement Programme) are also welcomed by the team. Some enjoy the experience so much that they decide to “sign on” as regulars!

Over the years, our book volunteers have remained dedicated to their work; making their way down faithfully every Saturday morning, to sort, price and shelve donated books. And you can be sure that they won’t be leaving anytime soon, either. So if you have a love for books and would like to bless the needy, come on down and join us!

Rain or Shine; Staff or Volunteer

2008-12-03T18:17:00.015+08:00

A loving heart and passion is all it takes. The Salvation Army pays tribute to a dedicated volunteer who not only served as staff in The Salvation Army, but continues to this day to lend a helping hand as a volunteer.

Not Forgotten
For many of us, we can recall the love, joy and time spent with our parents. But for some children, this may be something which they long for; something which some of us may take for granted. For children, whose parent(s) are incarcerated, childhood can be a very trying time of transition and pain; one marked with little stability but with drastic changes. Many of these children have to deal with loss and loneliness in their formative years alone. These are the children Aunty Beatrice works with.

Aunty Beatrice, or “Aunty B” as she is fondly known, has been a volunteer with The Salvation Army for many years. She now dedicates her service to Kids In PAUS (Play Activities Under the Salvation Army) and Prison Support Services; a community outreach programme that reaches out to 213 children (about 200 families). Kids in PAUS (or KIP for short) provides prisoners, their children and family members emotional and practical support such as befriending, counseling and providing access to financial assistance during and after incarceration.

Inspiring, Joyful, Loving & Dedicated
Aunty B joined as a staff member in 2001 and is continuing her service as a volunteer today. She continues to inspire the staff and beneficiaries in KIP with her selfless dedication and joyful service.

This 67-year-old kindergarten teacher is no stranger to working with prison inmates and their families. Before KIP, she had experience volunteering as a counselor and coordinator. When she was approached to help with the children’s ministry, Children Helping Other Children, in KIP, she agreed immediately.

Meeting Aunty B for the first time, I was immediately charmed with her broad smile and bubbly nature. She has an attractive personality that draws people to her. As we spoke, it became obvious that she loves her work and the children at KIP. She spoke about them with such enthusiasm and earnestness.

“You have to love them (and) bring yourself down to the level of the children. Be with them. Join with whatever they’re doing. Be part of what they are doing. Enjoy! The important thing is to enjoy with them, enjoy each other’s fellowship.”

And this love is so evidently demonstrated in her service. For example, you will find Aunty B making and preparing materials and toys for the children, out of her own resources, in order to help KIP manage costs. Her skills and experience in teaching has also helped her in her interaction with the children. And as a result of this, the children always look forward to seeing her and experiencing her warmth and infectious cheerfulness.

“Passion Keeps Me Going”
Despite the extensive amount of time and effort in preparation for working with the children, Aunty B never feels weary. She owes this to her passion for this ministry, making her assignment with KIP a meaningful and enjoyable one. The only burden she has is the inability to help the children beyond a certain point; being unable to do follow up work. Apart from that, she remarks, “It is a joy to volunteer. Volunteering makes you happy. There is satisfaction when things work out well.”

And her efforts are deeply valued, as Ms. Katherine Peh, a Prison Support Service Staff, affirms, “She is like a resource to us.” Indeed, KIP, being a self-funded community outreach programme, has a need for more resources. And it is volunteers like Aunty B, who KIP partners with, help make KIP’s work possible and help raise part of the $350,000 a year needed to run the programme.

In the News: Where have all the kettlers gone?

2008-12-03T18:13:00.003+08:00

Where have all the kettlers gone?
Salvation Army’s festive effort sees two-thirds shortfall in volunteer hours
By: Lin Yanqin (yanqin@mediacorp.com.sg)

INSTEAD of spending her week here shopping and sightseeing like most tourists, Malaysian Olivia Ong will be ringing a bell next to the familiar red Salvation Army kettle for donations.

Giving “kettling” a go for the first time at Lucky Plaza yesterday, Ms Ong, 30, said she had tried to convince her travel companions to join her, but they could not be persuaded. They are not the only ones.

The Salvation Army has seen the number of volunteers recruited for kettling plunge by nearly half, from 348 last year to 188.

Excluding the locations that do not rely on volunteers, that means only 1,252 of the slated 4,032 manhours have been filled — leaving a shortfall of 69 per cent, three and half weeks before the end of kettling season.

As to the reason why, Salvation Army public relations director Gregory Lee said: “It could be that some people’s concerns have increased over their financial and the national economic situation, so they are not as spirited as before to volunteer during this time.”

“If we cannot find enough volunteers, staff would have to stretch themselves even more to fill the gaps,” he added.

“Hopefully, we do not have to ‘close’ kettle stands early due to shortage of manpower, because that would affect the amount of donations we can get.”

Ms Ong, a sales assistant, said she was on the Salvation Army’s mailing list and decided to sign up for the Christmas kettling.

“I just want to get away from my job, from meeting my sales targets, and I don’t mind spending some time doing a bit of social work.”

She will be on duty the whole week she is here, for shifts that last about two hours each, depending on the schedule.

First-time kettling volunteer George Fong joined this year after he heard they were in need of volunteers. The retiree, 62, already helps out at the organisation’s library.

“While we’re celebrating at this time of the year, we should also think of the underprivileged,” he said.

Applications consultant Agnes Hlainghlaing Aye, 55, acknowledged that it can be hard to take time out to volunteer while working, but said it was a matter of “apportioning your time”. “I don’t overstretch myself, I just help out when ever I can on weekends and it’s fine.”

“It’s hard to get younger people to join,” she added, saying she had tried to recruit her colleagues. “Maybe they’re just too busy with their work.”

To enquire about volunteering, call 6555 0232 or email volunteer (AT) SMM.salvationarmy.org (replace (AT) with @ to email me).

Source: TODAYonline (http://www.todayonline.com/articles/290440.asp#)

SA-V Bulletin (Dec 2008)

2008-12-03T12:11:00.002+08:00

Get your own - Open publication

Join Us: The Salvation Army's Tradition of Christmas Kettling

2008-11-06T19:54:00.011+08:00

About the Christmas Kettle Appeal
The Christmas Kettle Appeal is a unique fundraising project that enables The Salvation Army to continue its work with the needy and underprivileged. Every year, staff and volunteers take to the streets ringing bells and encourage passers-by to drop a donation into the kettles. As such, we would like to extend an invitation to you to join us in this tradition and make a difference.

The Christmas Kettle Story
You can read about the Christmas Kettle story on The Salvation Army’s webpage at http://www.salvationarmy.org.sg. For a video on the history of The Christmas Kettle Pot (created by The Salvation Army in British Columbia), you may wish to visit http://www.youtube.com/v/K0y3_4mlnAc&autoplay=1.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

You can help us in 3 ways:

1. Join us as a volunteer:

Volunteers help to man the red Christmas Kettle Pots and ring the bells, to help raise funds for the children, youth, elderly and needy families in our care.
Kettling is from Mon – Sat, 11am – 9pm from 22 November – 24 December 2008.
Each kettling shift is 2 hours (starting from every "odd" hour i.e. 11am, 1pm, 3pm etc)
2 volunteers to a kettling shift
You may choose to sign up in pairs with your friends or family or we will assign another volunteer to partner you for the shift
Kettlers need to be 15 years old as at 31 Dec this year
For group volunteers, you are also welcome to adopt the pot for a day
To sign up for the project, simply complete send the following information to us:

(a) Complete the Volunteer Application Form (Kettling).
(b) Send the form to us for assignment:

Email: volunteer (AT) SMM.salvationarmy.org (replace (AT) with @ to email me)
Hotline: 6555-0232 / 6555-0247

We shall be getting in touch with you shortly regarding your assignment.

The locations are as follows:
- Bugis Junction
- Chinatown NEL
- Kovan NEL
- Heeren
- Centrepoint
- Ang Mo Kio Hub
- IKEA Queensway
- Causeway Point
- HarbourFront
- Wisma Atria
- Lucky Plaza
- Suntec City
- West Mall
- HDB Hub
- Far East Plaza
- Bt Panjang Plaza
- Tampines Mall
- Junction 8
- East Coast Seafood Centre

2. Support our beneficiaries and our volunteers by contributing to the pots
3. Help spread the word about the Christmas Kettle Appeal

No Effort Too Small

2008-07-23T14:53:00.002+08:00

SA-V pays tribute to the many volunteers and staff who responded to the call to make a difference; helping in all ways possible to aid relief operations for victims of the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis, in Myanmar.

It was the talk of the town: Cyclone Nargis had moved across southern Myanmar on Friday 2 May, leaving a trail of death and destruction before crossing into Thailand. By then, it had devastated much of the fertile Irrawaddy Delta and Yangon Divisions.

As news poured in about the disaster, my initial reaction left me pondering how I could help. Soon, an opportune time came for me to lend a hand, as word was sent out to all staff of The Salvation Army on how we could volunteer to help in the Myanmar Cyclone Disaster Relief Appeal. I made the decision to ring the bell alongside a collection pot.

With this being my first ever involvement in an appeal like this, I was thrilled on that day to do my part. It seemed that when you’re about to be embark on something new, everything just looks and feels so different; the crowd seemed approachable, the atmosphere— bustle and all— seemed light-hearted and the smiles on people’s faces beamed with warmth even after a long day’s work. All quite different to a typical weekday night in town.

With a bell in my hand, I nervously started ringing it to gather the attention of the passers-by where I was standing. A little cautious of how I should approach people for their donation, I was surprised that many came forward with their donations instead. It didn’t take me long to start approaching strangers, explaining to them the reason for our effort. Everyone seems to be generous— a non-stop traffic of donors coming forth with their donations!

I was reminded of the words of Winston Churchill:

“We make a living by what we do, but we make a life by what we give.”

How true it is! Being a staff member of The Salvation Army, I consider it my privilege to be able to participate in this appeal; to give my time and effort to make a tiny difference for a huge cause.

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted - Aesop

As I made my way home after completing my shift, these words echoed in my ears (together with the after-effects of ringing the bell too loudly). It was a satisfying experience being a volunteer for the Myanmar Cyclone Disaster Relief Appeal.

Esther Tan
Staff Member
The Salvation Army

Not Stopping @ Pity

2008-07-23T14:45:00.007+08:00

SA-V pays tribute to the many volunteers and staff who responded to the call to make a difference; helping in all ways possible to aid relief operations for victims of the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis, in Myanmar.

Our SA-V volunteer journalist, Fiona Cher, writes:

“It was not Christmas but yet, the familiar ringing of The Salvation Army appeal bell could be heard resonating from within the campus of Anderson Junior College (AJC).

“Following the devastating Cyclone Nargis which hit Myanmar on 2 May 2008, students from the college immediately sprang into action and initiated a fundraising drive from 15-16 May.

“I can still remember how it started— we were sitting on our school’s track field talking about the cyclone, when Cara Lee shared with me her idea. Within two days, she had worked to get the necessary approval from her teachers and had approached The Salvation Army to adopt an appeal collection pot. Together with her two good friends, Melissa Tan and Marion Thien, they mobilised the college’s Interact Club to help man the booth in the school canteen.

“Interviewing Ms. Cara Lee for the project, she excitedly told me about how she felt it was a truly fulfilling experience, knowing that they were able to do something to help the victims in Myanmar. Manning the booth was a memorable experience for Cara and her friends.

“With a sparkle in her eye, Cara also told me about how this incident had re-ignited her passion for volunteerism. She said that it was after watching the news reports on the escalating death toll as well as the number of people left homeless by such a terrible natural event, that made her want to do her part for the victims. It was with this in mind that Cara and her friends decided to organise the campus-wide donation drive in their college.

Previously, Cara was also involved in AJC’s gift-wrapping fundraising project for The Salvation Army. You may recall seeing Cara and her friends cheerfully wrapping gifts while doing your Christmas shopping last year .

“It’s in times like this that the brightness of the kindred human spirit shines through. But let us not stop here, for there’s more we can do to help the victims in Myanmar get back to living a normal life. Even though the memories of the tragedy may still remain a scar, let us count our blessings, and give thanks for what we have. If we have further opportunity, let us continue to do our part to help the victims of Cyclone Nargis rebuild their lives again, for it is the least we can do.”

The Cyclone of Destruction, The Tsunami of Love

2008-07-23T14:17:00.006+08:00

SA-V pays tribute to the many volunteers and staff who responded to the call to make a difference; helping in all ways possible to aid relief operations for victims of the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis, in Myanmar.

The devastating Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar on 2 May, leaving many in dire circumstances. People lost their loved ones, their homes and/or livelihood, while survivors have had to continue to struggle to meet their basic needs, deal with grief, uncertainty and also brave the continuing monsoon season.

This is the reality of the aftermath of the Cyclone disaster, which has left more than 134,000 dead or missing and as many as 2.4 million people in need of help1. While, Cyclone Nargis has brought about great destruction to lives and homes, it has also brought about a ‘tsunami’ of love and concern, as people from around the world give generously, doing their part to help the victims.

Back home in Singapore, The Salvation Army mobilized its staff and volunteers. This was by way of prayer support or serving as fundraising volunteers to aid relief operations being carried out by The Salvation Army in Myanmar.

On the 15 May, The Salvation Army took to the streets for a day to raise funds for the Army’s relief operations in Myanmar. We needed volunteers to help man the pots and ring the bells as they appealed to the public to contribute generously.

In Myanmar, the local Salvation Army personnel were doing their utmost to dispense food, clean water, tarpaulins and other relief items for the victims in Yangon District. For example, both the Children’s Homes in Yangon, by the grace of God, suffered minor damage. Their were kept running to pump water from the artesian wells, providing water to all in the community who needed it. It was a challenge to mobilise, recruit and schedule volunteers at such a short notice, to help with the appeal. However, I soon came to realise staff from the various Salvation Army centres, programmes and corps were stepping forward to help fill up shifts for the street appeal. Members of the public were also calling in to ask how they could help. Many Myanmar nationals were also calling in, seeking opportunities to lend a hand for their own people in need.

I was especially touched when I came to know of a Burmese family volunteering to man a pot for a whole eight-hour period. When I visited them that evening, I could see that, despite having already manned the pot for hours, they still took the effort to greet every donor. They gently lifted up the pot for the donors to put in their contributions, while sincerely acknowledging and thanking them for their donations. At another location, a senior couple was also volunteering for the cause. What made this couple so special is their continued dedication, year after year; always returning to help with The Salvation Army’s Christmas Kettle Appeal. This time round, they immediately responded to the call for volunteers as soon as it went out. Frankly, it is meeting volunteers like these which has made me come to cherish and appreciate my job more. It’s always exhilarating to meet people who have the passion to help, the interests of others in their hearts and who step forward to make a difference.

The one-day street appeal raised some S$80,000, but help does not just stop there… Besides volunteering to man the appeal pots and ring the bells, some volunteers went a step further and initiated their own fundraising projects. In the span of a few days, I learnt of companies, schools and even interest groups coming together to offer their time, skills and money, in aid of the cyclone victims. One such group, which left a deep impression on me, was PhotoAid. PhotoAid is an initiative by a group of volunteer photographers in Singapore, who come together to offer their time and skills to help others. They had previously put together a similar project in aid of the Asian Tsunami disaster in 2004. This time round, they were putting together a fundraiser offering people the opportunity to have their photo taken with the Singapore Merlion. In return for the photo, they asked for a minimum of S$10 donation for each print.

When I visited them over one of the weekends, I saw how everyone was going about their respective roles cheerfully. It humbled me to know and see people who would spent their weekends under the hot sun, working hard to help people they do not even know. What further impressed me was how professional their operation had been: with a designated photo taking tent, photo collection tent and a system to have donors collect their print and subsequently to be able to retrieve their photos from an online platform. The volunteers were all smiles and friendly, even offering to take photos for the donors using the donors’ cameras. Their warmth and professionalism touched me and I respect them for their dedication. So to all the volunteers and staff who made a big difference during the Myanmar Cyclone Disaster Relief Appeal, I say a big ‘thank you’ for showing your love, for others you do not know…

James Lim
Volunteer Resources Manager
The Salvation Army

Myanmar Cyclone Disaster Relief Kettle Appeal

2008-05-09T16:52:00.003+08:00

ABOUT THE PROJECT
The Salvation Army is launching an appeal to help more than a million people believed to be left homeless by the devastating Cyclone Nargis that hit Myanmar on 2 May 2008. Here are some facts and figures at-a-glance:

The Salvation Army aims to raise S$250,000, with 100% of the funds raised given in aid of the victims of the disaster. In ensuring that the donations get to the victims, the donations will be dispensed by The Salvation Army in Myanmar.
This will add to the grants that The Salvation Army has already received from various Salvation Army counterparts around the world
Staff and volunteers will be helping to man The Salvation Army red kettle pots at selected shopping malls island-wide on 15 May 2008 (Thursday), 11am-9pm to fundraise. Donation boxes will also be placed in all Starbucks outlets.
Relief operations are already currently underway in Myanmar with the local Salvation Army personnel dispensing rice, other relief and provide shelter to the victims in Yangon. Both the Children’s Homes in Yangon are running generators to pump water from the artesian wells to provide clean water.
The Salvation Army is also putting together an assessment team to enter Myanmar to assist the local Salvation Army team with their relief operations.
Planning is currently underway to assist with recovery and reconstruction of the affected communities

For the Myanmar Cyclone Disaster Relief Kettle Appeal, staff and volunteers will take to the streets ringing bells and encourage passers-by to drop a donation into the kettles. As such, we would like to extend an invitation to you to join us and make a difference.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Join us as a volunteer:
Volunteers help to man the red Christmas Kettle Pots and ring the bells, to help raise funds, in aid of the victims of the disaster
- Kettling is on Thursday (15 May 2008), 11am – 9pm
- Each kettling shift is 2 hours (starting from every "odd" hour i.e. 11am, 1pm, 3pm etc)
- 2 volunteers to a kettling shift
- You may choose to sign up in pairs with your friends or family or we will assign another volunteer to partner you for the shift
- Kettlers need to be 16 years old
- For group volunteers, you are also welcome to adopt the pot for a day
To sign up for the project, simply complete send the following information to us:

a. Complete the Volunteer Application Form (MCDR).
b. Send the form to our Volunteer Resources Manager for assignment.
c. We shall be getting in touch with you shortly regarding your assignment.
Support the victims and our volunteers by contributing to the pots
Help spread the word about the Myanmar Cyclone Disaster Relief Kettle Appeal

SA-V Bulletin (Apr 2008)

2008-03-27T12:00:00.002+08:00

SA-V Bulletin (Feb 2008)

2008-02-07T21:36:00.000+08:00

The Gift-Wrap with a Difference

2008-01-28T11:15:00.001+08:00

A group of enthusiastic student volunteers put aside their holiday plans in exchange for a gift of labour and love to help the beneficiaries of The Salvation Army

Student volunteers from Anderson Junior College brought special meaning to the act of gift-wrapping last Christmas. Proactive and bursting with energy, they initiated gift-wrapping services at CapitaLand Malls in a bid to raise funds for The Salvation Army.

Titled ‘Project Love for a Dollar’, the students’ initiative spanned a total of 10 days, from 15-24 December, at Junction 8, Plaza Singapura and Bugis shopping malls. Shoppers could have their gifts wrapped with a donation of at least a dollar. The response at Plaza Singapura was particularly good and at times even overwhelming. As Project Coordinator Fiona delightedly put it, “We had some really generous customers donating as much as $10 at one go”. Such big-hearted actions certainly affirmed the volunteers for their hard work and dedication toward this charitable cause.

The self-initiated project, conceived in June last year, took sheer grit and determination from the students to see it through. On top of having to handle their usual school workload, the organising committee went through formal, standard procedures with CapitaLand Mall and The Salvation Army before obtaining the green light to carry out their project. These included writing proposals, holding a series of meetings as well as holding training sessions to teach all the volunteers the protocol. The first day, faced with unforeseen demand, put the volunteers in a frenzy. As a result, gift-wrapping booths ran out of wrappers quickly. Unfazed, the students rectified the problem and continued to plough on with an unwavering strength of mind. Slowly but surely, they became familiar with the process. The entire team has never looked back since.

Other than seeing the fruit of their labour in terms of donations coming in, the student volunteers also discovered the intangible joys that came with rendering their service. One would be able to concur with Fiona, that “The interesting thing about gift wrapping (in this manner) is that you actually get to meet interesting people (from all walks of life)”. These youngsters, with a heart for service, also took away valuable lessons and insights from engaging in such a project. One student, Punitha, concluded that doing so was better than asking for donations, as people would be willing to donate more upon seeing the effort put in.

In spite of the difficulties faced during the course of this project, the volunteers within the organising committee have already made a pact with one another, to assist with this gift-wrapping project again next year. Truly, their willingness to serve is both commendable and inspiring to others.

Article originally published in the SA-V (Salvation Army Volunteer) Bulletin
February 2008 © All Rights Reserved

Share Your Kettling Memories

2007-12-18T17:03:00.002+08:00

Click on the picture to view a larger version

Thank you for joining us in our army of Christmas Kettle Appeal bellringers. We really appreciate all your effort in helping us care for our beneficiaries. The appeal would not have been successful without your labour of love.

As Christmas Kettle Appeal 2007 comes to an end, we would like to invite you to share with us your memories and experiences as our volunteer.

How has your experience of Kettling been?
The memorable moments? The light-hearted moments?
What motivated you to Kettle?
What did you see? Etc…

Share with us your stories and photos today!

Stories can be sent to our Volunteer Coordinator at volunteer (AT) SMM.salvationarmy.org (replace (AT) with @ to email me) by 6 January 2008. Selected articles will be featured in the SA-V Bulletin and the SA-V Blog and writers will be notified prior to publication of your contributions.

Love for a Dollar

2007-12-18T15:48:00.000+08:00

A group of youthful and passionate volunteers have approached us and expressed their interest in getting down to action to offer their gift-wrapping services, in exchange for donations to bless the beneficiaries of The Salvation Army. All proceeds will be pledged to support The Salvation Army's work here in Singapore. So, do look out for them, give them a pat on their backs and support them.

The Christmas Kettle Story

2007-12-04T16:38:00.000+08:00

The Christmas Kettle - from humble beginnings to worldwide respect.

In 1891, a Salvation Army captain in San Francisco resolved to provide a free Christmas dinner to the area's poor. But how would he pay for the food?

From his days as a sailor in Liverpool, England, the captain remembered a large pot, displayed on the Stage Landing, called "Simpson's Pot," where passersby would toss in charitable donations. The captain presented his idea to city authorities and received permission to place a similar pot at the Oakland ferry landing at the foot of San Francisco's Market Street. In its conspicuous position, the pot drew the attention of people going to and from the ferryboats. Another urn, in the ferryboat waiting room, also attracted donations. Thus, Captain Joseph McFee launched a tradition that spread not only throughout the United States, but around the world.

By Christmas 1895, 30 Salvation Army Corps throughout the West Coast area were using the kettle. That year, The Sacramento Bee published a description of the Army's Christmas activities and mentioned the contributions. Two young Salvation Army officers, William A McIntyre and N J Lewis, instrumental in the original use of the kettle, took the idea to the East Coast.

In 1897, McIntyre prepared his Christmas plans for Boston around the kettle. McIntyre, with his wife and sister, set up three kettles at the Washington Street thoroughfare in the heart of the city. That year the kettle effort in Boston and other locations nationwide resulted in 150,000 Christmas dinners for the needy.

In 1898, The New York World hailed The Salvation Army kettles as "the newest and most novel device for collecting money". The newspaper also observed, "There is a man in charge to see that contributions are not stolen". In 1901, kettle contributions in New York City provided funds for the first mammoth sit-down dinner in Madison Square Garden, a custom that continued for many years. Today, families are given grocery vouchers so that they can buy and prepare their own dinners at home. The homeless poor are still invited to share holiday dinners and festivities at hundreds of Salvation Army centres.

Kettles now are used around the world. Everywhere, public contributions to the kettles enable The Salvation Army to bring the spirit of Christmas to people who would otherwise be forgotten — the aged and lonely, ill, poor and disadvantaged, or inmates of jails and other institutions. Kettles have changed since then, but the same Salvation Army message — "Sharing is Caring" — still supports this timeless, enduring programme.

Article originally published on the SA-V (Salvation Army Volunteer) Bulletin
November 2007 © All Rights Reserved

CIP Ends With "Pau" Wow!

2007-12-04T16:30:00.000+08:00

As a volunteer coordinator, I have a deep sense of gladness and satisfaction knowing there is joy when the paths cross of our beneficiaries and volunteers. In other words, it is a wonderful and heartening experience seeing beneficiaries and volunteers enjoying each others’ company and seeing the joy shared. I felt and observed this reaction when a group of volunteers from Cedar Girls’ Secondary School’s Girl Guides conducted their activities with our seniors from Family Support Services.

The volunteers visited the seniors at the centre between 30 May and 20 June 2007 and put together four sessions of interactive activities for them. These included a sing-a-long, handicrafts-making using foam hearts and ice-cream sticks, sandwich-making and a paperweight-making session. To inject a little fun, there were even competitions for the best singer and also the best paperweight. The project came to an end with a simple party and the student volunteers brought food such as pau, and kueh to bless the seniors.

~ James Lim, Volunteer Coordinator, The Salvation Army

We feel the time we spent doing community service for The Salvation Army was well-spent. As teenagers, we tend to shut ourselves in our own world — concerned only with matters close to us, such as our studies and friends. These CIP sessions gave us the opportunity to interact with people who are rarely part of our ‘world’. Although there were obstacles such as language barriers and the age gap issue, we still had an enjoyable time with the seniors. We also realized that despite their age, we are not very different. We enjoy the same things. We discovered this during the art and craft session with them and just like us, they too have their own passion, dreams and strong opinions, which they did not hesitate to share with us. The only difference is the circumstances in which we grew up. We feel that even though, in the seniors’ eyes, we might seem to be young and inexperienced, nonetheless, they were as gracious and patient with us as we were with them. CIP has made our world a little wider and has also helped us to learn to be less selfish. These few sessions at The Salvation Army have been productive and we feel both parties have benefitted from it. In this period of interaction, certain values were instilled in us and we have acquired skills that may be useful in the future when we are dealing with the elderly. The CIP sessions also allowed us to learn to be more independent and bond better with our peers.

~ Michelle Lim on behalf of Sunflower Patrol, Cedar Guides

Glasses Up! All for a Good Cause

2007-12-04T16:16:00.000+08:00

It’s colourful, it’s vibrant and it’s designed by our very own youth designers, here in Singapore.

Close to 1000 students from St. Andrew’s Junior College (SAJC) came together in January 2007, to put their hands together to design and paint glassware, all for a good cause. Over a period of three days, SAJC mobilised all their year one students to do their bit for the community. This saw the students working in pairs to work on their masterpieces using simple plain glasses. By the end of the whole project, close to 450 tealight and pencil holders of varying designs were completed.

The completed masterpieces were then to be sold at the Rotary Carnival on 27 January 2007. Working hand-in-hand, year two students from the Students’ Council also came together to work on their marketing strategy and sold the glassware at the carnival. All in all, this meaningful project contributed to funds being raised for The Salvation Army, Rotary Family Service Centre and the Rotary Ayer Rajah Students’ Care Centre.

Article originally published on the SA-V (Salvation Army Volunteer) Bulletin
July 2007 © All Rights Reserved

All Hands on Deck!

2007-06-11T18:19:00.000+08:00

Volunteers play an important role in the care of our beneficiaries and they do so in a variety of ways. In this article, we pay tribute to the many volunteers who have worked behind the scenes, to make our centres and its surroundings a better place for our beneficiaries.

All Hands on Wall!
“This was one of the best volunteer projects for YDC in the past two years as there was shared ownership of the project between the volunteers and our youth” said Ms Alicia Boo, who is a youth worker with The Salvation Army’s Youth Development Centre (YDC). An answered prayer and a “makeover”; that’s what the centre will call this project, which they have embarked on with a group of Singapore Management University (SMU) students. The centre was in need of a fresh coat of paint and it was timely that the student volunteers came knocking on the doors, expressing interest in helping to turn the Centre into a more vibrant-looking place. Over the span of the next few weeks, the student volunteers worked hand-in-hand with the youth from the centre to, first, raise funds by selling “potong” ice-cream to friends in their neighborhood and then proceeded to get their hands dirty as the centre metamorphosed into a vibrant and colourful place; a place which the youth would be proud to call their own. Nadia, a 13-year-old youth from the centre described her experience, “It’s great! ‘Cos we get to do this with our friends together! We also get to play with colours.” .

All Hands on Deck!
30 November 2006 was a memorable day for The Salvation Army’s Peacehaven Nursing Home as it hosted its largest volunteer event to date. Close to 320 volunteers from the Republic of Singapore Navy’s Institute of Maritime Operations and Systems departed from their daily training routine to make a difference and blessed the residents of the Home. This ‘operation’ saw close to 80 volunteers accompanying 56 residents on a visit to the Singapore Zoo, while the remaining team of volunteers stayed back in the Home to help spring clean each Resident Living Area (RLA) with a little Christmas cheer. It was an “all-hands-on-deck” affair.

Upon finishing their tasks, some even went beyond their call of duty and helped fixed faulty equipment or assisted the nurses with various tasks. Some also took the opportunity to interact with the residents and participated in activities and games with them.

Getting things back in tip-top condition

Christmas Feature

2007-06-11T17:56:00.000+08:00

Reflections of a Christmas Kettler

An Army staff member tries his hand at kettling for the first time and shares his experience...

The streets of Orchard Road are well-lit and Christmas decorations glisten amidst the hustle and bustle. Despite being more than a month from Christmas, you can feel the season slowly approaching. Busy shoppers ply the streets for their Christmas shopping and Christmas jingles are piped-in through the PA systems of shopping malls.

In the distance, you can hear the familiar ring-a-ling coming from bell ringers manning The Salvation Army’s kettle stand. They encourage passers-by to give donations, to share joy and cheer with the often forgotten needy and underprivileged living amidst us.
This year, I had the opportunity to also play the role of a bell-ringer. I must admit it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. But I did find the time bell-ringing to be a meaningful and humbling experience. The thought of standing in the middle of the city, wearing a red apron, ringing a bell and beckoning others to come and donate is a challenge for an introvert like myself. However, I did find it helpful to remind myself, that at the end of the day, I was just playing a small part to raise funds for those in need. Speaking from the bottom of my heart, I realised that it is no longer about myself but about the people who will benefit from the funds raised.

Together with my volunteer partner, I stood at the corner of the street, with my bell in hand and the kettle pot beside me. In unison, both of us rang the bell and beckoned to all to contribute to the pot. And I decided that I might as well have fun doing it, so with a smile, we called out to all “Hello, would you like to donate” each time someone passed by the pot. No matter whether someone donated or not, I made it a point to wish them well and uttered “thank you” and “Merry Christmas”. I was also thankful to all who encouraged me during the few hours I was there, such as the gentleman who stopped to donate and affirmed us with words of encouragement; the lady jogger who stopped to contribute to the pot; the many parents who stood from afar but gave money to their children to donate to the pot; the many who gave approving smiles; the gentleman, who despite being engaged on the phone, took the effort to stop, dug out his wallet and donate; and of course, fellow-colleagues who dropped by to say “Hi!”.

No matter what we do, we can all, in our own way, play a part to share joy and cheer with the needy.

Storm Troopers Storm East Coast Seafood Centre

A rare sight was seen at the East Coast Seafood Centre on 25 November 2006, as a group of storm-troopers from the 501st Legion—Singapore Outpost, made an appearance at the East Coast Seafood Centre.

No, there was no pending intergalactic war but these storm troopers were in fact doing their part for charity by combining charity work and their interest in celebrating the Star Wars movie. Dressed in Star Wars costumes, this group of volunteer enthusiasts spent their Saturday evening partnering The Salvation Army in the Christmas Kettle Appeal. Such an invading force drew a crowd to the kettle pots as curious passers-by took the opportunity for a photo with the troopers.

Now, which food stall shall we conquer?

Much to the surprise of staff and patrons of the East Coast Seafood Centre, the troopers later stormed the seafood centre to savour some local delights, before embarking on their next intergalactic assignment.

The Salvation Army Staff Lend a Helping Hand

2007-06-11T17:43:00.000+08:00

Extreme “Dolly” Makeover
Much excitement, joy and laughter were overheard from a room during lunchtime. Wanting to satisfy my curiosity, I soon found myself joining five other colleagues for lunch, in the company of dolls. The staff gathered together to lend a hand by “adopting” dolls from Red Shield Industries for a makeover. The dolls had been kindly donated by members of the public and some were badly in need of new clothes. Combining interest and community service, this group of staff volunteers decided to give the dolls a new lease of life and hope, and by their sale, raise funds for The Salvation Army. According to Ms Phyllis Mark, who is one of the makeover helpers, the staff will help clean up the dolls and she will crochet dresses for the dolls before they
are returned to Red Shield Industries for sale.

The Helping Hand Appeal 2006
During the months of March, every corps and centre in the territory was fundraising to help our neighbours, Sumatra to: 1. Raise a Hand to buy resource books for a library; 2. Lend a Hand to do some repairs and painting (both 1. and 2. At Medan Boys Home); 3. Give a Hand to villages to become more self-supporting by planting groves of citrus trees and chilli bushes in some rural villages outside Medan. THQ also did their part for the appeal. Different department staff worked together to prepare home-made food for lunches and snacks on their chosen days during the month. Staff made reasonable donations for the food and other items available, all in the endeavour to surpass the THQ goal of $2,000 (Figure extracted from The Salvation Army War Cry (April 2006) (P.S. Over $3,000 was raised as at 12 April 2006)

Article originally published on the SA-V (Salvation Army Volunteer)
Bulletin on 19 April 2006 © All Rights Reserved

SALE raises close to $4000 for The Salvation Army

2007-06-11T17:02:00.000+08:00

The Salvation Army raised some $4000 during two separate book carnivals held on 3-4 June 2005 and 3-4 December 2005.

Conducted at the Geylang Methodist Secondary School and The Salvation Army’s Family Thrift Store (Upper Serangoon) respectively, the carnivals involved close to 200 individual and group volunteers sorting and categorizing second-hand books and providing customer service to members of the public.

The carnivals were initiated by The Salvation Army Library Enterprise, or SALE for short. SALE was started by Army volunteers in early 2004 to create a book sales area within the Family Thrift Store, allowing members of the public to purchase second-hand books with ease. This initiative has since grown to include two rooms of uncategorized book collections and another six rooms of specific book themes, including children, young adult/teenage, adult, reference/special interest, Chinese/other languages and religion. All books had been generously donated by individuals and organizations.

The carnivals generated a buzz of activity. Families with young children, working adults and teenagers spent four happy days browsing and filling their carts with books. The amount raised helps support the various social programmes operated by The Salvation Army.

Article originally published on the SA-V (Salvation Army Volunteer) Bulletin on 24 February 2006 © All Rights Reserved

Welcome!

2007-06-07T14:26:00.000+08:00

Hi there!

Welcome to the SA-V Blog! I have long wanted to start a blog for volunteers in The Salvation Army Volunteer family. I really hope to create a platform where volunteers can get to interact with one another, where they can share with one another the projects they have undertaken, inspire each another and share their reflections, insights and ideas on how we can serve the beneficiaries better.

So, go on! Share your story with us and inspire others! Thanks again for remembering our beneficiaries and for coming on board to make a difference.

James Lim
Volunteer Coordinator