Opening up opportunities to volunteer in Singapore

Laurence Lien wants to help people contribute in meaningful ways
Wong Kim Hoh, Straits Times 16 Dec 09;

FIRST, the good news.

More Singaporeans are stepping forward to help others, or to make a difference in their community or the world they live in.

According to the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), which conducts regular surveys on giving, the volunteerism rate has risen from a miserly 9.3 per cent in 2000 to 16.9 per cent last year.

'By any measure I think that's a success. But I think we can do a lot better,' says NVPC chief executive Laurence Lien, who was speaking to The Straits Times after celebrating International Volunteer Day two weeks ago.

Indeed, Singaporeans come off rather poorly when compared with Britain, which boasts a volunteerism rate of 50 per cent, or the United States, where it is 25 per cent.

Mr Lien, 39, acknowledges that it may not be fair to compare because different survey methodologies may have been used, but believes that Singapore should aspire for a volunteerism rate of 30 per cent.

'It's achievable because our survey shows that 35 per cent or about one-third of Singaporeans - including those who are currently volunteering - say they are likely to volunteer in the future,' he says.

There is just one snag - 'they are not finding the volunteer opportunities, or the right type of volunteer opportunities', says Mr Lien, who likens the situation to 'a labour market sort of mismatch'.

He explains: 'Many voluntary host organisations (VHOs) are looking for volunteers who can turn up the same day, same time, every week for the next year, two years and three years, whereas the volunteers who are living very hectic lives are saying: 'I can't make that sort of commitment'.'

It does not help that many volunteer organisations are not flexible and some are poorly organised when it comes to engaging and managing volunteers.

'This is, of course, a generalisation because there are a lot of agencies that do engage and manage volunteers very well but you do have a fair number too, that treat volunteers as cheap labour and a cheap resource and they don't invest in volunteers the same way they invest in paid staff.'

This is unwise as it triggers a vicious circle.

'When volunteers feel less satisfied with the experience, they become less reliable. And when that happens, volunteer organisations invest even less, which makes volunteers become even more disenchanted and they will leave volunteering.'

Mr Lien, who took over as NVPC head last year, has rolled out the Singapore Cares programme to tackle the problem.

It matches volunteers with non-profit organisations through an online portal.

The programme's philosophy is simple: to create new and flexible opportunities for Singaporeans to contribute.

This includes breaking the mindsets that many VHOs have: ad hoc programmes for ad hoc volunteers and regular projects for regular volunteers.

Singapore Cares - which was officially launched on Sept 6 - helps these companies structure regular projects using 'episodic' volunteers.

'We are actively rolling up our sleeves to create the projects, and then we organise it in such a way that there's quality control. We train the volunteer leaders and put the volunteers through orientation. It's all very structured,' he explains.

To sweeten the deal, the NVPC launched a two-year pilot programme last year that gives a grant for non-profit organisations to hire volunteer coordinators.

So far, it has disbursed the grant - valued at $60,000 each - to seven organisations.

'We want to demonstrate that if you invest, it's not just about money,' says Mr Lien.

'We are giving these outfits the volunteer management framework, and we will work with them. We hope to demonstrate that if you invest in volunteer management and your volunteers have a good experience, you will be able to retain them more, and your attrition rate will be much lower.'

The Singapore Cares database has more than 120 projects, and about 2,500 volunteers, of whom more than 1,000 are mobilised.

Mr Lien hopes to better these numbers, especially among the young. The volunteerism rate among Singaporeans aged between 15 and 24 is a very respectable 23 per cent. Unfortunately, many stop volunteering when they start working, probably because they find it 'hard to achieve work-life balance'.

That is why the NVPC has set its sight on companies to rectify the situation.

'We're not talking about companies making their employees volunteer. We're talking about companies making it easy, in fact, organising it for their employees, allowing them to have time off to volunteer,' he says.

Mr Lien believes corporate community involvement projects can be a win-win situation for the 'Net generation' - many of whom, he says, are interested in social causes - and their companies.

'If they go as a group, it will boost morale and team building. Instead of doing it on the beach or at the Outward Bound, do team building while you're volunteering and you can kill two birds with one stone,' says Mr Lien, who adds that the NVPC honours socially conscious employers with Corporate Citizen awards.

While he is generally upbeat about the state of volunteerism here, one trend makes him knit his brows.

Informal volunteering has been falling quite dramatically - from 36 per cent in 2004 to 18 per cent last year. Informal volunteering takes place outside structured programmes, such as taking an elderly neighbour to the doctor.

It is not, he points out, a Singapore phenomenon.

'It's a global trend for urbanised cities. There is a decline in the sense of community. You can attribute it to many different possibilities - the Internet, busy lives, the rise of the gated community.

'Some people now live in condominiums with private lift lobbies; they don't have to meet any neighbours going to the carpark.'

Mr Lien says we need to get back some of that community spirit.

'If our vision is to make volunteering a way of life, you need it to be ubiquitous. You need to make volunteering not just an activity that you can do only if it's structured through an organisation.'

The NVPC's solution is the vertical kampung project, which aims to bring volunteering back to the basics like looking after one's neighbour.

'We go to the ground to try to empower, to find volunteer or grassroots leaders who can work within the community, mobilise and organise on the ground and create more social capital and social trust.'

'Social capital is the foundation: It's creating friendships and getting people to meet because volunteering requires a certain amount of trust. And you have to build that first.'

For without it, Mr Lien says, volunteering may not even happen.

Q & A
Straits Times Forum 16 Dec 09;

Q According to the survey, people who volunteer more, donate more. Why is this so?

For a donor, you have to answer a few questions in your head first before you actually part with the gift. One question would be, what need is there in society? In Singapore, you often hear people ask, doesn't the Government take care of everything? So if your impression is that all needs are well taken care of, why donate?

If you've identified the cause, the second question is which organisation is serving this cause. When you're a volunteer, you have both questions answered already. You can see the needs for yourself. And if you continue volunteering with that organisation, you must believe in the work, and that it is worth donating money too. Increasingly, people want to see how the money is being spent and I think volunteers can clearly see that too.

Q The NVPC surveys indicate that while the rate of volunteerism among the young has increased, it has remained stagnant with the seniors, at about 25 per cent. How would you persuade them to volunteer?

Active ageing should be about catering to the social, emotional and spiritual well-being, not just the physical, financial and mental health. It shouldn't just be about exercising, dancing and learning something new, but also about the joys of giving. Often, nothing lifts the spirits more than being a gift to others.

Our seniors have so much to give back - not just time, but also their wisdom, values and experience. They can especially be such a great resource to our young. The third age is the right time for our seniors to start leaving their personal legacy behind.

Q Last year, a non-governmental organisation in Britain created a big debate when it offered tickets to a rock concert as an incentive for young people to volunteer. What are your thoughts on this?

I think it could be something that's okay to get people started but to keep it sustainable, people need to be intrinsically motivated rather than extrinsically motivated.

If these people had never volunteered before, well maybe, because you want to encourage them to try out and maybe get hooked. But I wouldn't do it as a regular thing to keep the flames going. If it's a significant benefit, it's not volunteering any more, right? It's payment.

Q You have three young sons. How do you teach them the importance of volunteerism?

One is by modelling. Last semester, I was a volunteer reader in my eldest son's school. They have a reading programme every week, and I think five parents take on six kids each.

At NVPC, we also want to promote family volunteering. So for one Singapore Cares project, I took one of my sons to Pasir Ris beach for a clean-up. It's amazing how much dirt there was and the number of plastic bags we pulled out.

Tycoon's grandson
Straits Times 16 Dec 09;

MR LAURENCE Lien, 39, is the chief executive officer of the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre.

An Oxford Scholar, the grandson of the late banking tycoon and philanthropist Lien Ying Chow spent 14 years in the Administrative Service.

He was a high flier at the Ministry of Finance where, among other things, he was involved in formulating the new spending rule on reserves, and the code of conduct for sovereign wealth funds.

He also worked in the Home Affairs and Education ministries, as well as the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, where his portfolios ranged from ageing to pro-natal policies.

Mr Lien, who has a master's in business administration from the National University of Singapore, as well as a master's in public administration from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, also chairs the Lien Foundation.

He is married to a housewife and they have three sons, aged three, five and seven.

We can do better
Straits Times Forum 19 Dec 09;

I READ with interest Wednesday's interview with National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre chief executive Laurence Lien, 'Opening up opportunities to volunteer'.

Singapore has about 17 per cent participation in volunteerism, and this is still some way from what other countries with similar living standards have achieved. We can do better and must find ways to do so.

Some Singaporeans shun volunteer work, thinking such activities are for those who have no family commitments. Others have the notion that volunteerism is for senior citizens who have a lot of time to spare.

While younger Singaporeans fare better with a volunteerism rate of 23 per cent, it does not bode well for the future as most of them will stop when they enter the job market. They will be more concerned with climbing the corporate ladder in their endless pursuit of success.

With a rapidly ageing population, Singapore should do more to promote volunteerism, especially in social services. We must be prepared to commit ourselves to community work now and, at the same time, train more people for the future when 800,000 or 25 per cent of the population will be 60 and above by 2030.

I cannot agree more with Mr Lien, who believes companies can play a pivotal role by organising and giving their employees time off to engage in voluntary work.

Another important aspect is the need to train volunteers and match them with agencies in community work. Volunteers should not be treated as general workers used by social organisations. They need to be respected and recognised for their contribution.

They should be assigned jobs they enjoy doing, and use should be made of their experience and skills. A mismatched assignment will cause disenchantment and demoralise those involved. The end result? They quit.

There has been a steady increase in the number of companies involved in community service. With the support of their employees, a greater sense of caring and sharing will be inculcated.

This will spur Singapore to achieve a much higher participation rate in voluntary work in the near future.

Jeffrey Law