Online volunteer portal doubles its membership

3,400 members now, with over one-third from 25-34 age group
Ang Yiying, Straits Times 2 Mar 10;

SG Cares, the online portal which offers flexible volunteering opportunities, has doubled its number of volunteers to 3,400 and has had close to 200 activities completed since its launch six months ago.

The portal started last September with about 1,700 volunteers, some drawn from an older database belonging to the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) and others from a trial run from April to August last year.

And the members are not just signing up but are also active participants. Of�the new members since then, about seven in 10 have taken part in the portal's activities.

SG Cares, run by the NVPC, also appears to have made some headway in reaching out to those in the 25 to 34 age group, traditionally a group where the volunteering rate is lower than average.

Results of the last biennial national Individual Giving Survey that the NVPC conducted in 2008 showed that the volunteering rate was highest among the 15 to 24 age group, at 23 per cent. But that dropped to 13 per cent for those aged 25 to 34, even lower than the national average of 16.9 per cent.

Bucking the trend is the pool of SG Cares volunteers, where more than one-third are from this age group.

One of them is 29-year-old cadet pilot Jerrick Ang, who was looking to do something fulfilling in his free time and wanted to sample different volunteer activities.

So he signed up with the portal.

He said it is a quick way to get an overview of such activities, adding: 'Without it, I would probably have to look through different organisations' websites.'

So far, he has volunteered about six times, including being a marshal during brisk walks for the elderly and also interacting with foster children.

After signing up with the portal, volunteers have to attend a mandatory orientation session - a best practice in volunteer management - before they can start volunteering. The hour-long orientation session introduces them to the use of the portal and the activities available.

The NVPC, however, says that while it is starting to reach those who are interested in volunteering but are busy with work, it still has some way to go.

It has currently linked up with 68 organisations, more than half of which have offered opportunities for volunteers through the portal, with others working with SG Cares on

areas like programme development, training and volunteer referrals.

There are about 2,000 charities in Singapore, which run the gamut from some statutory boards to voluntary welfare organisations to religious groups.

But SG Cares director David Fong said it was not possible to reach the whole universe of organisations with 'episodic volunteering' because some were religious organisations which served only their own members, while a number required only highly trained or long-term volunteers due to the nature of their work, such as running counselling call centres.

In contrast, SG Cares lets users pick recurring activities, usually ranging from a few hours to half a day.

One organisation that has leveraged on SG Cares to plug a volunteer gap is the Institute of Mental Health. It has more than 200 regular volunteers who usually make weekend visits.

�However, it needs volunteers on weekdays when it holds different activities such as arts and crafts, singing, dancing, gardening and sports for its patients.

Since it signed up with SG Cares as a host organisation for volunteers, about 150 such volunteers have stepped in during the weekdays.

�Said IMH's assistant director, nursing, Ms Catherine Chua: 'The continuous flow of volunteers from Monday to Friday acts as extra helping hands and adds new ideas. The patients are very responsive to new people.'

The downside is that such volunteers may build rapport with the patients in one week but do not come back the next week to continue the rapport, she said.

But the organisation gets around this by managing patients' expectations.

Ms Chua hopes SG Cares will act as a starting point for volunteers to extend awareness about IMH's volunteering opportunities to their family and friends.

Said Mr Fong: 'Our task is not done yet. We are going to move the needle...We are only beginning to shake up the volunteering scene because we are drawing new volunteers.'

Good way to integrate into community, say foreign volunteers
Straits Times 2 Mar 10;

FOREIGNERS, excluding permanent residents, make up 10 per cent of SG Cares volunteers.

Those interviewed say they do so to give back to society and also to better understand the community they live in.

China national Hu Jierui, 28, signed up with SG Cares earlier this year after finding out about it through a friend.

The travel consultant and S Pass holder, who has been based here since last August, is not new to volunteer work. In his native Guangzhou, he visited the elderly and assisted them with their household chores. 'In helping people, we can get happiness; it's also a good way to integrate,' he said.

Mr Hu said he liked the flexibility of being able to choose from activities offered by different organisations.

Since signing up in January, he has taken part in a clean-up at a reservoir park, raised funds for a nursing home and interacted with patients at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH).

Another SG Cares volunteer Simon Betts, 34, has lent a helping hand 16 times since last September, mostly to interact with IMH patients, but he has also helped children and the elderly.

The technical customer support representative from England, who is here on an employment pass, said he feels he knows the country better through social work.

'Working with the local community, I have learnt that there are so many diverse cultures in Singapore and everyone works together for the greater good,' he said.

'For example, taking the elderly on a shopping trip, there can be many variants of a language which only certain volunteers can translate. It can be challenging, but there is always someone on hand to help.'

ANG YIYING