Hotel New World opened one volunteer's eyes

Move to promote volunteerism as a way of life through video and exhibition in *Scape park
Cheryl Ong Straits Times 26 Nov 11;

BY HER own admission, Rohayah Abdul Rahman, 41, has the spirit of volunteering in her blood.

She was just 12 when her father signed her up to help in the neighbourhood civil defence branch.

Four years later, when Hotel New World in Serangoon Road collapsed suddenly, trapping 50 people in the rubble, she was already an avid volunteer in a Bedok civil defence group.

She was at the disaster site for days, carrying chunks of rubble so that civil defence officers could focus on looking for survivors.

She said: 'It made me see that what I was doing as a volunteer wasn't for nothing, that even my simple act could make someone's life better.'

Seventeen people were rescued, 33 died.

Now a mother of two teenage boys, the soft-spoken service quality officer with transport operator SMRT is still giving her time and energy to grassroots activities; at work, she helps to organise SMRT's blood donation drive, which is held five times a year at MRT stations.

Her dedication to volunteerism, along with that of other volunteers, is captured in a video produced by the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) to mark International Volunteers' Day (IVD) today.

NVPC chairman Stanley Tan said he hopes the event will help people see that volunteering can be part of one's lifestyle in the way the spirit has taken hold in Madam Rohayah's life.

'IVD aims to raise the message of volunteerism as a way of life. But we don't want it to be a campaign; we want it to be a natural movement, a part of your belief system.'

Besides the video, now on YouTube, the NVPC has set up an exhibition in *Scape in Orchard Link to introduce members of the public to ways they can help.

A booth stationed there will collect pledges of interest in volunteering in any one of 40 organisations, including Lions Befrienders and the Singapore Association for Mental Health.

Visitors will also get a taste of what it is like to live in a one-room flat that comes with bed, clutter and bed bugs - the living conditions of people whose lives could be touched by the work of volunteers who, for example, clean up these homes.

Another exhibit is a replica of a house cloaked in complete darkness, to give visitors a feel of what it is like to be blind. Those entering this exhibit are, in a reversal of roles, led by visually handicapped guides.

The National Parks Board (NParks) and Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) also have exhibits to show the work they do and how their volunteers contribute to their cause.

Volunteerism here reached an all-time high last year. Figures from the NVPC indicated that nearly a quarter of the people here volunteer their time in one cause or another.

At the official opening of IVD today, Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Chan Chun Sing will tour the exhibits at *Scape.

A 'Fire Pitch' session will be held, at which non-profit organisations will promote their causes to representatives from companies looking for charities to adopt.

Established in 1999, NVPC is a first-stop centre and networking agency that promotes volunteerism here. It matches non-profit organisations with companies and public-sector bodies which can help them financially or with manpower, and raises awareness of charities through events and research on volunteerism and the charity sector.

The centre also administers seed money for start-ups or existing organisations which need funds to get community programmes off the ground.

Rope in 2 volunteers each, S'poreans urged
Acting MCYS Minister Chan Chun Sing shares hope of fostering greater numbers of volunteers
Straits Times 27 Nov 11;

For the spirit of volunteerism to grow here, all every volunteer has to do is to rope in two people each.

Those are the sums of Mr Chan Chun Sing, Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, who shared his hope of fostering more do-gooders yesterday.

'Everybody just go and reach out to two more volunteers, and we will be in good state,' he told The Sunday Times at an International Volunteer Day event organised by the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre at *Scape in Orchard Road.

Still, he added that it is not just about increasing the pool of volunteers, but about the quality of the experience, as volunteering has a positive impact on a giver's life.

Lower-income families are in greater need of support from volunteers. And not just in the way of financial help, but to have role models and mentors to guide them, he said.

'Like they say, there's no point in giving the fellow a fish. It's better to teach the fellow how to fish.'

He said that it was a good sign that many who go overseas to volunteer also contribute locally. He added that for those who are not able to do such work overseas, there are plenty of opportunities to help others here as well.

The event, Walk With Me, which was held for the first time last year, also had several booths allowing visitors to learn about the lives of wheelchair- bound, visually impaired and schizophrenic people.

Mr Chan, who tried navigating obstacles in a wheelchair, also thanked volunteers from non-profit organisations by handing out ice cream to them.

At a separate event in line with International Volunteer Day, Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee, chairman of the Home Team Volunteers Network, expressed hope that the number of Singaporeans involved in volunteerism would grow from the current 25 per cent of the Republic's population.

'Who knows? Forty, 50 per cent is not an unrealistic target, so I want to be proud of that,' he said at the inaugural Home Team Volunteers Day held at HomeTeamNS@Bukit Batok.

There are more than 16,000 volunteers who augment the manpower of Home Team agencies such as the Singapore Police Force and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority. They come from 60 volunteer schemes, and include voluntary special constables and prisons volunteers.

International Volunteer Day will be celebrated on Dec 5.