Sharetings is an on-going community-based Telegram Channel that facilitates the giving and receiving of unwanted, usable items, to maximize their use and value and to reduce waste in Singapore.

The team believes that small actions can lead to big change, and everyone can build a sustainable future where resources are shared and not thrown away.

Since inception, the channel has attracted 2100 users with over 3900 items listed. Most of the items were taken up by low-income families.  A community outreach was organised from 1 – 2 June 2019, and this was in collaboration with Taman Jurong YEC Recycling Event. The aim of this community outreach program was to raise awareness of Sharetings, and hopefully in time to come, these families will be convinced to use it.

Click the image below to see how to get your items listed in the channel. If you have items to donate, you may also wish to sign up!

 

The Highlights

During the event, the team managed to gain 198 (+55%) new Facebook fans, 36 (+5%) Instagram followers and 214 (+12%) Telegram Subscribers. The team was also mentioned in Taman Jurong YEC Recycling Event Instagram story and Facebook page. There were also a handful of residents who approached the team and offer items that they wish to donate.

All the event vendors were overwhelmed by the number of donated items from the residents in Taman Jurong. Even though the publicity was only done six days prior to the event,  there were over tens of thousands items donated by the community – these include items such as storybooks, textbooks, clothing, and electronics, and some of it were still in mint condition. Items were sold at a bargain price of $1 and its response was relatively decent.

The Memories

A team member explaining Sharetings to a visitor at the booth.
Displaying the donated items by residents.

Reflection #1 – The Challenges

Lack of experience in event organisation

This community outreach programme was the first event that the team has organised, since the start of the Sharetings initiative. Nevertheless, with the help of the organising team from Taman Jurong YEC, the team managed to breeze through the event without any major hiccups.

Wrong target audience

The team realised that most people who turned up at the community outreach programme, are mainly elderly and foreign workers who were looking for cheap bargains. Most of them were also not social media users and therefore could not support Sharetings.

However, the team gave them a brief introduction of their initiative and told them to share it with their friends/children/grandchildren.

Fortunately, there were also a huge turnout of student volunteers from various junior colleges and secondary schools during the event and the team managed to reach out and educate them about the Sharetings initiative.

Reflection #2 – The Takeaways

During the event, several residents came forward and shared with the team that they often have unwanted items and couldn’t find a way to dispose them. They also mentioned that donation drives are increasingly infrequent in Singapore and found it a pity to throw items away as some were relatively new and usable.

This further validates Sharetings’ concept of digitalising donation drives and leverage on technology to make giving/donating accessible to everyone. However, the team also note that not everyone is tech- savvy and most people do not use Telegram. As such, the team will continue to explore more ways to improve their initiative and hope to organise their own donation drives or free market in the near future.