– Charlie “Tremendous” Jones, author and motivational speaker
There are many issues that the community is facing. And only when we take the effort to find out more and keep ourselves up-to-date, can we be part of the solution and change can happen, to truly build a community that cares.
Dyslexic girl wants to set up social enterprise
Prior to receiving her O-level results, the Crescent Girls' School student, Benecia Tang, 16 had secured a place in Singapore Polytechnic's (SP) School of Business. When she was in Secondary 3, Benecia started a project on community marketplace app Carousell selling...
Celebrate with gifts of giving to a good cause
For her birthday party next month, Sasha Marimuttu wants her friends to donate money to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) instead of giving her presents. Sasha, an only child who turned seven last Friday, and her mother have started a "Be...
Plugging the gap in mental health support
When 24-year-old Hayyu Nariah Nasir was still at university, she saw many of her peers volunteering at orphanages and old folks' homes, whereas hardly any seemed to be reaching out to the mental health institutions. "There's a stigma attached," said the Nanyang...
Turning A-grade school paper into recycling drive
It started as a school paper on local waste management that earned three Nanyang Technological University (NTU) undergraduates an ‘A’ grade last year (2017). But it didn't end there as the trio saw real-life potential in it. In less than a year, the engineering...
Designer makes dressing up easier for those with disabilities
It was frustration that first spurred Miss Elisa Lim to take up sewing. At 16, she suffered a serious knee injury and had to sit out the netball competition season as well as her Grade 7 ballet examinations. "I was in a wheelchair for three months and I could only...
Lifetime blood donor intends to keep giving
Mr Robert Chew was 18 and on his way to donate blood when he noticed a girl and her mother at the entrance of Singapore General Hospital staring at the people walking in. He walked up to the girl and asked her why she was there. Nervous and flustered, she said her...
Empowering autistic students through art
The Art Faculty has famous customers - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's wife Ho Ching sported a dinosaur motif pouch and clutch created by one of its artists at international events - but it had humble beginnings. Run by the Autism Resource Centre (ARC) Singapore, the...
Once a homeless teen, now a youth leader
Siti Noor Mastura's voice starts quavering as tears well up in her eyes. She stops talking, blinking furiously as she swallows the lump in her throat. The tears drop; her right hand reaches out for a piece of tissue paper on the table. Her chest of painful memories...
Spreading cheer to foreign workers
It's the school holidays and six-year-old Raphael was on a special mission with his father, Mr Shawn Quek, yesterday afternoon. They were out at a construction site in Grange Road to distribute gifts to foreign workers. Mr Quek, who has donated 10 gifts, is a...
One woman’s punishing run to highlight water woes
From ankle-deep mud in Central Asia to the scorching heat of Australia, Mina Guli, 48, is running 100 full marathons (42 kilometres each) in 100 days to highlight a looming global water shortage. Her unorthodox world tour began in New York on 4 November and has so far...
Hipster cafe run by senior citizens
In a brightly lit space right next to Khatib MRT station, baristas togged out in striped aprons pull espresso shots and steam milk to create latte art. Meanwhile, customers sip their brew as a large poster near the entrance greets patrons with cheeky puns: "How do I...
Family opens flat to kids seeking medical help
For the past three years, Madam Mai Thi Thien Thanh and her 50-year-old husband Kang Eng Hiang - a couple who run a small stall at Geylang Serai Market - have opened their modest Marsiling Housing Board flat to Vietnamese families with children who are seeking medical...
Charity pays for poor family’s staycation
A charity here wants to give poor families in Singapore a free staycation as respite from all their woes. The Break Away Holiday Charity is the brainchild of Swiss banker Andrea Meierhofer, who roped in his Singaporean wife Sharin Lim, and their friend Minz Xu to...
Promoting mental well-being through art
The increase in the number of people seeking help for mental health issues has prompted the Singapore Association for Mental Health (SAMH) to start an initiative that provides therapy through art. The Creative Mindset Hub, which officially opened yesterday (1 Dec) at...
Scaling Mt Everest to raise awareness
A pair of professionals from the finance sector have pledged to scale Mount Everest in May 2020 as part of a new campaign to raise funds and awareness for mental health issues, especially the burden on caregivers. Mr Yeo Siak Ling, head of business development at...
Fighting the monsters in their minds
In recent years, more young people have reached out to an Institute of Mental Health (IMH) programme that helps youth with mental health issues. Experts attribute this in part to a growing awareness of depression. The "steady increase" in the number of mental health...
Couple adopts any baby who needs a home
While most parents do not get to choose their children, the Lims could have done so before adopting each of their four children. But they chose not to choose. They told the agent: Let us adopt any baby who needs a home. "We couldn't bear the thought of any child being...
Proudly Deaf and championing causes
Low Jarn May, 43, is Deaf. The capital letter, she says, denotes a community proud of their Deafness, and sees it as a difference, not a disability. Although it is meant to be politically correct, the term "hearing-impaired" is now considered an outdated, and even...
Addicted to helping others
Social service veteran Gerard Ee remembers well the moment he became "addicted" to helping others. Some 30 years ago, Mr Ee was roped in by his father, the late Dr Ee Peng Liang, founder of Community Chest, to help with the logistics for a Community Chest TV show....
Giving back to society in areas of education
National University of Singapore (NUS) undergraduate Gary Lau made it to university this year, but as a child growing up in a troubled home environment, he did not think he would ever do well enough in school to make it to university. The 27-year-old, who recently...
