– 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.
Solar power capacity soars in Singapore
The capacity for solar photovoltaic (PV) systems to generate electricity here has nearly quadrupled in the past three years as solar panels have mushroomed all over Singapore. In 2010, the Economic Strategies Committee set a target of having renewable energy sources...
Possible trial of upcoming electricity retail market
When the electricity market is fully open to competition in the second half of next year, all households will be able to shop for it the way people do for a mobile phone plan. But some households may be able to do so earlier, as the Energy Market Authority (EMA) is...
New South Wales faces testing times over tutoring
The Australian state of New South Wales is looking at ways to develop tests for selective school entry to prevent students from gaining an advantage by spending thousands of dollars on private tutoring. An expert on education and ethnicity, Dr Christina Ho, from the...
Inclusive pre-school Kindle Garden set to double its fees
Fees at Kindle Garden, touted as the first inclusive pre-school here, will jump next year to up to twice the current amount, just two years after the opening of the centre. The centre will also adopt a tiered-fee model, with low-income families charged less. Kindle...
US offer free lunch with summertime learning
During the summer in Elmwood Place, a village in Ohio, librarians prepare for the arrival of about 70 hungry children. A woman from a nearby church -- the program sponsor -- delivered lunch. Librarians assembled each share. Then LeeAnn McNabb, the branch manager,...
Urban innovation’s the way forward to achieve green goals
The United Nations (UN) estimates that two out of three people will live in a city by 2030, with megacities of 10 million inhabitants or more located primarily in Asia. Driven by rapid growth and urbanization, Asian megacities are lifting millions out of poverty....
Caring For Special Needs Kids
The school's community service scheme has ended, but over a third of the students who took part in it now volunteer on their own at nearby welfare groups. Students from Bowen Secondary in Hougang still reach out, for instance, by playing sports with special needs...
Singaporean doctor spends over 10 years in war-torn Afghanistan
For more than a decade, Singaporean Dr Wee Teck Young’s, 48, chosen home has been Afghanistan, a country ravaged by an international conflict triggered by the Sept 11 attacks of 2001. Kabul, where he lives and runs a number of humanitarian programmes, is a...
To get treatment at a free clinic, the crowds come early
Before 5.00 am on Saturday, families joined the sleepy crowds drifting toward the fence of the Wise County fairgrounds. Some had camped overnight, others were just arriving in the dark. The day before, more than 1,250 people from all over Appalachia showed up for free...
Serving UK’s first ‘food waste wedding’ feast
When Charlotte and Nick Baker were planning their wedding in Cumbria last month, they wanted a highly personal celebration that reflected their deeply held principles about minimising waste. Unusually, that included asking a food waste charity, the Real Junk Food...
How KPMG lends a hand to those in need
KPMG - KPMG Cares is a local initiative which pairs philanthropy with its work in the community to empower marginalised individuals and communities. With a range of partners, including the Singapore Association for Mental Health, the Deaf and Hard of Hearing...
Providing inclusive learning space for all kids
Khloe - a three-year-old with Down syndrome - merrily goes off to join her friends, most of whom are typically developing children. Madam Koh has good reason to be pleased. A year ago, when Khloe came to Kindle Garden - Singapore's first inclusive childcare centre...
Romp steps up social inclusion efforts
Sport can be a unifying force for social good, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu said yesterday, as she called on Singaporeans to embrace the spirit of volunteerism. She also praised events like Romp, an annual sports carnival that has partnered the...
Special-needs musicians to perform
For the first time ever, this year's National Day Parade (NDP) will feature musicians with different types of disabilities performing together, to promote a caring spirit and to highlight the message of inclusivity. The Purple Symphony - Singapore's largest...
Disruption, innovation and the future of CSR
Over the last few years we have seen that a combination of disruption and innovation has the potential to transform a product or service into one that is easier to use, more efficient, more attractive, more affordable and, sometimes, more sustainable. Linked to...
Ace investor Tan Chin Hwee can’t resist pull of mentoring
It is a huge passion with the Hwa Chong and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) graduate, Mr Tan Chin Hwee, who cannot speak five sentences without mentioning either the breaks he has received thanks to a caring mentor, or the dozens of youngsters currently rising...
Telling tales from an octopus’ garden
A London-based conservation group Blue Ventures successfully demonstrated the positive effects of sustainable fishing in Madagascar, building hundreds of marine protect areas. Typically, marine protected areas (MPAs) are imposed upon fishing communities without...
Off the streets and gainfully employed
The structure of Russia’s public care systems leave many young adults with no skills and socially isolated. Many tend to have very low motivation for finding a job, and ends up living on social welfare. Every year in Russia, some 10,000 to 15,000 young people leave...
X-ray machine for tough conditions
Two thirds of the global population still don’t have access to X-ray machines. To address this global health problem, Pristem wants to bring a robust and inexpensive X-ray machine to global south hospitals. In the global south, hospitals frequently face disruptive...
Gone are dark clouds that had them blind
Indonesia has one of the highest rates of blindness in the world, with cataracts accounting for more than 50 per cent of the cases, according to the Health Ministry website. Even though the procedure is the cheapest of three common techniques used by surgeons all over...
