(Youth Volunteering Project) Venue: Care Corner Toa Payoh (Rental Blocks nearby)
Number of Participants: 7
This is a volunteering project organised by FYC, a youth NGO to serve seniors living in the rental blocks of Toa Payoh area, by collecting data of elderly seniors for a welfare organisation Care Corner. Volunteers are needed to conduct surveys on the seniors’ needs and situations through door to door visitations so that Care Corner is equipped with the necessary data to better address the profile and needs of the seniors.
A total of 7 volunteers registered. It was a fruitful 3 hour session, which started off with a briefing by the Care Corner staffs for volunteers to understand the purpose of the project and how the survey should be conducted. Volunteers started the remaining 2 hours of door to door visitation in a light-hearted yet motivated atmosphere, with the intention of wanting to serve and reach out to the Seniors. During the debrief session, volunteers shared that it was a humbling experience from the act of serving and they have enjoyed interacting with the Seniors and doing volunteering, amidst the covid pandemic. Friendships were forged and it was a time spent meaningfully.
Volunteers’ experience/testimonies:
I feel a sense of satisfaction doing volunteering as it is a meaningful thing to do. It makes me explore Singapore in a different perspective as the people I mixed with are all from middle income families. As we are targeting senior citizens, this gave me the opportunity to talk and communicate with people in different age groups. They have a different mindset and experience from me. This allows me to empathise with them and learn some life experience they have. Also, I enjoy talking to them. Lastly, I learnt that to help people, we will need to know their actual needs. Otherwise whatever help we give may be useless to them.
Sheng Yan
It was good to spend time volunteering; it makes my time more meaningful. It’s very interesting that when you knock the door and state your purpose, the elders won’t just ignore you or chase you away. Instead, they were willing to open the door and talk to you, sharing their lives and stories. Apart from that, it was also good to make friends here. I met Ah De who shared the same interest in anime and games.
Alex