Straits Times Monday 11/04/11 Monday 11/04/11 the Straits Times Indepth
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INDEPTH THE STRAITS TIMES MONDAY 11/04/11 MONDAY 11/04/11 THE STRAITS TIMES INDEPTH 8 9 CRESCENT GIRLS’ SCHOOL FUND-RAISER FOR JAPAN LEADERS: Secondary 3 and 4 student leaders and former This one’s for you, Crescentian Jolynn Tjahayadi Tjhia, 18 FUND-RAISING PERIOD: March 30 to April 1 AMOUNT RAISED: $4,000 BENEFICIARY: Embassy of Japan in Singapore WHAT THEY DID: One cup of yogurt at a time: that is how Crescentians helped Japan. At the start of their fund-raiser they sold cups of yogurt from popular local yogurt chain, Frolick, toppings included, for $5 each. Mr James Ong, Frolick’s director and one of its co-founders, said he was approached by Jolynn to help with Japan the fund raising. Frolick agreed to sponsor the treats – worth about $1,000 – provided the students took charge of everything else. Along with CGS’ house leaders, Jolynn, who recently graduated from Anglo-Chinese Junior College, did everything: from producing hand-drawn publicity posters to helping SHERYL QUEK checks to sell the yogurt. Mr Ong said:” I think Jolynn and the girls did a good job. Besides hey tuck into their favourite sponsoring the yogurt, Frolick simply provided support with the food handling.” meals at Pepper Lunch, out how teens are voluntarily IN Crowder Rachel Yeak, 14, thought the start of the fund-raiser was innovative. then reach for handheld lending a helping hand to The Sec 3 student from CGS said: ”Unlike ice cream and cookies, frozen yogurt is a T Nintendos, fiddle with Hello novelty.” Kitty phone cases, and binge on the disaster-hit country. CGS raised $4,000 for the Japanese Embassy in Singapore, which included Internet archives of their favourite proceeds from yogurt sales and money collected over the three-day period from anime series Naruto, Bleach and Crescentians bought heaps of yogurt to help raise donation tins placed around the school. Vampire Knight. funds for Japan. Japanese influences are so enmeshed in Singapore’s own youth culture that teens are easily able to identify with the country’s March 11 FLEA MARKET FUND-RAISER earthquakes and tsunami, and its LEADERS: Madihah Hamid and Norhayati Ismail, ensuing sorrow. They cannot help both 15 and from Junyuan Secondary School but empathise, said Professor Chua TARGET: At least $500 Beng Huat, 65, from the Sociology BENEFICIARY: Mercy Relief Department at the National University of Singapore. “Showing How much money can two teenage girls raise? sympathy for non-locals is a good Sometimes, what is more important is how much thing; it is a kind of cosmopolitanism heart goes into the act of charity. IN Crowder and humanism.” Madihah and her childhood friend, Norhayati Online, on social-media platforms aimed to raise at least $500 at *Scape’s flea such as Twitter, many teens are market yesterday. helping to trend the topic All proceeds from the girls’ sale of books, “#prayforjapan”. On Facebook, they handmade accessories and clothes from Zara, share and “like” links to TopShop, Cotton On and Forever21 will be heart-warming videos of animals donated to Mercy Relief. “It should be quite fun, rescued from the quake debris. Most learning how to sell things, meeting people and express their sympathy in sheepish raising money for charity at the same time,” said grins. Others enthusiastically chat Madihah. about their fund-raising activities, and a handful experience genuine Singers from several top school choirs banded together to put up a pangs of sadness when they dwell one-time fund-raising performance. on the many Japanese icons that have influenced their lives. UBI CARITAS ET AMOR, DEUS IBI EST FUND-RAISER The sharing of pop culture fuels FOR MERCY RELIEF young people’s ability to identify with and empathise with their LEADERS: Mr Toh Ban Sheng, resident the world around us,” he said. That led to Japanese counterparts, according to choral director of several school choirs, the show’s latin theme, which translates Prof Chua. This may be a reason why NPCC members (from left) Chun Chuan, Wei Xin and Jordan took part in a St Joseph Institution’s teachers Adeline to “where charity and love are, God is there”. young people may be more affected donation drive to help raise funds for Mercy Relief. Tan and Tan Huiling. The entry fee per person was $10, but by what happened in Japan than SCHOOL CHOIRS INVOLVED: a near 300-strong crowd forked out disasters in countries with whom MANJUSRI SECONDARY SCHOOL’S MERCY RELIEF DONATION DRIVE St Joseph’s Institution Vocal Ensemble, above and beyond $10 for the they share no link. Dunman Secondary School Choir, performance. A group of Secondary 3 Teresa Yap, 16, from Dunman LEADERS: Toh Chun Chuan and So the pair spearheaded a two-week Catholic Junior College Choir, Raffles students from St Joseph’s Institution Secondary School, feels a twinge of Jordan Seah, both 15 fund-raiser, collecting donations from staff and Chorale, Raffles Voices, Raffles Voices helped raise another $1,250 that night by guilt over her weekly bowls of ramen FUND-RAISING PERIOD: March 18 to April 1 students for the Singapore-based Alumni selling bottled drinks for $2 each. or udon. Noting the irony of the AMOUNT RAISED: $4,340 humanitarian organisation. Ten collection Mr Edward Chiam, 18, a performer situation, the Sec 4 student said: BENEFICIARY: Mercy Relief donation cans were placed around their WHAT THEY DID: The young performers from Raffles Institution, said: ”This “The Japanese affected by the school. They also set up a Facebook page, raised more than $11,000 for Mercy fund-raiser was a good reminder that we disaster are having trouble getting WHAT THEY DID: Rather than wait for a kept their school abreast of the latest Relief with a 95-minute performance. should sing for love, not just for the sake food, but we don’t have to worry teacher to organise something, Chun Chuan developments in the disaster zone in two They were practising for a combined of singing.” Josephian Sebastian Timbul, about Japanese products running and Jordan from this school’s National Police assembly sessions and rallied another 75 performance for the Singapore Youth 17, added: ”To help others in need is in out and can still enjoy Japanese Cadet Corp approached Mercy Relief soon youth, members from other CCAs and former Festival when their choral director, line with our values and responsibility as food.” after the tsunami. students, to participate in a separate one-day Mr Toh, suggested the idea of holding a Josephians and human beings.” Others have gone further, The Sec 3 students, offered to help with Flag Day organised by Mercy Relief. charity concert for Japan. Mr Toh added: ”What happened in channelling their emotions into fund raising. Chun Chuan explained they felt Mr Chan Wei Xin, 19, the boys’ cadet ”In top schools, we can be too Japan is a reminder we should not forget humanitarian efforts to help the ”the urgency to help”. “To wait for the inspector, who assisted in the donation drive, focused on results and can be the fragility of life, even while we are country. Here are just a few of their teachers to initiate something would be slower was heartened by his juniors who gave disconnected from what is happening in pursuing excellence.” efforts, conducted independently or since we would need to see what programme generously. He said: ”It’s a different side to with their schools: the school wanted to get involved in,” he said. the Manjusri student.” DESIGN JASTER NGUI PHOTOS JOSEPH NAIR, LIM WUI LIANG, JOLYNN TJAHAYADI TJHIA.