900 South Woodlands Drive #06-01 Woodlands Civic Centre Singapore 730900 Tel: 6248 5588 Fax: 6219 1176
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900 South Woodlands Drive #06-01 Woodlands Civic Centre Singapore 730900 Tel: 6248 5588 Fax: 6219 1176 MEDIA ADVISORY MEDIA ADVISORY MEDIA ADVISORY MEDIA ADVISORY 15 March 2018 To News Editor 14,000 VOLUNTEERS RESPONDED TO NORTH WEST CDC’S CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS 131 North West Volunteers and Partners win Accolade at the North West Volunteers’ Award 2018 ________________________________________________________________ Last year, North West CDC has initiated a recruitment call of 10,000 volunteers within the next five years to build up community programmes within the district. Within a year, North West CDC received an overwhelming response of 14,000 volunteers participating in our activities. In line with North West CDC advocacy of a Green North West Community, 2017 saw over 8,000 volunteers participating in our green initiatives, the highest volunteer involvement among all our programmes. 2 Of which, 4,000 volunteers took part in our Reduce @ North West to raise awareness on reducing water and energy wastage through house visits. Collectively with other schools, the programme saved up to 88,400kWh energy, equivalent to power up 340 three-room flats for a month. 1 3 To recognise and celebrate the dedication and commitment of our volunteers from 5 categories, including, North West We Care Awards, North West Healthy Living Champion Award, North West Outstanding All Rounder Student Award, North West Outstanding School Partners Award and People’s Association Community Award, the North West Volunteers’ Awards 2018 will be held on 17 March 2018 at Nanyang Polytechnic Auditorium. 131 recipients will be receiving awards on that day. Media arrival is at 6.15pm. 4 Hosted by Dr Teo Ho Pin, Mayor of North West District, the event will be graced by Guest-Of-Honour, Ms Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Trade and Industry and Grassroots Adviser to Bukit Timah GROs. 5 Dr Teo Ho Pin, Mayor of North West District, says, “We are heartened to receive an overwhelming response from our volunteers within a short span of time. This year, in line with the Singapore’s Year of Climate Action, we would like to call out for more volunteers to be part of our Green movement to raise awareness among our residents about climate change and to educate them on ways we can combat climate change as one. We would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to all our volunteers and we hope to continue inspiring more volunteers to come on board to co-create or spearhead more projects for the North West Community.” 6 Christ Church Secondary School is one of the active partners for Reduce @ North West. In 2017, over 230 students have stepped forward to help garner close to 350 sign-ups for energy and water audits. Mdm Rajeswari Sinkaram, the teacher-in-charge of Values in Action (Lower Secondary) mentioned, “The objective of Reduce @ North West aligns with our school’s believe in the 3Rs. While students do learn from our environmental modules in school, hands-on activities such as this initiative brings learning into a higher level. Everyone has a role to play in sustaining the environment and we hope that through this activity, it will be a stepping stone for students to be eco-advocates in their own homes too.” 2 7 You and your photographer / camera crew are cordially invited to the North West Volunteers’ Awards 2018. The details are as follows: North West Volunteers’ Awards 2018 Date: Saturday, 17 March 2018 Media arrival: 6.15pm Venue: Nanyang Polytechnic Auditorium 180 Ang Mo Kio Ave 8 Singapore 569830 For more Human Interest Stories and full list of award winners, please refer to Annex C & D. Please RSVP Siti Mahmudah at HP: 9830 0224 by Friday, 16 March 2018, 5pm. Enclosed: Annex A – Programme for North West Volunteers’ Awards 2018 Annex B – Map of Nanyang Polytechnic Annex C – Human Interest Stories Annex D – Brief of Award Winners Contact Person for Media: Siti Mahmudah Assistant Manager (Corporate Communications) North West Community Development Council Tel : 6248 5539 HP : 9830 0224 E-mail : [email protected] 3 About North West Community Development Council (CDC) The Community Development Councils (CDCs) were established to build a tightly-knit, compassionate and self-reliant community. North West CDC works closely with various community and corporate partners to strengthen Singapore’s social fabric; and encourages the more able and successful to come forward to help the less successful, and to foster greater sense of community ownership and self-help among the residents. We strive to align our activities and efforts with our mission: (a) Assisting the needy To help the less fortunate through local assistance programmes (b) Bonding the people To bond the community through projects & programmes to bring them closer to one another (c) Connecting the community To develop strategic partnerships with corporate and community partners to better serve our residents The North West District comprises Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, Nee Soon GRC, Sembawang GRC and Bukit Panjang SMC. ______________________________________________________ 4 Annex A NORTH WEST VOLUNTEERS’ AWARDS 2018 ON SATURDAY, 17 MARCH 2018 AT NANYANG POLYECHNIC AUDITORIUM __________________________________________ 6.15pm Arrival of Media 6.45pm Arrival of Host Dr Teo Ho Pin Mayor of North West District 7.00pm Arrival of Grassroots Adviser: Ms Sim Ann Senior Minister of State Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Trade and Industry Grassroots Adviser to Bukit Timah GROs 7.10pm Media Doorstop 7.30pm Guests to be seated 7.45pm Opening Address by Dr Teo Ho Pin, Mayor of North West District 8.00pm Awards Presentation 8.30pm Commencement of Performance 9.30pm End of Programme 5 Annex B MAP OF NANYANG POLYTECHNIC Auditorium 6 Annex C NORTH WEST WE CARE AWARD HUMAN INTEREST STORY MDM SALLY NEO CHAI CHUI 64 YEAR-OLD GAMBAS DIVISION For many, the word volunteering brings images of long hours doing an activity that might take too much time from our own daily lives. But for Mdm Sally, volunteering means to live and contribute with a purpose. While most of us are concerned about the time spent, she is more inclined to learn how she can make a difference in the community. Despite losing her physical mobility to cancer, this was no excuse to live her life meaningfully. Her voluntary journey started when she heard a church was looking for a good cook who is willing to spend some time on a weekly basis to cook for the beneficiaries at Singapore Anglican Community Services. An avid cook, Mdm Sally saw this as an opportunity for her to put her culinary skills to good use. Today, every alternate Thursdays Mdm Sally whips out her wok and saddle with a goal in mind. While the weekly lunch might seem like a menial event to others, it is the highlight of the Singapore Anglican Community Services beneficiaries. Thursday's meal is always a special lunch prepared with the hard and the heart work of Mdm Sally. Her work doesn't stop there; the freelance tutor spent time befriending the beneficiaries who are recovering from mental illness. Her commitment and dedication inspired others around her and she leverage this to encourage others to volunteer too. When asked about why she dedicated her time she said, " I did it simply because it was fulfilling. I might not be as physically fit as others but I know I have other set of skills that could make a difference to them. It's all about putting your heart into volunteering." 7 NORTH WEST WE CARE AWARD HUMAN INTEREST STORY MR SYAZANI JASMAN 21 YEAR-OLD MARSILING-YEW TEE DIVISION As the quote goes, “The mediocre teacher tells, the good teacher explains, the superior teacher demonstrates but the great teacher inspires.” For Syazani Jasman, this rang true as it was his teacher who inspired his voluntary journey at Fei Yue Family Community Service. During his last year of Secondary School, Syazani struggled with his Math subject but his Math teacher did not give up on him. Together with other classmates, she dedicated time after school to revise the weaker components with them.. And indeed it worked on Syazani, his resulted boosted from a Grade 4 to Grade 1. His teacher’s dedication made a mark on his life he said, “That was when I realised that I wanted to do the same to another student. Mentoring goes beyond teaching and I want to make a difference.” His first foray into mentoring and voluteerism started during his first year in Ngee Ann Polytechnic. When he learnt of the BP-NP mentoring club, Syazani immediately signed up for the club and his first students were from Fei Yue Family Service Centre at Chua Chu Kang. Today, while he awaits his graduation day Syazani is still actively involved with the tutoring session. He sets aside 90 minutes weekly sessions with the students and rarely misses his sessions. While the journey was fun and fulfilling, it did not come without challenges. There are times when there were lesser tutors around and he has to take in more students who were difficult to manage. In times like this, Syazani kept a stable mind and focused on the task on hand. He mentioned, “The students are my motivation. After many sessions together, you create a bond with them and when this happens, they will listen to you and learn better from you. You feel like they are your own family members.” Syazani believed that his volunteering experience not only made an impact to others, it was a journey of self-discovery. “I was once an introvert who was too shy to mingle, but I managed to overcome that when I stepped in to help others, I’ve learnt to socialise.