900 South Woodlands Drive #06-01 Woodlands Civic Centre 730900 Tel: 6767 2288 Fax: 6219 1176

MEDIA ADVISORY  MEDIA ADVISORY  MEDIA ADVISORY  MEDIA ADVISORY

1,000 VOLUNTEERS @ NORTH WEST RECOGNISED

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North West Community Development Council’s (CDC) 1,000 volunteers were the main stars of North West Volunteers’ Night 2011, an event which recognised their effort in supporting the CDC’s key thrusts of Assisting the Needy, Bonding the People and Connecting the Community. The night of awards, music and enjoyment was held on Sunday, 20 February 2011 at National University of Singapore University Cultural Centre (UCC) Hall.

2 The event was graced by Guest-of-Honour (GOH) Dr , Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports; and Special Guests include: i. Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, Minister of State, Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports; ii. Dr , Mayor of North West District iii. Mr Hawazi Daipi, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Manpower and Ministry of Health; iv. Mr , Adviser to Zhenghua GROs; v. Ms Geck Hoon, Adviser to Woodlands GROs; & vi. Dr , Adviser to Canberra GROs.

3 Volunteers form an integral part of North West CDC in building a strong social safety net that benefits the community as a whole.

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Volunteerism is one of the key focus of North West CDC in 2011, where moving forward, the CDC would emphasise on five areas – broadening communication, deepening engagement, building capacity, showing appreciation and recognition and enhancing outreach – to improve volunteer engagement.

4 Dr Vivian Balakrishnan said, “I would like to express our deepest appreciation to all our volunteers. Their tireless efforts have created a more compassionate and cohesive community – one where everybody has a role to play, relationships are nurtured, the needy are helped and the living environment is enhanced.”

5 To recognise the efforts of the volunteers, special awards would be presented to volunteers who went beyond their duties to benefit residents of the North West District. The North West Community Care Awards were presented to volunteers who had demonstrated outstanding commitment in caring for the community; whereas the North West Brisk Walking Clubs Outstanding Coordinator Awards were given to volunteers who dedicated their service for the betterment of their zones’ brisk walking clubs.

6 In addition, volunteers would be treated to a special live performance by local talents Hossan Leong, Karen Tan, George Chan and more. Through their funny antics and musical numbers, the various artistes would drive to the North West District volunteers the importance of their work and their significance to the district.

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