My Volunteering Journey with SHINE Children & Youth Services

Serendipity…that’s the word that comes to mind when I think about the day in 2018 my Junior College classmates and I got together after…27 years!

Amidst the food, drinks, memories and laughs, then-Chairman Ang Seng Bin and then-Vice Chairman Chee-Foong Wan told me about SHINE Children and Youth Services , the Social Service Organisation that they were spending their time with as volunteers.

Chee Foong and I met not long after for a mee goreng meal, and I mentioned that I had developed a business plan for a project called SG Heroes, whose mission was to bring otherwise-unreachable experiences to young children who were on the Financial Assistance Scheme. “Bring your ideas to SHINE,” said Chee Foong, who is now the Board Chairman, and introduced me to then-Executive Director Mei Ling.

Over sumptuous biryani rice, Mei Ling introduced SHINE’s work to maximise the potential of children and youth, while I spoke about my expertise and experience in Communications and Digital Marketing, and the calling to do more for children who lived with a variety of disadvantages.

As the time-tested advice goes: “Never make a big decision on an empty stomach”. Satiated after those meals, which were promptly washed down with cups of teh tarik, I decided that I’d sign up as Volunteer at SHINE. ?

I was first assigned to work with the Community Partnership team to review and redo the website. Thankfully, Carol Muck , Farah Liyana and the team took my crazy ideas on board. Thanks to some kind souls at digital marketing agency Construct Digital, a brand-new website was born just a few months later.

Next, it was SHINE’s social media presence. We reviewed their existing accounts, the content coming in, and the accounts’ performance. After some review and discussions, I presented a content map comprising content types and tactics, which was taken onboard. Today, Hua Jun Ang from the Community Partnership team is regularly publishing highly engaging content in SHINE's social media accounts.

When Covid-19 forced schools to close, my secondary school classmates and I managed to gather S$1,500 to buy 20 sim cards and routers for children from low-income families to go through home-based-learning (HBL) without a hitch.

I was then invited to join the Fundraising Advisory Committee, where we discuss targets and campaigns. In 2021, we came up with our iconic event, Nothing Is Impossible. Despite the pandemic, the inaugural campaigned beat the S$200,000 target, thanks to corporate sponsors and amazing individuals who raised funds on behalf of SHINE.

Now in its second year, the challenge is bigger and better, and with even higher targets. Not only that, there are some exciting satellite events as part of Nothing Is Impossible 2022, such as the Pacifica Music Academy X SHINE Charity Concert 2022. A few more exciting events are being planned and the SHINE team will announce them very soon!?

This photo is from a planning meeting of one of those exciting events. With good food and good company, you get good ideas. If you know some of these guys and what they’re passionate about, then you’ll know what we’re working on! Hint: Sanjay and Rajesh on the right-hand-side of the photo run The Cage. ??

Today, as a Board Member of SHINE, I get to hear about all the wonderful work that’s being done by the various teams towards children and youth, and their families. Every time I listen to Executive Director Lee Seng Meng and his team deliver presentations about school social work, community social work, programmes to help children read, intervention programmes and much more, I know deep down inside that I’d picked the right organisation to join as a Volunteer.

If you’ve always wanted to volunteer but didn’t know which social service organisation to work with, I’d love for you to check SHINE out. I’m not a social worker, and you don’t have to be one either. And you don’t have to buy anyone food to get selected as a Volunteer, although that’ll always give you some brownie points. ??

There are opportunities aplenty to bring your skills and expertise to this amazing organisation. To sign up as a Volunteer or to find out more, visit https://www.shine.org.sg/volunteer. ?