Residents living around Kim Seng Community Centre in the heart of Chinatown will get to interact with more than 100 animals, while their pets will receive free basic grooming services, as part of a pet safari organised early next month.
The centre’s Youth Executive Committee will also hold its first mass “dog-a-thon” at the estate, which will see about 100 dog owners walking their dogs accompanied by youth volunteers and the elderly to promote intergenerational bonding and healthy living.
This is one of the 85 projects under People’s Association second YOUths Care event, organised by youth volunteers to encourage more to come together to give back to the community and care for the less-privileged.
The event, which was first held last year, also hopes to nurture a sense of altruism in youths and sharpen their sensitivity to community needs.
The projects which will be held at various community centres island wide over the next few weekends range from educational trips, arts and culture activities, home refurbishments exercises and visits to welfare homes among others.
About 5,000 youths are expected to volunteer for these projects, up from the 4,100 last year.
With the extra hands on deck, the number of beneficiaries which include the elderly, low-income households and those with special needs, will also rise to about 8,500 this year, compared to 6,000 last year.
Unveiling the line-up of events today, Mr Yam Ah Mee, Chief Executive Director of the People’s Association, stressed that the youth projects were not initiated to solely recruit more youth volunteers.
“We prefer to design the programmes to provide the opportunity for youths to experience what it is like to contribute to the community. Inadvertently, they will find it meaningful, touching, and will continue to volunteer,” he said.
This article was first published in TODAY