Seek SG, or Stop the Eye Epidemic in Kids, is a non-profit group which aims to fight childhood myopia by encouraging parents to take their children outdoors regularly. The group is collaborating with the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI), Health Promotion Board (HPB) and lens company Essilor.
In today’s classrooms, 1 in 4 children entering Primary 1 already wears spectacles. Recent studies have shown that developing myopia before the age of 7 increases the risk of developing severe myopia, which is the fourth leading cause of blindness. Research done by the Singapore National Eye Centre has also shown that going outdoors is one of the best ways to reduce myopia in children. Therefore, Seek SG has decided to work on a communication campaign primarily targeted at parents of kindergarten children on the topic of myopia and to get them to take their kids outdoors regularly.
As part of this project related to myopia awareness and education, Seek SG will be holding a series of outdoor activities for children of the ages 4-9 at various parks in Singapore from 4 Feb 2015 – 7 Mar 2015.
Volunteers will be provided the opportunity to take on roles such as games facilitator, photographer, story-teller, face-painter, balloon-sculptor, prop-maker or goodie bag helper. These roles will be assigned to the volunteers after taking into account the dates that the volunteers are available, their preferred roles and their skill sets. The following table states the dates and times of the activities by Seek SG that would require help from volunteers.
| Date & Time | Venue | Activity |
| Wed, 4 Feb, 2.00pm – 5.00pm | Punggol Park | PCF Punggol South Kindergarten Excursion |
| Sat, 7 Feb, 3.00pm – 7.00pm | Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park | Outdoor Games Day Opening |
| Sun, 8 Feb, 8.00am – 10.30am | Botanic Gardens | CNY Outdoor Craft Session |
| Sat, 14 Feb, 3.00pm – 7.00pm: | Pasir Ris Park | Outdoor Games Day 2 |
| Sun, 15 Feb, 8.00am – 10.30am | Chinese Garden | CNY Outdoor Craft Session |
| Sat, 28 Feb, 3.00pm – 7.00pm | Sembawang Park | Outdoor Games Day 3 |
| Sat, 7 Mar, 3.00 pm – 7.00pm | West Coast Park | Outdoor Games Day Finale |
By participating in the activities, volunteers can expect to gain experience from working with children, gain knowledge on event planning for a health-related cause and also get to make friends of different ages.
If you are interested to sign up as volunteers, please do so at http://www.seeksingapore.com/events
To learn more about Seek SG, you can visit the Seek SG Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SeekSingapore or follow “Seek SG” on Instagram.