Happenings & News

Tickets for the Sing50 concert have sold out, but the public can still get them by making a donation at the Mapletree Sing50 Charity Ticket Drive, organised by presenting sponsor Mapletree Investments.

Starting from tomorrow, tickets for the Aug 7 mega-concert will be available every weekend until the end of the month at the charity drive held at VivoCity shopping mall. A minimum donation of $20 is required per ticket and each person is limited to 10 tickets.

All proceeds will go towards The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund and The Business Times Budding Artists Fund, both of which support children and youth from underprivileged backgrounds.

In the lead-up to the concert, a series of pop-up concerts will be held at VivoCity and Resorts World Sentosa. Open to the public, they will provide a sneak preview of the Sing50 concert and feature performances by ChildAid alumni such as Amni Musfirah, who will sing some of Singapore’s greatest hits, which have been decided through a public poll.

The pop-up concerts will be held this weekend and next weekend at VivoCity from 3 to 3.45pm, and at Resorts World Sentosa on June 20 and 27 from 4 to 4.45pm.

Mrs Seah-Khoo Ee Boon, senior vice-president of human resources and communications at Resorts World Sentosa, says: “Besides driving greater anticipation for the Sing50 concert, this series of pop-up concerts provide a platform for young and talented artists to perform.”

Aside from the tickets which are sold out and those available at the charity drive, concert organisers have set aside tickets for schools and community groups, among others.

The Sing50 concert on Aug 7 will feature home-grown artists performing songs from many languages, as well as music genres over the past five decades. It is jointly organised by The Straits Times and The Business Times to celebrate Singapore’s golden jubilee.

To be held at the National Stadium, the star-studded line-up includes established and emerging artists such as Stefanie Sun, JJ Lin, Tracy Huang, Dick Lee, Jeremy Monteiro, Rahimah Rahim, Mohamed Raffee, Reuby, Dru Chen and Ling Kai.

Mapletree Investments, Resorts World Sentosa and Zurich Insurance are the main sponsors of the Sing50 concert. The show is produced by The Rice Company and supported by Steinway Gallery Singapore.

Source: The Straits Times

Reuben Chew, 22, is a volunteer with non-profit organisation Habitat for Humanity Singapore. Several times a year, he and other members of the Singapore Management University chapter clean the houses of the elderly and disadvantaged. But though he prefers getting his hands dirty, more and more of his peers are choosing to volunteer in other ways.

Said Mr Chew: “I’ve a few friends that do legal pro-bono clinics because they are law students, and I think the idea of skillset volunteering is a good idea. It’s encouraging the spread of voluntarism, and that spirit alone is good enough.”

This practice is not unique to law students. Whether they are web designers, architects, or managers-to-be, young people are increasingly volunteering their professional skills, in ways they see meaningful to them.

Research by the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) also shows that the potential for personal skills development has increasingly become a key motivation for many to continue volunteering. But the NVPC said not every organisation can tap those niche skills and manpower.

“VOLUNTEER-TOURISM”

NVPC’s strategic partnership head Marcus Chee, warns the concept may turn into something called “volunteer-tourism”, “where young people go in there just because they want to do something”:  “They go to the beneficiaries, and the beneficiaries have no choice but to ‘entertain’ the groups because they want to do good.”

Habitat for Humanity Singapore’s National Director Yong Teck Meng, said: “You do need to match them with what your available needs are, and so I would say that sometimes there will be a mismatch because you may have too many graphic artists coming in, or too many people thinking they can do accounting for you. I think some specific tasks like accounting for example need very dedicated time, and that’s why you engage auditors and accountants to do your books.

“So I think while the idea sounds very good, the reality is that other than piecemeal work like web design or maybe even marketing kit, I do not see this as a very regular and major part of volunteerism.”

BETTER MATCHING NEEDED

Skilled volunteering organisations such as Conjunct Consulting have played the role of intermediary in matching volunteer skills to organisations, but even they agree that better scoping and communication of needs has to be done.

“What we actually need to do is see how we can better scope and match the needs of individual non-profits and social enterprises, with the skills of volunteers and pro bono talent,” said co-founder Jeremy Au. “And the opportunity here is really the skills that are not only at the organisational level, but also at the national level.”

While Mr Au said voluntary welfare organisations are getting better at specifying what they need, the NVPC is playing its part to help all stakeholders.

Its recently announced unified online portal Giving.SG, which aims to match volunteer supply and demand, will be ready by mid-November.

Source: CNA

The OSIM Sundown Marathon will flag off again in July, and taking part for the first time is a group of 24 runners representing Assisi Hospice.

The group, which includes doctors, nurses, counsellors and administrative staff, are are raising funds for a new, bigger building, which will double the number of patients they can help from the current 1,200. Assisi Hospice is also hoping to hire more staff.

The runners have been training together twice a week for the past three months and said they are doing this for their patients.

Said Assisi Hospice palliative doctor Ong Eng Koon, “Through the process of running and training, actually the hardships that we go through kind of parallel what our patients go through as well. And we do think about our patients when we train and run.”

About 30,000 runners are expected at the starting line at the F1 Pit Building. The organisers have also roped in 1,800 volunteers, who will hand out refreshments along the route. Among the volunteers is a 74-year-old retiree and his wife, who are helping out at the event for the third time.

“I want to socialise and make more friends and also give something back to society,” said Mr Yeong Kwai Kok.

Source: CNA

Over 6,000 people bared their soles to raise $350,000 for charity during the annual barefoot walkathon Bare Your Sole 2015 at Palawan Beach, Sentosa.

The event which is organised by Habitat for Humanity (HFH) Singapore aims to improve the living conditions, safety and sanitation of the elderly and the vulnerable living in one- and two-room rental flats across the country.

In its 7th year, all proceeds from Bare Your Sole 2015 will go towards Project HomeWorks, Habitat for Humanity Singapore’s local home-cleaning programme.

Mr Yong Teck Meng, National Director of Habitat for Humanity Singapore said: “We are very thankful for the tremendous support we’ve received throughout the years. It is always heartening to see everyone come together to help the less privileged within our community.”

Ultramarathon runners, Mr Lim Nghee Huat and Mr Yong Yuen Cheng, were also present to complete the walkathon route as part of their SG50 tribute to run 50km each day for 50 days. Bare Your Sole 2015 marked their 45th day where they kick-started the event, leading the pack with participants walking barefoot behind them.

In addition to the walkathon, participants were treated to a wide range of activities such as a high elements course with flying fox and rock-climbing wall, a Habitat Village and a Kids’ Corner.

Source: AsiaOne