What: I-Weekly 30th Anniversary Event

When: 27th March 2011

Where: NEX (Serangoon)

Participant(s): Jean, Jiamin, and Xinyi

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Jiamin, Secretary:

On day 2 of the event, Jean, Xinyi and I made a trip down to NEX hoping to collect more buns and sardines (the more the merrier since it is for good cause:D) We stood around for an hour at a corner and were really glad to see the public approaching us upon seeing our boxes and donating the items. The in-charge for the event noticed us and even offered us a carton of drinks! Unfortunately, we cannot accept it as it is not suitable for the elderly.

In the end, we managed to donate a total of 81 pieces of bread rolls and 81 cans of sardines to the Bishan Home.

This is not the first time we are doing charity but i always feel heartened that we are able to contribute to society in a way or another and delighted to see the happy faces of the elderly.

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Xinyi, President:

I was pretty amused when I logged our donations in their booklet. The caretaker was complaining when I put “NA” for our address and contact, “No address again. Last time you all came to donate something before too right? Also no address. We have our reasons to ask for the address….” And so he continues. Like obedient students nagged by the teacher, we penned down our address eventually. Although we did not expect anything in return, receiving a letter of appreciation addressed to RBKD always seems to be especially encouraging. Keep it up everyone :)

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Letter of appreciation from Bishan Home:

Community, Events | Comments Off on I-Weekly 30th Anniversary Event @ NEX (Day 2)

What: Rice Charity

When: 15 January 2011

Where: ComCare Network Senior Activity Centre (Ang Mo Kio)

Participant(s): Alberton, Bee, Bengyan, Berlin, Candice, Casslynn, Celest, Charmaine, Connie, Elaine, Eunice Ng, Eunice Zee, Felicia Ng, Jasmine, Jean, Jewel, Jiamin, Joanne, Joyce, Junqi, Kah Yin, Krystal, Lydia, Mandy, Miaoting, Michelle, Ming, Rachael, Ser Chee, Shirley, Victoria, Vyvyan, Xaby, Xinyi, Yan Ling, Yun Xian, Zi Lei

—

Before…….

Busy at work

Our very effective human chain…

Tada! RBKD and the goodie bags for the families :)

Preparing to set off~

House-to-house visits

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Xinyi, Club President cum Organiser:

Alberton’s write-up below would give you a good overview of the whole “operation”, so I will not touch on that. I will instead, share the insights and the events that lead up to this.

It all started more than 1 year ago when we first had this idea. However back then, we didn’t know what we wanted or how we could
really help. Coincidentally I read an article about Philanthropy yesterday, and this is an extract:

Business Times, 8th April 2011: PHILANTHROPY must move from focusing on output – how much is given and how many received, to outcomes – the actual social change that results from that giving, speakers at a roundtable on strategic grant-making said yesterday.

I guess now I know why we hesitated, because we didn’t want to just donate money, we wanted to do something substantial. In the process, although we managed to exceed our target, we were faced with a dilemma: Should we put our beneficiaries before ourselves and seek sponsorship although we abhor the media attention and possible misunderstanding or should we not? By seeking sponsorship, we know the outcome of our efforts and limited resources would be exponentially multiplied. Eventually, we decided to give it a try.

Boy were we so surprised. Sponsors readily agreed and we had rice, oil, biscuits, bananas and eggs sponsored to us even though we could give them nothing in return. There is warmth in the society, and our hearts felt it too.

That morning, the uncles and aunties were a little puzzled, young adults in black were running around their blocks distributing food for nothing in return. But mark my words, this is not the end for these young adults, we will be back with more sustainable efforts, we definitely will =)

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Alberton, Participant:

We gathered at the new ComCare Senior Activity Centre in Ang Mo Kio at Block 420 early in the morning. Later, we were briefed on the things to do and were divided into 2 groups to do the packing. The 1st group were instructed to pack each bag with bananas, instant noodles and eggs. The 2nd group were told to flatten the rice packs and pack 2 of them with 1 bottle of oil into each bag. When we finished our tasks, we were divided into 2 groups again, with each group going to 1 block of flats each to distribute 2 bags to the elderly staying in each rented flat. We distributed the food in order, according to the flat units given by the group leader. The elderly welcome us when they knew our main objective of being there. The whole event ended at around 12pm. It was a meaningful day for all RBKD members because we celebrated our idol’s birthday by contributing our time and effort back to the needy in the society.

Community | Comments Off on Rice Charity as Rui En’s Birthday Gift

The 10 RBKD volunteers who spent an afternoon with the elderly people in the Meiling estate pooled together some money to get them some fruits (2 Apples, 2Pears and 2 Bananas for each elderly).

There were leftovers so RBKD decided to top up the balance from our Rice Charity Fund to make it a whole $200 donation for the Project Helping Hands.

If you would like to make a donation, you can do so by cheque or in person. You can also do it via SG Gives, like how RBKD did. Any amount, should help =)

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Letter of appreciation from Lions Befrienders Service Association:

Community | Comments Off on Donating to Project Helping Hands

What: Volunteering with TNP @ Lions Befrienders

When: 30th December 2010

Where: Lions Befrienders SAC (Meiling)

Participant(s): Alberton, Bengyan, Charmaine, Jean, Jiamin, Phyllis, Rui En, Serchee, Shirley, Xinyi & Yanling.

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Xinyi, President:

This is the first time RBKD volunteered with Rui En, vice versa. It was a coincidence that Rui En, RBKD and TNP (The New Paper) all approached Hype at around the same timing on the possibility of volunteering together, so tadah!

Spending time to volunteer is an admirable act, hence I didn’t let anyone in RBKD know of her involvement as I didn’t want the sincerity of my members to be doubted. I merely created a “Volunteer Opportunity on 30 Dec” topic in forum and fairly soon I got the 10 persons I needed for the session. I always knew that I could count on RBKD when it comes to these.

The experience was actually something new for us, not because of Rui En’s involvement, but because we usually choose to volunteer in opportunities that required lesser interaction. And it was certainly time well spent interacting with the elderlies for all of us, with all the singing and the games.

We ended the session with the elderlies bringing home the fruits RBKD bought and the goodie bags Rui En prepared.

I then joined Rui En & TNP in a tour around the estate, and had a peek into their SAC (Senior Activity Centre) and the home of one elderly.

It is heartening to know that Lions Befrienders have done an excellent job, taking very good care of the elderlies in the estate. We volunteer when we are free, but they are the ones who are always there.

Rui En was scratched by a frightened cat when its owner suddenly shoved it into her arms. The cat can certainly give Garfield a run for its money, no wonder it was named “Tiger”.

Up on the 10th floor of the block, it was the usual sight of either too packed or too bare. I personally would still prefer rented estates to have motion sensor lighting and railings at the two sides of the corridor, something the well-equipped estate could still improve on.

We actually didn’t get to interact much with Rui En because the focus of the day was on the elderlies. So you might have guessed that we did not take many pictures that day, wouldn’t seem right if we did that too. Still, I took a short clip of the Chicken Dance session.

This girl is genuinely sincere, it isn’t for publicity, nor is it for show. You can see it in her eyes.

:)

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Community, IPC | 2 Comments

Dear RBKD,

Thank you for your contribution. Your generous donation will enable needy children, families and their communities to receive the support they need to break the cycle of poverty.

We are grateful for your contribution (Order No : 6852) as follows:

On behalf of the children, families and communities you have helped, THANK YOU for caring!

Sincerely,

James Quek
Executive Director
World Vision Singapore

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2 x (Gift ID : 366) – Health screening for 20 children.

4 x (Gift ID : 380) – 8 apple trees and 12 peach trees (Total: 20 Trees)

(Gift ID : 433) – Disaster response for Thailand Floods

(Gift ID : 204) – Emergency Response for Indonesia

(Gift ID : 117) – Emergency Response for the Philippines

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Peh Xin Yi, Club President:

As we rejoice, feast and celebrate our club’s Birthday, there are people in other parts of this world who can still make do with some concern, help and warmth. These little gifts really ain’t a lot, but it’s a little something from us.

Hopefully, we made the life of someone slightly easier and happier.

I would be more than glad to see this become a tradition of RBKD. Birthdays should be this meaningful =)

Community, weareone | Comments Off on Birthday Donations from RBKD

What: Volunteering with Loving Touch 关怀方式

When: 26th & 28th July 2010

Where: Bishan Home for the Intellectually Disabled

Participant(s): Collen, Jiamin & friends, Junqi & friends, Joanne, Liz & friends, Shirley, Wyman & friend, Xinyi & friends.

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Xinyi, Volunteer:

The paint vapour was unbearable, we couldn’t stop tearing.
The camera kept filming, we couldn’t stop hiding.
The end result was lovely, we couldn’t stop smiling.

That pretty much summed up the whole experience.

“If Rui En knew that you all are doing this, she would be so proud of you.”

Actually other than the research writer and producer, I didn’t let anyone else know that we were from RBKD. There’s definitely no need to. True enough, we were constantly teased by the cameraman uncle who discovered our “identity” accidentally =/

“为什么没有叫瑞恩来? 那你们还来干嘛?”
“谁? 是谁的歌? 瑞恩的啊?”
“为什么没有播瑞恩的歌?”
“你好，我是瑞恩，我喜欢唱歌。”

Giving the pillars an artistic touch together with the friendly Kym Ng.

Taking a photo at the mirror painted by Junqi and her friends.

The transformed outdoor staff area completed with Mr. Guo Liang.

Chen Hanwei: 拍照? 好啊。不要跟张扬拍照啦，张扬是鬼，不可以拍照的。

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Community, IPC | 2 Comments

What: CNY Outreach Program to Needy Elderlies

When: 20 February 2010 (7th day of Chinese New Year)

Where: Bendemeer / Boon Keng

Participant(s): Candice, Joey & Shirley

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Shirley, Participant:

Spreading some warmth & love, especially during festive seasons, always feel great. Though some doors are shut forever, the ones we entered brought about genuine smiles on the owners

Language/race is not a barrier, it’s just an obstacle for us to cross over.

Let’s step forward!

Community | Comments Off on CNY Outreach Program (Bendemeer)

What: CNY Outreach Program to Needy Elderlies

When: 20 February 2010 (7th day of Chinese New Year)

Where: Ang Mo Kio

Participant(s): Jiamin & Xinyi

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Xinyi, Participant:

Sometimes, you can’t just have the heart and passion to help, you need to do so at the right timing too.

We first helped to pack the goodies bags before heading to Ang Mo Kio. Doors after doors we knocked, but no single one came forth. We were even barked at by a fierce dog!

The thought of these elderlies possibly spending time with their family instead of staying alone at home dispelled any initial disappointment the two of us had. Disappointed, but not discouraged. Count us in the next time round too!

Community | Comments Off on CNY Outreach Program (Ang Mo Kio)

What: CNY Eve Outreach Program to Needy Elderlies

When: 13 February 2010 (Chinese New Year Eve)

Where: Redhill, Bukit Merah, Lakeside

Participant(s): Jean & Jiamin

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Jiamin, Participant:

We started the day by helping to pack the goodie bags before heading
over to Redhill, in hope of spreading some warmth and joy to the
elderly. However, the four families that we visited were not at home.
Was rather disappointed cause this was not first time i encountered
such a situation. Nonetheless, i am not disheartened.

Definitely looking forward to the visit, hopefully with the luck of
meeting a family :D

Appreciate and be grateful of what we have:)

Quote from Eric Hoffer “The hardest arithmetic to master is that which
enables us to count our blessings.”

Community | Comments Off on CNY Eve Outreach Program (West)

What: CNY Outreach Program to Needy Elderlies

When: 13 February 2010 (Chinese New Year Eve)

Where: Ang Mo Kio

Participant(s): Phyllis, Shirley, Xinyi & Yanling

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Volunteering on the eve of Chinese New Year has never crossed our minds, but they needed volunteers so we went ahead.

These elderlies were mostly needy elderlies living off the public assistance scheme, living in one/two room rental flats.

Youngsters like us, often seen as apathetic, had never stepped into one room flats. “How how how? I can’t speak Teochew!” That was how startled we were when invited into the home of this Teochew Ah Erm, already 89 years of age! Luckily Ah Erm could understand our Hokkien. Phew~

Altogether, we visited the homes of 2 elderlies and left food packs with another 5 who were not at home. As we welcome the Chinese New Year extravagantly with food and snacks that never seem to run out, there are indeed people out there who can’t afford to celebrate.

Count your blessings =)

Community | Comments Off on CNY Outreach Program (Ang Mo Kio)

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