What: Bingo & Afternoon Tea Session with the Elderly
When: 18 December 2014
Participants: Bi Hui, Edith, Jaslin, Jean, Jiamin, May Yen, Xinyi, Yanling, Yanping
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Edith, Participant:
It has been a long time since I did volunteer work and I’m really glad to be able to help out for the Bingo Session/Afternoon Tea with the elderly.
After a 10min walk from AMK MRT station, we arrived at the senior activity centre and started packing and distributing snacks to the elderly.
Soon after, it’s Bingo time! My task was to help the elderly look out for the numbers that were drawn and it was definitely heartening to see all the smiles on their faces regardless whether they won a prize or not.
It was a memorable experience and I hope to be able to volunteer again soon.
Community | Comments Off on Bingo & Afternoon Tea Session with the Elderly (18 Dec)
What: Bingo & Afternoon Tea Session with the Elderly
When: 10 December 2014
Participants: Bi Hui, Jaslin, Jiamin, Joanne, Phyllis, Xinyi, Yanjun, Yanling, Yanping
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Yanjun, Participant:
This isn’t the first time I’m doing volunteer work in the elderly environment but this is definitely the first time I’m playing the BINGO game with the elderly. Having the mindset that the elderly are clueless about the rules of BINGO and being a non-dialect speaker myself, I was a little worried that I won’t be able to explain the rules to them well. However, this worry was uncalled for because little did I know, they are actually experts at the BINGO game and in fact, they play the game every week at the activity centre.
It’s been a really meaningful Wednesday afternoon and I believe that it has created fond memories for not just the volunteers but also the elderly. It’s really heartwarming to see the enthusiasm of the elderly and I hope they have enjoyed our companionship even though it was for a mere few hours. The smiles of the elderly is definitely more than enough if there’s ever a need for reciprocation.
It’s a great feeling to be showered with care and love from strangers, isn’t it? I think it feels even better to be the one to shower those care and love to make someone’s day.
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Jiamin, Participant:
It’s been almost 4 years since we had a similar volunteering session – playing bingo with the elderly that I almost forgot how the game was being played. Luckily, the Senior Activity Centre’s In-Charge gave us a short briefing and soon the game began!
We started with a few rounds of warm up and prizes (sponsored by both the centre and our members) were given out at each round. Each of us took care of 1-2 tables and our job is to assist the elderly in case they missed out any numbers. Even though most of us do not speak their dialects, but we could still communicate easily through a mix of Chinese/English + hand gestures. It was fun seeing the elderly “chanting†their anticipated numbers and even more heartening to see the smiles on their faces when they bingo-ed.
It was definitely a well spent afternoon and I really hope we can do more of such charity on a regular basis.
Community | Comments Off on Bingo & Afternoon Tea Session with the Elderly (10 Dec)
What: Soccer Bridging Activity
When: 6 December 2014
Where: Petir
Participants: Adeline, Alberton, Bi Hui, Cheng Yee, Cindy, Jaslin, Jess, Jiamin, Kexin, Lionel, Mavis, Phyllis, Si Qi, Suwei, Xinyi, Yanling
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Jaslin, Participant:
This is my second time participating in a bridging activity and this time we played soccer again. I must admit that I am not really a sporty person so playing soccer was quite a challenge to me. However, it was nice to see that everyone was very encouraging and supportive. There was an unexpected incident that happened in the middle of the game when one of the participants injured her leg. The other participant, Su Wei, immediately applied medicine on her leg and started massaging her leg. Another participant then went to search for ice for her. That was when I saw care and concern from all the participants, for both non-members and members alike.
Although I did not participate in the second part of the game, it was really fun watching the game from the side. Bi Hui’s é«˜çƒ when everyone tried to é—ª, the times when Xinyi joked that one can kick the ball to Phyllis and it will end up to her instead, and the moment when Yan Ling was day dreaming and the ‘slow ball’ just rolled into the the goal post without her realising it. We definitely had a great laugh at those moments.
To sum up, I believe that everyone had an enjoyable time and I am looking forward to more bridging activities.
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Lionel, Participant:
We started the ball rolling for the Saturday football session with the 3+1 introduction.
After sharing a few simple rules and techniques on how to pass and shoot the ball, everyone was off to a flying start. While seven-a-side football may not be the typical game, it brings out the great teamwork of the participants.
In the first match, the partnership of Xinyi and Cindy were lethal. Eventually, the game ended with a score of 6-3, in their favour. After a break, the second match saw some young talents like Si Qi as Ms Goalscorer and Adeline as Ms Safe-hands.
Not too bad for starters, and most of us enjoyed ourselves out there on the pitch.
Bridging Activity | Comments Off on Soccer Bridging Activity @ Petir
What: RBKD Newspaper Collection Drive
When: 1 & 2 November 2014
Where: All around Singapore
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Angela, Participant:
If you want to do charity but not sure how, a good start will be to join RBKD’s newspaper collection.
You only need to keep as much newspapers as you can (at least ankle height). RBKD will arrange for collection, sell them and donate the money to charity.
Although I kept only ankle height of newspapers, I used my place for a friend who had kept more than knee height but was unable to store them.
On the day of collection, RBKD came to my place to collect the newspapers. Feels happy to be able to do a part for charity. Thanks RBKD!
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Yanling, Participant:
Newspaper drive this year included going to a private company to collect boxes of paper. As it was on a weekday, we could only rely on a van to transport the papers.
Upon the sight of the whole chunk of boxes, we realised we needed more than 5 trips (and maybe much more) to be able to clear everything!
The boss nicely helped us with the loading of the boxes but our van could only take that many boxes each time.. Thankfully, we met a really nice supervisor uncle on our 2nd trip to the recycling center, who introduced a garang guni uncle to us. With the help of the uncle and his assistant, we loaded one whole big lorry of boxes and cleared allllll the boxes within one day!
Annual Giving, Community, weareone | Comments Off on Annual Giving (Charity) – RBKD Newspaper Collection Drive
What: Against The Tide Fan Meet
When: 20 September 2014
Where: Thomson Plaza
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Daphne, Ordinary Member:
I was really looking forward to attending the fanmeet! Upon arriving at Thomson Plaza at the reporting time, quite a number of people were already seated in the barricaded area. As time passed, more people started to fill the area and I have to say, many people came down on that day wearing black to support Rui En.
When the casts appeared, that area (even at the higher levels of the shopping centre) broke into loud screams and shoutouts for the idols. During the talk about each character, we screamed out every time Dr Snow/Xueqing was mentioned and Christopher made a humorous remark about it. It was nice seeing Rui En making different facial expressions (especially when we waved to her) and laughing during the entire event.
Cheering with RBKD vs going alone/with friends is really different. With RBKD, everyone got to hold the different Rui En boards while cheering and it made me feel like I was part of something, and it feels greeeeattt! Although your own voice couldn’t be heard when cheering, but cheering together brings out a much bigger sound of support. It was such a memorable experience, really do hope to cheer and scream our hearts out for her, together again.
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Wei Jen, Priority Member:
I decided that I would attend this roadshow because it was a weekend, and to go down to Singapore to support her, cheering and rooting for her together with Rangels, to me is always something that offers some excitement to my everyday life, and is always a privilege.
It was a pretty rushed trip as I touched down late on Friday night after work, slept a few hours and then headed to Thomson Plaza. Something interesting to note is, from queuing, preparing until the end of the event, what was constant throughout was the repeated playing of the theme song – for 4 hours the same music had been looping in my head…
The audience had a great time seeing the artistes in real person and got their signatures and of course, I also enjoyed myself screaming together with all of us for her! That is a good throat exercise once in a while I suppose :)
Events | Comments Off on Against The Tide Fan Meet
What: Annual Giving (Volunteering) – Free Breakfast Project
When: 25 October 2014
Participants: Adelyn, Allan, Jiamin, Joanne, Shu Pei, Yeeling
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Shu Pei, Participant:
Free breakfast was provided for elderly at the service centre, and also included a talk on how to apply and use ATM cards. This is to help the elderly receive aid from the government. The talk was given by a representative in English, but a volunteer helped to translate it into Hokkien.
When the talk ended, we assisted the old folks to fill in the application form for the ATM cards. The elderly had Mee Goreng and coffee for breakfast. As there was not enough people, we were 手忙脚乱 when distributing the food. I noticed that a lot of the old folks did not eat their food or left it half eaten, and it was almost 11am. Upon asking, I found that they were keeping the food for lunch. Some elderly also stayed back to chat with each other after the event ended. I find that the centre is a good place for the elderly to meet up and accompany each other. The elderly would not feel lonely when they have activities they can enjoy as a group.
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Adelyn, Participant:
The breakfast project held on 25 October is a memorable day for me even though I’m new. This project gives me the opportunity to interact with the lower income families and letting me know how blessed I am. If given another chance, I will continue to participate in projects like this.
Annual Giving, Community, weareone | Comments Off on Annual Giving (Volunteering) – Free Breakfast Project
What: Annual Giving (Volunteering) – Free Breakfast Project
When: 27 September 2014
Participants: Bi Hui, Celest, Celest’s Mum, Jean, Jiamin, Ming, Pei Jun, Xinyi, Yanling
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Bi Hui, Participant:
Waking up early in the morning on a weekend… definitely not something anyone would do, including me. But for a good cause, we are here at Bukit Merah View, doing voluntary work! *Yays with thick eyebags*
I would say that it is really nice to have such events where the centres give free breakfast to the elderlies, as it was really pleasing to see that such little things that you do, could bring big smiles to the elderlies. It was rather hectic at my place, as when we started preparing for the breakfast, elderlies also started to crowd around our booths.
We had some communication problems too as 3 of us don’t speak fluent Cantonese, but luckily we managed to pull through!
Definitely something nice to start up your day doing something meaningful, and I also hope that we can be involved in other kinds of charity events like this other than making breakfast.
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Celest, Participant:
I am pleased to participate in RBKD’s “Year End Volunteering†activity.
On a Saturday morning at THK Seniors Activity Centre @ Henderson, we began preparing breakfast by spreading butter and kaya on the white bread, and pouring out 3-in-1 coffee into cups. Soon the elderly residing at the neighbourhood, started making their entrance one by one into the centre and sat down at the table while waiting to be served. From the looks on their faces, I could tell that they were really looking forward to the breakfast. As we served them coffee and bread with a plain spread of kaya and butter, they ate and drank with satisfaction, notwithstanding. A few of them even expressed their gratitude before they left, which I did not expect at all.
How many of us would be easily contented eating bread with only kaya and butter? I personally do eat bread too almost every morning, but with a change in my bread spreads everyday.
Being a volunteer in this “Free Breakfast Project†has indeed been a meaningful one for me.
Annual Giving, Community, weareone | Comments Off on Annual Giving (Volunteering) – Free Breakfast Project
What: Bridging IPC – Hiking at MacRitchie Treetop Walk
When: 27 July 2014
Where: MacRitchie Reservoir
Participants: Adelyn, Allan, Angela, Bi Hui, Daphne, Edith, Jiamin, Kexin, Lixian, Madeline, Melissa, Phyllis, Rebecca, Sandra, Xing Xian, Yanling, Yun Teng, Xinyi
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Lixian, Participant:
It was raining 2 hours before our meeting time and I was quite disappointed that my virgin hike in Singapore would thus be cancelled.. Thankfully though, it stopped raining at around 9.40 and true to the #rainorshinerbkdisouttoplay hashtag on RBKD’s Instagram posts, we were on our way to Macritchie from different parts of the island (aka our respective homes) after 2 hours of postponement.
To be honest, like how many new participants would have probably felt, I went for the Bridging IPC with much apprehension, from not knowing if I would be able to fit in with members who have known each other for years, to imagining all sorts of awkward situations and scaring myself subsequently.
I think I speak for all of us – at the end of it all, I was glad I took that step forward. Throughout the 5-hours long of trudging along the way, there were endless laughter, endless topics raised and it just felt warm and welcoming that everyone was making the effort to strike conversations with each other to better know each other.… It was a pleasant hike, really, despite the hot and humid weather that made the journey slightly more arduous.. :P
Thank you to the committee for coming up with such an atypical activity (I mean, who would think of going to Macritchie Treetop Walk for a hike as a FC) for us to know each other better and make friends, and thank you to Mr Rain for holding back your tears of joy/sadness for that afternoon. :)
P.S Something really interesting to share: a few of us were lagging behind during the last leg of the hike and we came across this troop of monkeys. I managed to take a clear shot of a monkey which I thought was happily flashing his teeth for my picture and was so proud of myself…. One week later my brother said that the monkey was showing signs of aggression! *oops* 笑里è—刀 is really the apt phrase for this cheeky monkey man.
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Madeline, Participant:
I woke up to the worst sound you could possibly hear on the morning of a treetop walk IPC – really really heavy rain. But thankfully the rain cleared after a few hours and we could carry on with the IPC :) Armed with insect repellent, sunblock, food, drinks & a whole bag of bananas Xinyi bought for all of us, we proceeded on with the hike.
And as per RBKD style, it wasn’t long before the selfie stick came out and we were taking group selfies every time an opportunity arose. We even took one in the middle of the narrow suspension bridge & had to arrange ourselves by height so that we could all be seen in the photo haha.
The main highlight of the whole hike was the treetop walk, but in my opinion the actual treetop bridge was way too short and the amount of walking we did getting there & back was way too long! (cue chorus of ‘are we there yet’s and ‘I’m so tired’s from everyone) We did see pretty interesting things along the way though – monkeys, really scenic views of the reservoir, and even a random tower that Lixian & I climbed up (leaving the rest of the tired folks below).
Despite the really hot weather and seemingly never-ending walk out of the reservoir, I had a really enjoyable day meeting new and old members alike & getting to know everyone much better :)
Bridging Activity, IPC | Comments Off on Bridging IPC – Hiking at MacRitchie Treetop Walk
What: RBKD SG Day Tour
When: 19 July 2014
Where: SPF Heritage Centre, LTA Gallery & Geylang Serai Market
Participants: Bi Hui, Candice, Jiamin, Lionel, Madeline, Melissa, Peijun, Phyllis, Shu Pei, Xin Jie, Xinyi, Yanping, Yeeling, Yunxian, Zhiqing
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Phyllis, on SPF Heritage Centre:
This “SG day trip” to the Singapore Police Force Heritage Gallery and LTA Gallery is not our conventional “let’s-go-out-to-play” kind of IPC, but it was still filled with laughter and fun nonetheless!
Upon entering the gallery, we were introduced to the various core values (well I guess most of us should know what it is without having to go to the museum haha), ranks and even weapons of the police force. We had the opportunity to roam around the place on our own to check out the history of the police force as well. Quite an eye opener I would say.
This guided tour was certainly made more lively with our tour guide Mr Richard. He was really entertaining and bubbly throughout the tour!
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Lionel, on LTA Gallery:
LT Gallery, a place which most people who not have heard of known of. This is the Land Transport Gallery, managed by the Land Transport Authority of Singapore, showcasing the history of our nation’s transport system, as well as the transport vision for tomorrow. While it is not uncommon for people to feedback that trains are very crowded today, the transports of the past were worse than what we have today.
Indeed, visiting the gallery gave an insight to the challenges of meeting transportation needs of everyone, as well as understand how Singapore’s transportation means have progressed over the years. Kudos to the organisers for finding such a rare gem!
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Melissa, on Geylang Serai Market:
I had a blast at the Geylang Serai night market with RBKD! We weaved through the shops, the food, and the crowd, soaking up the festivities and somehow managed not to lose anyone!
I actually have a personal tradition, which is that I have Ramly burgers once a year. And I would always have that once-a-year only burger at the Hari Raya market, so I was really excited that despite studying overseas this year I still managed to continue with my tradition.
Looking for a place to have dinner was even more fun because it was so spontaneous. Many restaurants were already “reserved” by those waiting to break-fast, so I think we walked for an hour before finding a place to eat. I didn’t feel tired until we finally sat down haha!
After dinner, I was really craving durian (the real thing, not puffs or pastries), so a few of us went for some! The place was a really good recommendation from our lovely Pres, and it is so good I think it would be better for us not to say where it is :P.
I had so much fun “touring Singapore”. From the SPF Heritage Centre, to the LTA Gallery, to the Hari Raya night market and finally ending with creamy, bittersweet Mao Shan Wang that tasted like GOLD. That Saturday, I went to many places in Singapore which I have never been before, and I think it was even better because I experienced all these with RBKD. This one Saturday alone made my every dollar of my flight ticket to Singapore worth it!
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IPC | Comments Off on RBKD SG Day Tour: SPF, LTA & Geylang Serai
Wow, has it really been 6 years? Feels way longer.
Thank you not only for the support you have given me but also for the support given to all the charities.
This year, let the focus not be on ourselves but on how to contribute to others and society. Let’s make this anniversary about that.
Lovin’ ya.
En
weareone | Comments Off on Well wishes from Idol!
