Speech by President Halimah Yacob at the Youth Corps Service Week 2019

Ms Sim Ann,

Senior Minister of State, MCCY and MCI

Youth Corps Members,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

A very good morning to all of you. I am happy to be here today at the third annual Youth Corps Service Week, together with so many youths who are dedicated to serve the community.

In 2018, I became the Patron of Youth Corps Singapore, because I want to support our youths in volunteering.  I love your youthful energy, and I share your desire to contribute and to do good for others. I am particularly proud that our 20000 Youth Corps members come from all walks of life, and are enthusiastic and committed when it comes to serving. In 2018, Youth Corps members contributed over 480,000 hours in service of others across over 8,000 volunteering opportunities, touching the lives of over 6,500 beneficiaries.  This is a significant contribution to our nation.

I am also heartened to hear that this year’s Youth Corps Service Week will see over 2,000 youths volunteering to serve more than 1,300 beneficiaries from different communities. This demonstrates your commitment to serving, and making a difference in society.

Your individual efforts add up to the larger collective effort, as part of the SG Cares movement, to make our society a more caring and inclusive one. For example, the Youth Corps special needs cluster started a ground-up initiative – Big Brother Big Sister Programme – that organises fortnightly play-dates for children with special needs. They engage the children through craft activities, games and food, providing opportunities for them to participate in leisure activities in public spaces. To the youth volunteers, it may just be a few hours of their commitment each week, but for these children, they have the opportunity to be out of their usual surroundings, and enjoy activities with other youths in open and safe environments. These are moments they will remember and treasure.  The caregivers of these children also appreciate the valuable few hours of rest.

I am glad to see that YCS has partnered with IMDA to promote technological inclusivity in our society. As our society progresses and technology becomes an integral part of our daily lives, some of us may feel anxious and worried about being left behind. In response, our youth volunteers have been reaching out to seniors to be digitally included.   As a continuation of the efforts from last year, we have a digital clinic with us today, where youths will be assisting seniors in learning to make full use of their smartphones. These would include teaching them how to connect to Wireless@SG, send photos through messaging applications such as WhatsApp, scan QR codes, and use social networking applications such as Facebook. 

These examples are a good reminder that all of us have a role to play in making our country more caring and inclusive. We can each do our part in reaching out to different groups of people, learning about their needs, and lifting them up.

This year, YCS will be reaching out to more youths, through a new partnership with our Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs). YCS will pilot a new programme to develop youth leaders from community service clubs and societies in IHLs, by equipping them with skills and knowledge needed for leading community service projects. In addition, YCS will connect these youths with the larger volunteerism ecosystem to sustain youth volunteerism even after they graduate. Through the programme, we hope that the youths will rally more of their peers to give back to society, and to continue to volunteer beyond their studies. I am excited to see such programmes being rolled out to young people across the IHLs and hope to see more passionate youths joining the YCS family.

YCS has also worked with corporates such as Deloitte, Ericsson, and NTUC to encourage more young working adults to contribute to the community through their workplaces. Deloitte was one of the first corporates that came on board to volunteer as a partner in the programme “A Walk to Remember” last November. The volunteers brought the children of Big Heart Student Care on a visit to various museums to learn more about the history and values of Singapore, and how these values brought us to where we are today. Following the success of the first collaboration, YCS has seen an increase of Deloitte staff volunteering with us. Some of them are here with us today, and I hope to see more of you in the future.

Everyone seeks a greater purpose beyond themselves and their work. Corporate volunteerism helps companies enhance their employee value proposition, by providing their staff with meaningful opportunities to contribute and fulfil their wider aspirations in life. It can also strengthen team cohesion, as staff work together for the common good. I am glad to see more corporates sharing the same values as we do, and I would certainly like to encourage more companies to join us.

Aesop, the Greek philosopher, once said, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”  All contributions, big and small, go a long way.  I am encouraged that for most of you, volunteerism is already a way of life.  And I am sure that many of you realise that volunteerism benefits yourselves as well.

Take Ankush Ajay Wagle, one of our Youth Corps leaders, for example.  He is an active volunteer with Team Rojak, which encourages volunteerism amongst youths living in public rental flats. Through his four years of active volunteering, Ankush has honed his leadership skills and a collaborative mindset. As a research analyst with the National University of Singapore, these skills helped him work effectively as a leader, and also as a team player.

Volunteerism is about putting the interests of others first. In the process, we grow.  We develop skills in communication, planning, leadership and team management, but more importantly, we grow as a person, in character, in perspectives, in wisdom. Through volunteerism, we become better versions of ourselves.

Let me end off by commending each one of you for being an agent of change in making our society better, one act at a time. I encourage you to reach out to your friends to follow your lead, and to join you in our journey to serve the community. By making volunteerism a way of life, we can strive towards building a more caring and inclusive society.

Thank you.