Afternoon of Service @ Work

My company recently organized the Afternoon of Service where we got the opportunity to take time out of our work day, once a year, to volunteer with our colleagues on team-based projects coordinated with local non profit organizations. My colleagues and I visited the Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society Seniors Activity Center last week.

All of us clad in blue (our company color), were enthusiastic and yet curious about the volunteer service. The rain drizzled down and soaked us on our way to the activity center, but it did not dampen the spirit to help. For majority of the colleagues, this was their first time being exposed to volunteering. Of course, this was nothing new to me.

What we did during our visit:
- Packed food for the old folks.
- Entertained the old folks by singing for them, playing simple games like Bingo with them, chat with them, and helped to bring the food back to their apartments.
- Delivered food to those old folks who are immobile.




During the course of volunteering, we visited some of the old folks' apartments, we were appalled by their living conditions. They literally lived in close quarters, and definitely need someone to clean the apartments for them. Hopefully, the MP in that area is able to do what the MP for Hougang has been doing, gather volunteers to clean the apartments - 后港爱心总动员 programme(http://yawshinleong.blogspot.com/2011/06/hey-we-care.html).

All in all, the day ended fulfilling for many of us, all of us enjoyed giving back to the local community. Hopefully with that, many of us are encouraged to join the volunteer group.