FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ms. Sivian Look
Manager, Corporate Affairs
YMCA of Singapore
sivianlook@ymca.org.sg
www.ymca.org.sg
400 youths of Citibank-YMCA Youth For Causes raised $672,000, new record despite recession & H1N1 scare
Youth raise funds after witnessing barefooted dumpsite kids in Cambodia
Invitation to the 2009 Citibank-YMCA Youth For Causes Awards Ceremony
Date: Saturday, 21 November 2009
Time: 10:15 am to 12 pm
Venue: Nanyang Junior College, Lecture Theatre 4
Guest-of-Honour: His Excellency S R Nathan
President of the Republic of Singapore
Patron-in-Chief, YMCA of Singapore
Journalists & photographers are invited to cover the Awards Ceremony. Please RSVP.
18 November 2009 – The recent economic slump and H1N1 virus scare are no obstacles to Singaporeans’ generosity. The 100 teams of this year’s Citibank-YMCA Youth For Causes have proven that by raising a record-breaking $672,000 collectively after four months of fundraising through street sales, walkathons, concerts, etc for 51 chosen voluntary welfare organisations.
A joint community initiative by Citibank and the YMCA of Singapore, sponsored by the Citi Foundation, the Citibank-YMCA Youth For Causes programme aims to cultivate a culture of social responsibility and build community leadership. It acts as a catalyst in promoting responsible social entrepreneurship among youths in Singapore. The annual programme also functions as a “social venture capital fund” to provide 400 youths, aged 15 to 35 years of age, with seed funds and resources to execute creative entrepreneurial ideas within four months which will benefit and support non-profit organisations of their choice. Since its inception, the programme has raised $3.2 million in total for 319 voluntary welfare organisations, mobilising 70,400 volunteers and reaching out to 6 million people.
Highlighted below are four winning teams/individual who have executed novel ideas to raise funds:
Team - Bare Your Sole (Best Team Award: Above 21 years old category)
5.5 km barefooted walk to demonstrate the plight of improverished children in Phnom Penh
Non-profit organisation: Habitat for Humanity
Fund raised: $9,800
After a trip to the infamous Stung Meanchey dump in Phnom Penh in December 2006 and witnessing children rummaging through smelly garbage barefooted for their survival, Benjamin Loh and his friends decided that they had to do something. They formed a team and chose Habitat for Humanity as their beneficiary.
Fittingly called Bare Your Sole, the team led by Benjamin organised the first ever 5.5km barefooted walk in Singapore at Pasir Ris Park on 6 June. The walk was graced by Mr S Dhanabalan, Chairman, Temasek Holdings and Ms Eunice Olsen, Nominated Member of Parliament. Over 600 participants went barefooted to demonstrate the plight of impoverished children in third world countries. Besides the walk, the team also collaborated with Crocs for in-kind fundraising. For every pair of old shoes donated, Crocs donated a pair of new Crocs to impoverished children in third world countries. A total of 4,000 old shoes were collected. The old shoes were then cleaned, re-purposed and distributed to welfare organisations. In total, Bare Your Sole raised $9,800 for Habitat for Humanity.
Benjamin Loh said: “What I really wanted to do was to shoe the needy children in Cambodia and allow urbanites in Singapore to know more about them. I was moved when people from all walks of life congratulate my team and shared how this bare foot walk had made them feel thankful for what they have and how they are more sensitised to how children in impoverished third world countries are living.”
Team – Drahma (Best Team Award: 17 to 21 years old category)
Addressing the prevalent issue of elderly by producing a play from scratch
Non-profit organisation: Singapore Christian Home for the Aged
Fund raised: $25,500
Inspired by the real-life stories of the beneficiaries at the Singapore Christian Home for the Aged, four students aged 17 from Raffles Junior College conceptualised, scripted, rehearsed and produced a play to re-enact the lives of the elderly. Despite the nature of this labour-intensive and high-risk project (ie to stage a play from scratch), the team demonstrated strong commitment and persistence to overcome obtstacles, such as limited funding and H1N1 outbreak. Held at the Arts House for four consecutive nights in August with a captive audience of 400, the team raised $25,500 through ticket sales and sale of merchandise.
Team - Inspire’09 (Special Recognition Award - Team)
Highest amount raised among the 100 teams
Non-profit organisation: The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund
Fund raised: $100,000
Setting the record for the highest amount of funds raised by a single team, Inspire’09 raised $100,000 for the Straits Times Pocket Money Fund within three months. This was achieved through street sales of teddy bears and custom-designed post-it pads and recruited 1,200 volunteers from 20 different schools to carry out the sales. They also organised three arts concerts, held at Republic Polytechnic, to celebrate the vibrancy of the local arts scene. Inspire’09 also introduced a peer tutoring programme, recruiting volunteer tutors to lend a hand to the academically challenged.
Mr Edwin Tan (Special Recognition Award - Individual)
Team member of Inspire ’04
Team leader of Inspire ’05, ’06, ’07, ’08 and ‘09
Edwin is a true example of how youth can lead and contribute to the society. His participation in Citibank-YMCA Youth For Causes in 2004 opened his eyes to social enterprise and realised his abilities to help those in need. He took on leadership role for consequent Inspire teams for a total of five years. He was stationed overseas since 2006, which posed a new challenge for him as he commenced his undergraduate studies in New York. Despite the time difference, he was responsive to various requests and held accountable for the results of the project. Since the team’s partnership with ST School Pocket Money Fund begun in 2004, they have raised more than $250,000 for the beneficiaries.
13 awards will be given out at the Citibank-YMCA Youth For Causes Awards Ceremony this Saturday. These include three Best Team Awards, Best Mentor, Best Public Outreach, Best Volunteer Management, Most Promising Entrepreneur, Team Merit Award, Most Supportive Voluntary Welfare Organisation Award, Most Supportive School Award, Best Fund Management Award and two new awards, Special Recognition Award (Individual and Team).
About YMCA
YMCA of Singapore is a Christian organisation which seeks to serve and enrich all members of the community, regardless of race, language or religion, through wholesome programmes to develop body, mind and spirit, which are based on Christian principles. YMCA was conferred the 2008 Outstanding Non-Profit Organisation Award by the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre on 13 November 2008.