Keen to volunteer in Singapore? Here are some ideas for where to donate your time

If you don’t want to work full time, or you don’t need to, a good way to keep your brain in gear, meet new friends, and do something helpful for people is through volunteering. It’s a great addition to your CV, too. There are plenty of local charities, old-age homes and so on that can give you a few hours a week. It’s easy to be flexible and give some of your time, and really rewarding too.

There are plenty of opportunities to volunteer in Singapore; two members of our reader panel let us know what they’ve been up to:
 

“I do a lot of work for ANZA Soccer, running their junior competition soccer – I love it! I also volunteer once a week to help the teachers in my children’s classes with maths and literacy. This is really rewarding as it enables you to get to know your children’s friends better, understand what they are learning about in class, and really help the teacher give more focused support to children as a group or individually. It’s so special when you see a child master something!”

“I also believe that we all have our own charity at home now with our helpers who generally come from very poor backgrounds. There are some really small things that we can do for them that make such a difference in their lives.” – Penny
 

“AkarakA was co-founded by two gentlemen who self-funded it, and there is only one paid employee, which means that all donations really go to the cause. It provides university scholarships to under-privileged students in Singapore, Cambodia and the Philippines. Once they graduate, they can get a job that not only helps them to move their own family out of poverty, but also empowers them to help fund a sister or brother to get an education. AkarakA also partners with large corporations to send volunteers and mentors to help these students secure a job once they’ve graduated.” – Jeanette
 

Here’s a list of useful website to get some more ideas:

• Action for Singapore Dogs (ASD) asdsingapore.com
• Association for Persons with Special Needs apsn.org.sg
• Caring for Cambodia caringforcambodia.org
• Children’s Cancer Foundation ccf.org.sg
• Children’s Surgical Centre (Cambodia) csc.org
• Club Rainbow clubrainbow.org
• Dover Park Hospice doverpark.org.sg
• First Hand firsthandvolunteers.com
• Friends of the Museum fom.sg
• Habitat for Humanity habitat.org.sg
• H.O.M.E. home.org.sg
• I-India i-indiaonline.com
• Make a Wish Foundation makeawish.org.sg
• Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) rdasingapore.org
• Red Cross Society redcross.org.sg SPCA spca.org.sg
• Tabitha Foundation tabithasingapore.com
   

This article first appeared in the EL City Guide 2015/2016.

Catherine Willingham