Singapore Pools further gives back to the community
Volunteers, beneficiaries bond over Singapore Pools’ Giving Week in meaningful ways
Vivien Ang
Sugar, flour, and a dash of love.
Those were some of the ingredients that students from Metta School and Singapore Pools’ staff volunteers used to bake eggless cupcakes on a recent Wednesday (May 25) afternoon.
The activity, Baking with Metta Students, was part of a larger Singapore Pools’ Giving Week, which took place from May 17 to 28.
About 26 events - which ranged from outreach programmes for the elderly to engagements with underprivileged children - took place in the heartlands during those 2 weeks.
Singapore Pools’ CEO Lam Chee Weng said: “Singapore Pools was created to benefit our community by providing a legal alternative and channelling monies that would have gone to illegals for community purposes…
“Therefore, it is in our DNA to give back to the community and together with our partners, drive positive outcomes for the society. I hope that the Singapore Pools Giving Week brings volunteering opportunities to the forefront for our staff to bond over meaningful activities and at the same time, uplift lives and communities. As we celebrate our 54th Anniversary, it is also a keen reminder for us to embrace the spirit of doing good and remain committed to serving with community purpose and benefit.”
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The company has been deeply involved in such initiatives since it was established in 1968, and the Singapore Pools’ Giving Week is an extension of what it already does. The organisation started out by injecting its surpluses back to society, and in 2003, before corporate social responsibility started hogging the headlines, its staff were already volunteering with beneficiaries from all walks of life.
For this year’s Giving Week, more than 150 staff volunteers took part in the events, and it is the first time that some beneficiaries took part in in-person activities since the pandemic struck.
Edmund Zeng, who assisted at the baking workshop, is a graduate of Metta School, and now an apprentice at the cafe.
The 30-year-old said that he enjoyed speaking with the staff volunteers and being in a trainer role for such workshops – as it gives him more confidence.
The collaboration with Metta Welfare Association (MWA) started in 2003, and the recent baking activity attracted more than 10 staff volunteers who spent a day in the kitchen with 18 beneficiaries.
Lim Yen Yen, assistant manager of Metta Café, Youth Employment Support, said that baking can improve the motor skills and coordination of students with autism spectrum disorder as it involves tasks such as mixing ingredients and decorating.
“Such events are also part of our efforts to prepare our beneficiaries for their participation and integration into society. It is important for companies such as Singapore Pools to come together to help the beneficiaries as such partnerships enable our service to harness collective strengths and wisdom in both sectors to tackle the evolving needs of the beneficiaries and to better serve them.”
Fun is the name of the game
Having fun was the aim of the day at a Bingo session on May 20 (Friday) for 15 Singapore Pools’ staff volunteers and 20 seniors from the Society for the Aged Sick (SAS).
The collaboration with SAS started in 2003 to bring happiness and companionship to the residents.
“Our volunteers continually organised events for the elderly residents at SAS. Some events included excursions to places of interest in Singapore and today’s Bingo session to keep the elderly engaged,” said Lam.
Although in-person activities are back in full swing, the team from Singapore Pools had to curate the programmes for the seniors more carefully.
The CEO added: “We had to take into consideration the risk of spreading the virus within the home as the seniors from SAS are vulnerable. But this did not dampen the mood of the volunteers and the number of applicants usually exceeds the number of volunteer slots available.”
Chin Sau Ho, Singapore Pools’ senior director for community partnerships and communications, said: “Volunteering at such activities has created an impact on the beneficiaries. For example, I conversed with an elderly man who had no visitors during the Covid pandemic. He was glad Singapore Pools’ volunteers would be able to start visiting SAS once again and looks forward to the activities conducted. Listening to him share that he has lost contact with his family members, I hope to be able to bring some joy into his life with the time spent there.”
In a survey conducted in 2020, staff volunteerism (as part of Singapore Pools’ community value creation track) achieved the second-highest favourable responses among staff.
Chin, who was also a volunteer at the event, said: “We realised that volunteering makes the staff proud to be part of the firm, and is the X-factor that makes the job experience much better, as colleagues from different departments can bond over such activities too…
“Hence, we have 2 different areas of volunteering that they have indicated interest in. One is skills-based volunteering, and the other involves spending time with beneficiaries. The choice depends on the volunteer’s passion and what the charity requires.”
To encourage staff to participate in such activities, Singapore Pools provides its employees with 2 days of volunteer leave a year, and Chin said that as a company, it wants to do more than just give all its surpluses back to Singaporeans (through Tote Board).
“The perspective people may have of Singapore Pools is one that is linked to gambling. However, after I joined the company, I realised that the profit, after subtracting operating cost and tax, goes back to Singaporeans – and this has been so since the company was established. There is no other firm here that does this.”
Lam said: “In Singapore Pools, we inculcate the value of volunteerism in every staff member and the spirit of giving back in all that we do. For instance, at the event with SAS, our volunteers befriended the elderly and spent time with them. It’s the companionship that each yearned for. With the pandemic restrictions lifted, our volunteers are all geared up to give back to the community.”
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