CapitaLand hosts carnival to benefit nearly 1,000 seniors
The #LoveOurSeniors initiative aims to foster inclusion and facilitate social interaction
REAL estate group CapitaLand on Tuesday (Oct 8) organised a carnival for nearly 1,000 seniors at Kallang Wave Mall, with more than 600 staff volunteers participating.
The beneficiaries come from the company’s charity partners – Fei Yue Community Services, Allkin Singapore, FaithActs and Touch Community Services.
Tan Seng Chai, executive director of CapitaLand Hope Foundation (CHF) and senior adviser of CapitaLand Investment, said the #LoveOurSeniors carnival aims to foster inclusion and facilitate social interaction among the group, as well as tackle social isolation and loneliness. “Singapore faces a rapidly ageing population where one in four citizens will be aged 65 and above. It has become even more essential for us to empower our seniors in taking care of their own physical and mental well-being, and engage them in becoming active contributors,” he noted.
Volunteers brought the seniors through three different zones of the carnival. Tan said: “Our booths revolve around the three themes of health and well-being, technology and reminiscence. Seniors get to enjoy a plethora of games and activities and relive their childhood experiences, stay active through fitness exercises, and stay up to date with technology.” For example, at the reminiscence zone, seniors could play song guessing and childhood games at booths manned by volunteers.
CapitaLand partnered the Health Promotion Board to organise exercise sessions for seniors. There were also towel craft activities, scent bag-making sessions to improve dexterity, and a photobooth and free karaoke at Teo Heng Family KTV, to enhance mental well-being.
Jean Teo, director of Teo Heng, said: “By tapping a large platform such as CapitaLand’s #LoveOurSeniors Carnival, we are able to reach out to a bigger group of seniors and play our part in uplifting their mood, improving their mental health, and connecting people through the power of music.”
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At the technology zone, CapitaLand partnered Touch Community Services to teach seniors tech skills such as identifying deepfake scams and cyberthreats, along with digital literacy. The seniors also had the opportunity to browse through an augmented reality book and interact with Lovot, a social robot brought in by the Singapore University of Social Sciences.
At each zone, seniors could collect stamps and redeem igoods such as biscuits and hand wash items after completing activities. They also received grocery and eatery vouchers.
An opportunity to socialise
Tan of CHF said: “The carnival provides them with the opportunity to befriend seniors from other centres and CapitaLand staff volunteers, strengthening their network of peer supporters and increasing their social interaction.”
This event also directly involved the seniors, as they volunteered to befriend other seniors and gave comments on how the booths should be run – particularly from their point of view.
For example, Koh Chin Seng, 71, a grassroots leader at Hougang Community Club and member of Fei Yue Active Ageing Centre, advised CapitaLand volunteers to simplify the games for the seniors. “(The carnival) gave me a chance to give back and connect with people in a fun environment, also with like-minded people and volunteers. I find that there is enthusiasm to help the seniors,” he said.
Erin Koh, a staff volunteer who is senior manager for workforce sustainability in group human resources at CapitaLand Investment, helped to conduct training for volunteers. She has a master’s degree in gerontology – the study of ageing – and used her expertise to educate others before the event.
“I thought it would be beneficial for the volunteers to know about age-associated decline… such as vision decline or auditory decline. So what we really wanted to do in the volunteer briefing was to sensitise everybody to this,” she said. She also shared tips on how to build rapport with the seniors.
CapitaLand Hope Foundation’s campaigns
The carnival is part of CapitaLand’s philanthropic arm CHF’s #LoveOurSeniors campaign, which aims to improve the quality of life for seniors in need. Since 2018, it has committed more than S$5 million to the campaign.
Through #LoveOurSeniors, CHF has worked with 25 charity and community partners and benefited more than 100,000 seniors in the community. It has rallied more than 4,500 CapitaLand staff.
The carnival is also part of the company’s annual #GivingAsOne campaign, in which staff, business partners and customers collaborate to uplift the lives of those in need. Tan said: “CHF will continue to focus on building resilience in the communities where CapitaLand operates, through supporting education, health and well-being initiatives for children, youth and seniors.”
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