So What Do You Do As A Volunteer?

During the odd occasions when I help out as a volunteer with the Com Chest, some friends have asked what I do.  I tell them I am a "SHARE ambassador" whose main role is to help spread awareness of the SHARE programme through briefings to businesses and government agencies.

Just like this one where I am giving a briefing to Metro staff on how their monthly donations go towards helping 300,000 beneficiaries in Singapore.  Earlier, Comm Chest staff had conducted a mini training workshop for us volunteers. That helped a lot but it took me a while to feel confident to agree to go solo. Strangely enough, once I started speaking, I no longer felt nervous. The message itself was powerful enough. I was merely a conduit and I hope I did the message justice.

Another event I attended was at MND for their public service week.  I was there with other volunteers to help raise funds by selling Com Chest merchandise, ranging from stationery to the cute pink Sharity elephant you can probably make out in the picture.  I learnt that the Sharity Elephant is always sold-out at such events -- Singaporeans are really into their stuffed toys.  Incidentally, the other two volunteers are Indian nationals who have set up their own business here in Singapore.  Talk about giving back --  I salute them for their generosity.  

SHARE is essentially a programme you sign on to make a monthly donation deducted from your payroll, credit card or GIRO.  No amount is too small and this year, the government is matching every dollar of donation made before end of the year   So, don't wait, this is the ideal time to make that donation if you have been pondering over it for a while. 

For volunteers like me who don't wish to commit to specific time slots, the SHARE Ambassador scheme is an excellent arrangement .  You will be alerted to upcoming briefings or events and sign up when you can spare the time.  If you're interested, please do sign up here.  You won't regret it, I promise.

Wake Up & Live

Reading is my all-time favorite past-time. Couch potatoes switch channels; I switch books. 

I now have 4-5 library books at home and I have this silly habit of switching from one to another.  Currently, I'm immersed in this particular title.  The title sounds cliche, I know.  But quite a few of the passages inside resonated with me and this particular one stood out:

"Most of us disguise our failure in public; we disguise it most successfully from ourselves.  It is not hard to ignore the fact that we are doing much less than what we are able to do, very little of what we had planned even modestly to accomplish before a certain age, and never, probably all that we had hoped."

Failure seems like such a strong word.  But if one looks at it again: "underachieving" is indeed a form of failure on our part,  isn't it? 

And I confess, I suffer from that. 

I don't know if I can be like the author and apply that "formula for success". 

But there, a confession is made and that, to me, is already a huge step forward.

One of the amazing things about this book is that it was written in 1936.  By a woman.  I would love to write a book like that.  A book that will be read even half a century later and where the words still hold meaning and truth for someone.  And that even if just a single reader appreciates it enough to take heed of what I wrote , I will feel deeply validated in my grave.