Issue #2 – March 2011

A tribute to volunteers working in the eldercare

sector in Singapore

Adding Life By promoting volunteerism in the elderly sector in

to Years Singapore, we hope to spread the message of healthy
and active aging - adding life to the sunset years of the
often forgotten elderly in our society, be it the lone
elderly or the elderly in nursing homes or shelters.

With this newsletter, we would like to

share that volunteering with elderly
Celebrating can be a fun, exciting and life-
Volunteerism transforming experience, and in the
in the process forge life-long friendships.
elderly sector
Join us on this journey to touch the
lives of others!

ESN Times
Page 2 [content]

[quiz]
This is a photograph
taken at an elderly outing

Guess which volunteer group

organised this outing?

Send your answer to

elderlysectornetwork@gmail.com

Volunteer Feature Story: A quarter century of Volunteering

Leadership Interview
Development with
Choo Meng
Programme Kwee

20 16

Article :
[cover page] 3
Michelle
And the
Elderly taking a breather
Be part of Therapy
At ESN Carnival 2007 Us Dogs

22

The many faces of a 3 ESN Calendar 2011 12

5 volunteer Announcement 14
Sense of Geese 4 Editorial 15
Events：
Networking Camp 2010 5 Feature Story: A quarter 16
Agency Open House 2010 8 century of Volunteering
Beginning Workshop 2010 9 Nurture: Volunteer Leadership 20
Development Programme
Home focus: 10
Catch a glimpse of The Heartwarmers 10 Article: Michelle and the 22
Therapy Dogs
ESN Networking Camp The Evergreeners 11
 Page 3
Guitarist Handicraft
Teacher

Befriender Cook
Volunteer Event Organiser
Barber
Recruiter

Clown artiste

The many faces of a Volunteer

Volunteer Physiotherapist Audio Visual

Trainer Entertainer Specialist
Team Player

How about
Join us as a volunteer
Physical Exercise Volunteer
you?
Instructor Leader

No matter which area you can help in, so long

as you wish to contribute, we welcome you! To join us:

Email us at elderlysectornetwork@gmail.com
Page 4
Sense of Geese
In the fall when you see geese heading south
for the winter flying along in the “V” formation,
you might be interested in knowing what
science has discovered about why they fly that
way. It has been learned that as each bird flaps
its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird
immediately following. By flying in a “V”
formation, the whole flock adds at least 71%
greater flying range than if each bird flew on
its own.
PEOPLE WHO ARE PART OF A TEAM AND
SHARE A COMMON DIRECTION GET WHERE
THEY ARE GOING QUICKER AND EASIER,
BECAUSE THEY ARE TRAVELING ON THE TRUST
OF ONE ANOTHER.
Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it
suddenly feels the drag and resistance of
trying to go through it alone and quickly gets
back into formation to take advantage of the
power of the flock.
IF WE HAVE AS MUCH SENSE AS A GOOSE, WE
WILL SHARE INFORMATION WITH THOSE WHO
ARE HEADED THE SAME WAY WE ARE GOING.
When the lead goose gets tired, he rotates
back in the wing and another goose takes
over.
IT PAYS TO SHARE LEADERSHIP AND TAKE
TURNS DOING HARD JOBS. The geese honk
from behind to encourage those up front to
keep their speed.
WORDS OF SUPPORT AND INSPIRATION HELP
ENERGIZE THOSE ON THE FRONT LINE,
HELPING THEM TO KEEP PACE IN SPITE OF THE
DAY-TO-DAY PRESSURES AND FATIGUE.
Finally, when a goose gets sick or is wounded
by a gunshot and falls out, two geese fall out
of the formation and follow the injured one
down to help and protect him. They stay with
him until he is either able to fly or until he is
dead, and then they launch out with another
formation to catch up with their group.
IF WE HAVE THE SENSE OF A GOOSE, WE WILL
STAND BY EACH OTHER WHEN THINGS GET
ROUGH.
The next time you see a formation of geese,
remember...
IT IS A REWARD, A CHALLENGE AND A
PRIVILEGE to be a contributing member of a
TEAM.
 Page 5

ESN
Networking Camp
2010

By Shermin Lim

It was a blessing to have veteran volunteers to

grace the camp, both as inspirational
speakers and as facilitators. We received many
The last Volunteer Networking Camp
positive and encouraging feedback that they
organised by NCSS, took place 5 years ago. It
were inspired by our senior volunteer, Ang
had successfully achieved its objectives to
Teck Ee, who shared with everyone on his
promote bonding among the participants, as
personal volunteering journey.
they are now still active in voluntary service
and remain closely bonded!
Participants also hilariously demonstrated
their acting capabilities to illustrate the
The Elderly Sector Network (ESN) Committee
scenarios of the case studies! These include:
is glad to have the support from everyone, to
leadership continuity, conflicts of values,
organise our first and very own ESN
balancing between personal life, work and
Networking Camp on 31 July and 1 August
voluntar y ser vice and bonding with
2010 at Camp Christine! Doors were also
beneficiaries.
opened to other social services agencies with
the aim to infuse a sense of bonding as a
Camp partic
community of volunteers, to promote sharing, ipants strea
interaction and learning among volunteers, as
ming in
well as to groom potential volunteer leaders.

A total of 26 volunteers from 10 agencies

participated in this camp. The programme
was meticulously planned so that the
participating volunteers can bring home key
learning points and pass it on to others. The
ice-breakers and teambuilding games got the
participants warmed up instantly, and before
long, all of them were chatting away happily.
Page 6
"+
What cannot be missed in a camp? With the
first spark of fire, the tiredness from a full day
of activity withered away, as everyone
immersed with full enthusiasm in the songs
and dances, amidst the campfire!
The participants started the second day by
attending training on wheelchair handling
and transferring of beneficiaries, conducted
by Ms Ivy Chua. One participant commented
“It was a new skill learnt for new volunteers
and good refresher training for others.”
Ice Breakers
Sharing of
Experience
by Ang Teck Ee
Case study on Volunteer Management
Camp Organiser
Shermin
What did the participants say about the ESN
Networking Camp 2010?
“The camp allowed volunteers from diverse
background to come together in celebration
of volunteerism and the sharing of
knowledge and experiences. Learnt and
made like-minded companions in our
common journey ahead.”
“A very well-thought camp that addresses
genuine concerns facing volunteerism.”
The wheelchair training and transfer of
beneficiaries.”
“Organising committee was very devoted
and running the camp which fosters
learning and sharing among volunteers. It
strengthens the spirit of volunteerism.”
“Thank you for the great effort put in. Had
learnt quite a fair bit!!”
 Page 7

!+"*#
%"

It was a fruitful ESN networking camp as new

friendships were built and participants brought
home key learning points.

Thank you all for making the 1st ESN Networking

Camp 2010 a success! We hope to see more new
faces joining us and contributing great ideas Food Glorious Food
towards ESN events and towards volunteerism!

Mobility with Ivy

Page 8

The Agency Open House

2010 was conducted at
HARP (Henderson Aged
Reachout Programme) on
the 18 August 2010

By Wong Kee Teck

Henderson Aged Reachout Programme

(HARP) is a club-based volunteering
group, reaching out to and befriending
the elderly from the neighbourhood at
Bukit Merah View. Regular services for the
elderly are on every Wednesday evening
and Saturday morning.

The highlight for the “Agency Open
House” was the introduction of laughter
yoga by a certified Laughter Yoga trainer,
Feliz Angela. Volunteer participants were
introduced to the basics of laughter yoga.
With their newly learnt yoga steps, the
volunteers assisted Feliz in teaching and
sharing laughter yoga to the elderly,
moving and laughing in tandem with the
various yoga movements. The elderly
enjoyed the session as much as the
volunteers.
In the second part of the visit, Jean Quek,
the Volunteer Leader at HARP shared with
the participants on the centre’s weekly
activities and past festive events
celebrations. Through the sharing,
participants got to know that some of the
elderly actually helped out in baking of
cakes and pastries during festivals.
The enthusiasm and liveliness of the
elderly left a deep impression on the
participants. The elderly and the
volunteers at HARP were very much like
old time friends.
 Page 9

Brain Gym for elderly

Candid shots during wheelchair
handling training
Cantonese Dialect
Training by Tan Czek Xing

Appreciation to Jean Quek for

being trainer for
“Understanding of Elderly”

Snapshots from ESN Beginner Volunteer Workshop

on 12th Dec 2010

Sharing of experience by “The Evolution”

Tan Chin Soon

Wheelchair Handling
Training by Ting Inn Shyan
Page 10 Home Focus

Christalite Heartwarmers
Christalite Methodist Home was set up in April 1997 by Methodist Welfare Services &
Christ Methodist Church. It is a gazetted home set up specially for the elderly destitute.
We are a group of volunteers who organise various social and recreational programmes
for the residents at Christalite Methodist Home. We call ourselves the Heartwarmers.

Our volunteer services are held on every Saturday. We serve breakfast to the residents
and engage the residents by playing games, singing as well as bringing some residents
out to a nearby hawker centre for dinner.

During festive celebrations, the volunteers will get together to put up performances
and games to bring joy to the residents. In addition, we will also organise outings to
bring the residents to places such as Hort Park, Singapore Flyer etc, providing
opportunities for them to see the changes around them.
If you are interested to experience
volunteering with us, please contact:
Wen Qing @ 96584168 or email
cmh.volunteer@gmail.com for more
details.

We have a blog @
http://cmheartwarmers.blogspot.com/

CMH is located at 51 Marsiling Drive,

Singapore 739297
Home Focus Page 11

Brighthill Evergreeners
We are a group of volunteers (Evergreen
Volunteer Group), coming together to
volunteer our service and time to the Elderly of
Our regular volunteer activities are on every
Bright Hill Evergreen home situated at 21
Saturday between 2:30 till 5pm. The activities
Senja Road.
include hi tea for the elderly, exercise, stamp
cutting, recreational games or befriending,
Our volunteer group was formed more than 15
followed by serving of dinner to the elderly.
years ago with the assistance from National
Council of Social Service (NCSS). We are not
Yearly, we will bring about 20-30 elderly for
affiliated to any religious or profit organization.
3-4 outings. We also celebrate major festivals
Bright Hill Evergreen home currently has an
in the home eg Chinese New Year, Dumpling
estimated 180 beneficiaries of which many are
and Mid-autumn festival.
immobile and suffering from common elderly
illness like diabetes and stroke. The home is
Volunteer Opportunities:
also not affiliated to any religious groups.
We encourage volunteers to join us on a
regular basis on Saturdays from 2:30 to 5pm.
Only through volunteering for an extended
period of time will you truly enjoy and
appreciate the spirit of volunteerism. You
could also join us on an ad hoc basis to help
out in outings and participate in festive
celebrations or put up performances.

Contact: (1) Catherine Chan, Hp: 96220178,

catherine@crownagents.com.sg
(2) Lim Chung Tat Hp : 98510822
(3) Ang Cui Xian, Hp: 91899743
Our vision is to bring joy and laughter to the
often forgotten unfortunate elderly among us,
You can view photos of our outings and
at the last part of their life journey. We hope
celebrations at our blog highlighted below:
that through our efforts and time we spend
http://evergreenvolunteer.wordpress.com/
with the elderly, they will not feel neglected
and lost but rather they will feel “evergreen’
and live with pride and be joyful.

Our mission is to regularly volunteer our time

and services at the Bright Hill Evergreen home
and at the same time link up with other similar
elderly home volunteers to seek opportunities
to collaborate to bring more joy to more
elderly at other homes.
Page 12

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 Page 13

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Page 14 Announcements

ESN Carnival 2011

Food, Fun, Fiesta under one roof

ESN Carnival 2010 “Rekindle the Youth in U” was a huge success with the
elderly and volunteers who participated bringing back fond memories.

Many are asking when is ESN Carnival 2011 going to be? Wait no longer, the
ESN Committee has scheduled the carnival this year to be held on the
following date.

Date: 25th June 2011

Venue: TBD

How you can contribute? If you or your volunteer group wish to setup food or games stalls, setup photo
booths or simply to contribute manpower support (photographers/videographers/ushers/helpers etc):

Drop us an email at elderlysectornetwork@gmail.com and let us know how you wish to play a part!

From our partners:

Volunteer Guitar Connection
Bringing music to beneficiaries

If you are a guitarist/musician and wish to volunteer your skills to help

beneficiaries in music learning or just simply want to perform for beneficiaries,
here’s your chance.

Volunteer Guitar Connection (VGC) currently has 3 ongoing outreach projects:

Sunbeam Place (Children's Society) is VGC's first group project initiative where we teach guitar music to a target
group of 12 teenagers (9-14). We hope that through music, these less privileged kids will be able to pick up a life-
enriching skill, gain self confidence, express themselves better and in future, learn to care for others and eventually
join the path of volunteerism through VGC’s networks.

APSN Tanglin, where we teach guitar music to a group of students with mild intellectual disability background.
After half a year of guitar classes, the students are already contributing back by performing for elderly beneficiaries
(at ASH Hougang), conducted concerts for APSN and other affiliated schools, and public performances. Some of
the students even became guitar teachers, sharing the joys of guitar learning with the children from Sunbeam
Place and Ahuva Good Shepherd.

Ahuva Good Shepherd, Marymount Centre (The centre provides nurturing and safe residential care to girls aged
between 4 and 16 years old, coming from single parent families or from families in which parents are not able to
cope with the child and/or where they could have experience abuses), is our 3rd group outreach project which just
started in Jan 2011.
Visit our blog http://volunteerguitarconnection.wordpress.com/join-us/ to find out more about us, how to join us
and take part in our outreach projects!
 Page 15

Volunteer Networking
We welcome volunteer groups working in the eldercare sector to network with us to share
the volunteer management ‘know-hows’ and experience, participate in ESN events or to
send your volunteers for our training programs. Connect with us!

Email us at elderlysectornetwork@gmail.com

Volunteer groups from other sectors are also welcome to network with us too. We can
share on the benefits of networking and the ‘know-hows’ to form a meaningful network
for the sector you are volunteering in. It’s all about strength in numbers!

Voices
Share with us your thoughts or volunteering experiences - your first experience at an
elderly home, some volunteer you would like to thank for making your day at
volunteering, someone who has taught or shared something meaningful with you ...

Keep your notes to about 100 words. Selected notes will be published in the following
issues of ESN Times. Let’s hear from you!

Email us : elderlysectornetwork@gmail.com

Calling for articles

There are many volunteer groups out there who have done great jobs in serving or
working with elderly beneficiaries. However, to put up a regular newsletter to
document requires huge amount of effort and time.

We provide a platform here for volunteer groups to share :

We welcome stories of memorable experiences by your volunteer group,

introductions of your volunteer groups and special activities or events your
volunteer group has organised for your beneficiaries etc, do not hesitate, pick up
your pen and send in your articles to: elderlysectornetwork@gmail.com

Selected articles will be published in the following issues of ESN Times.

We would like to outreach to more people who may not be able to read in English. If
there are volunteers out there who are able to help us with translating our
newsletters to Chinese, do drop us an email too!
Page 16 Feature Story

Interview with Meng Kwee

A quarter century in Volunteering

How much time would an average Singaporean volunteer

put into volunteering throughout their lifetimes? A few
hours, several days, a few months, 1 year, 2 years, maybe 3
years at most .. The notion of volunteering for a solid 25
years seems unbelievable ...... Unbelievable but true, this
veteran volunteer of a quarter century is none other than
Damien Choo Meng Kwee, an unassuming 'fellow' which I
got to know through networking activities with volunteer
groups in the elderly sector. One can only ask, ”What keeps
this guy going?“. You start to realise that volunteering can
be so addictive that ‘it’ can in fact become part of you ...

The many faces of a volunteer

Versatility is the word to describe Meng Kwee’s ability to fit

in any volunteer role that was required of him at the
moment. Whether being a volunteer leader, a team player,
an entertainer, a clown, a singer, a handicraft teacher, a
speaker ... or simply a befriender to listen to elderly's woes,
you name it and he probably fits in all the roles. Whether Charlie Chaplin??
be it the elderly, intellectually disabled (ID) and children @ Sree Narayana Home
beneficiaries, Meng Kwee weaves in and out of each
volunteer group with ease and familiarity.
The beginning days
Playacting during festival celebration
@ Sree Narayana Home
Since school days at Singapore Polytechnic
(SP) in 1985, Meng Kwee has been
volunteering actively. He first joined the
Singapore Polytechnic Welfare Services Club
(SPWSC) then and volunteered with the
Singapore Children's Society (SCS).
 Page 17

The service (Tuition cum Play Group) was on every Saturday afternoon. After graduating from
SP in 1988, Meng Kwee was still involved with the children's service, especially during Poly term
test and exam period. Since then, it was a continuous journey of volunteering and his roles
alternate between purely direct services to indirect services, which include being volunteers
trainers or speakers to recruit new volunteers to join the volunteerism path.

As we sieve through the path of volunteering that Meng Kwee has embarked on, it is akin to
opening up a time capsule and walking thru a long passage of time ...

a) Children Play Park Project (1989-90),

b) Youth Volunteer Involvement Programme (1989-90),
c) Student Volunteer Corps (1992-94),
d) Wataboushi Concert,
e) Volunteer Initiator Persons (since 1990),
f ) Volunteer Management Workgroup (since 1992),
g) Sree Narayana Home of the Aged Sick (since April 1992),
h) All Saints Home (Tampines) (since July 2005),
i) New Horizion Centre (Alzheimer's Disease Association) (since July 2010) and
j) Asian Volunteers Action Network (AVAN) (since 1992)

Exposure in Japan

During his volunteering stint in Japan (March 1991), Meng Kwee was attached to Hozanji
Welfare Community at Nara. The organisation consists of a children home, an aged home, an
aged day care centre, an intellectually disabled childcare centre, a children centre and three
childcare centres. Within a period of a year, he was exposed to volunteer with all the services at
different times of the year. Perhaps it was through this experience that opened his vision to the
whole array of volunteering services, which led to many other volunteer involvement in
different social service sectors.

The source of motivation Exercise with the folks from New Horizon Centre

At the beginning, Meng Kwee just wanted

to spend some time doing something
besides studying. He first started
volunteering at Villa Francis Home for the
Aged. The club members were very
friendly and helpful, and made him feel
very close to the club. As a member of
SPWSC, he was involved with Elderly,
Intellectually Disabled (ID) and Children
Services, and in the process was able to
learn how to interact with different
beneficiaries.
Page 18

In Meng Kwee's own words : "Be it

organising or taking part, just do whatever
task is assigned to you. A good leader not
only needs to lead but also needs to be a
good follower or team player.”
Besides the beneficiaries, all volunteers (both senior
or new) are also the motivation factor for him. "I have
experienced lots of ups and downs during all these
years of volunteering. The feeling of belonging to my
volunteer group kept me going. Being able to share
my volunteering experiences with fellow volunteers
kept me wanting to contribute more.”

Rewards and Challenges

For Meng Kwee, little surprises along the way gratify

the volunteering path. There were elderly who know
of his presence even though he had never had a
Teaching handicraft at
All Saints Home (Tampines) chance to talk to them. Another reward is to meet
and get to know many volunteers from different
backgrounds and from different countries.
“Throughout these years of volunteering, I was given lots of opportunities to organise events
and I visited lots of places that I will not go by myself. I was selected to take part in the
Volunteers 365 Asian Exchange Program 1991/92 and spent a year in Japan. It was an eye-
opener for me, whereby much precious volunteering experiences were gained and learnt from
fellow volunteers of other countries.”

One of the biggest challenges is to get more people “Fostering strong and
volunteering for a longer period of time. Only by
doing so will one be able to learn and contribute
steadfast friendship is
meaningfully to a cause. Besides that, leadership is another motivation - it
always an issue in all volunteering groups. Volunteers means doing meaningful
should be encouraged to take up leadership not only
for the group continuity but also for personal
things together ...... and
development. while at it, passing on the
‘fire’ to the new
For volunteers working with elderly, Meng Kwee feels
that it is important that volunteers can help provide
generation to keep the
quality time to the elderly during their last days. That a volunteering ‘spirit’
simple friendship with the elderly, giving them the last going ......”
psychological support, let him discover the intrinsic
value and meaning of the volunteering work.
 Page 19
Are there moments that you wish to give up volunteering and what made you stay on?

“Yes, during some of the years that I am not so regular, the momentum was broken,” reflected
Meng Kwee, “The friendships built through all these years with the volunteers in Singapore, and
also the juniors who looked for me, made me stay on.”

Volunteer friends are more sincere and straightforward. The friendships are usually life
enriching relationships, with no hidden agenda, as everyone are working towards a common
purpose of bringing joy to the beneficiaries.

Volunteering has become a ‘habit’ for Meng Kwee, or simply put, second nature. And all these
stems from the joy of sharing the love and concern with more beneficiaries with each passing
day, week or month or year to come.

Message to the young volunteers

As I asked the veteran volunteer on his advice

on volunteer group management. His simple
words were “Keep recruiting, sustaining and
training”. Encourage the young to take up
responsibilities.

Young volunteers tend to be more result-

orientated, in times of failures or hiccups, are
not able to see as a whole process.

Reflec ting back , new volunteers of

yesteryears follow and learn process, and are
eager to attend courses to upgrade their Game time with the folks
skills, but youngsters nowadays are generally from New Horizon Centre

more defensive and complacent, thus may

lose out on valuable learning experiences.

“Take up any task given to you and be responsible to your

volunteer group. Have fun and enjoy during your
volunteering days. Have the correct mindset in
volunteering, work with what you have for the
beneficiaries. Attend any training that come by, open
yourselves up to learn new knowledge.”
For those who wish to join Meng Kwee in action, or simply to take a leaf out of his book, look out
for the monthly volunteering activity at New Horizon Centre or at Sree Narayana Home (both on
Saturdays afternoon).
 Page 20

NURTURE By Lim Seow Kuan

An initiative to support and contribute to the development

of upcoming leaders in volunteerism

Recruitment and selection of participants

Intended outcomes
Recruitment is based on recommendations
from ESN members and volunteer leaders
Participants will gain more awareness
from each participating agency, and can be
and understanding of the dynamics
carried out throughout the year. The
involved in the management and
selection criteria are as follows:
organization of volunteer groups.

  volunteers with at least half a year of
Participants will develop confidence
volunteering experience
and competencies in leading
volunteers toward meaningful

  volunteers who demonstrate
outcomes in their volunteering efforts.
commitment and initiative as regular
volunteers
Participants will appreciate the benefits
of networking in volunteering and

  volunteers who are observed to possess
support ESN in its initiatives.
the potential and interest to take on
leadership roles
 Page 21

The Programme Highlights

The programme takes place over a one year period and includes the following
components:

  attachment to an ESN sub-committee to work with ESN members acting as

peer-mentors

  ESN Networking Forum (tentatively July 2011)

  Training 1 – Volunteer Leadership and Management (May 2011)

  Training 2 – Communication skills: Public speaking and Facilitation (Aug
2011)

  Training 3 – Organizing events for elderly beneficiaries (October 2011)

  Visitation to other non-elderly VWOs (TBD)

  Networking camp (Nov 2011)

  ESN Volunteer Leaders’ Gathering (Dec 2011)

Publicity

  Communication to volunteer leaders by ESN

chairperson through email to nominate 2-3
participants for the ESN Networking Forum;
Volunteer leaders will be invited to attend
as well.

  ESN website + Quarterly newsletter updates

Training
on Volunte
er Leade
rship & M
anagem
ent mp
g Ca
Networkin
Page 22
Therapy Dogs Singapore : My Volunteer Experience
Article sharing:
This article is submitted by Michelle Loh, a
volunteer with Therapy Dogs Singapore and
New Horizon Centre, sharing with us the joys
and experiences of volunteering with her
dog, Yaki.
I came across Pet Assisted Therapy
programme when I was reading a pet
magazine in 2009. At that moment, it
crossed my mind that it will be good that I
can share my dog and she can be part of
my volunteering service to bring the little
love & joy to the less fortunate.
I started to enquire on how to become a
volunteer under TDS (Therapy Dog
Singapore), as well as how my dog, Yaki,
can be a ‘volunteer’ dog. After all the
necessary health check and temperament
test that Yaki went through, the day finally
c a m e fo r u s t o e m b a r k o n t h i s
volunteering journey together.
Michelle with
her dog, Yaki
by Michelle Loh
It was a Saturday and I brought Yaki to
visit the residents at a nursing home. Yaki
is a miniature long-haired dachshund. Like
they say, “the first step is the hardest”. We
were so anxious and hesitant about this
visit that we almost backed out. As we
walk down the gray and solemn corridor
into the common hall with a group of
senior volunteers together with their
therapy dogs, it was heartening and
encouraging to see the facial changes in
the residents and how their eyes
brightened up at the sight of visitors.
It was here that Yaki and I had our first
contact with an uncle who was seated
quietly in a corner of the common hall.
Being our first time, we did not want to
alarm him and thus approached him
cautiously.
Communicating with him and ensuring
that he is relaxed took a few minutes. It
was then that I realized that he had
problems expressing himself.
Nevertheless, I carried on showing him
how to pat and feed Yaki.
After awhile, I noticed his facial features
relaxed considerably and started to don a
small smile on his face. At that moment,
the feeling of satisfaction and
accomplishment was overwhelming, as
we saw how we can do our little part in
bringing them joy.

It was this and subsequent visits to
the nursing home that gave us the
strength and encouragement we
need to carry on. Since then, we had
been visiting the nursing home every
2nd Saturday of each month.
During each visit, the residents would
be enthusiastic about patting and
feeding Yaki. Each visit has been
special and memorable. M ore
importantly, with our hectic work
schedule, it also provides me with an
opportunity to bond with Yaki.
The experience I have had being part
of TDS team has indeed been
wonderful. Knowing that I can share a
little joy and love to those in need, in
line with TDS’s vision, has provided
me with a sense of achievement. To
this day, I have no regrets enrolling my
dog and myself into this programme.
m a nursing home
Yaki with a resident fro
Page 23
Therapy Dogs, Singapore (TDS) is a
non-profit voluntary organization set
up by a group of dog-owners who
seek to share the unconditional love
and affection of their dogs with
society’s underprivileged and to
provide or meet their physical and
emotional needs.
Formed in early 2004 by volunteers
including professionals and
homemakers to retirees and students.
TDS provide regular PAT sessions to 7
adopted nursing homes and health
institutions as well as PAT visits on an
ad hoc basis.
Our Mission:
• To share the love and joy of our
volunteers and our dogs
• To enhance the lives of people with
special needs, including social and
physical needs.
• To raise public awareness of people
with disabilities and of the role of
therapy dogs in assisting them to live
more confidently and with greater
dignity.
http://www.tdspore.org
Page 24

Volunteer groups who are particpating in ESN events or

networkinghttp://www.ashvolunteer.blogspot.com/
with ESN
Volunteer group @ All Saints Home (Hougang): http://www.ashvolunteer.blogspot.com/
Volunteer group @ All Saints Home (Tampines): http://asvolunteer.blogspot.com/
Volunteer group @ All Saints Home (Tampines)
Volunteer group @ New Horizon Centre (Alzheimer’s Disease Association): http://www.alz.org.sg/
Evergreeners at Brighthill Evergreen Home: http://evergreenvolunteer.wordpress.com/
Heartwarmers at Christalite Methodist Home: http://cmheartwarmers.blogspot.com/
Henderson Aged Reachout Programme: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=51347742846
Moral Angels @ Moral Home: http://moralangels.com/
Kreta Ayer Volunteer Service Group: http://hllionb.yolasite.com/
Joy Gathering @ Singapore Leprosy Relief Association: http://joygathering.blogspot.com/
SNH Volunteers @ Sree Narayana Home: http://www.snhvolunteer.com/

Check out our first issue:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/34579183/ESN-Times-Issue-201001

Our members: Our associates: ESN web portal

http://esn.sg/
Carolyn Tan Ang Teck Ee
Fum Weizhong Choo Meng Kwee
Tan Czek Xing Lee Woei Shiuan
Wong Kee Teck Eric Cheong
Edmund Quek Jean Quek
Josephine Ang Cuixian Poh Hwee Hian
Molly Chan
Lim Chung Tat Our friends and
Shermin Lim supporters:
Stephanie Chua
Ler Lay Guat Foo Say Thye
Hong Jinxiong Kenny Teo
ESN is on facebook
http://www.facebook.com/ESN.sg
Lee Huiquan All VIPs and VMWs
Lim Seow Kuan
Ng Jek Mui Our external volunteer
Lee Siew Weng trainers:
Honey Chan
Lim Wenhui Jeslyn Tan Lay Har
Jordy Neo Ivy Chua Lee Kheng
Ben Tan Andee Soh
Liang Wei Ting Inn Shyan
Tan Chin Soon