Mr Vincent Lee

Volunteering with RSVP since April 2017

Before retirement, I was a technician in Singapore General Hospital’s Pathologist department. I was in that job for more than 10 years.

When I was about to retire, my old boss introduced me to RSVP. He did not want me to retire and stay at home and do nothing – he wanted me to still contribute due to my experience in the healthcare setting. He told me to look for volunteering opportunities in other hospitals.

Before that, I never knew what volunteering was. I chanced upon a poster in Marsiling with this phrase: “If you are interested, come down to RSVP Bishan”. And so, I went over to take a look.

I first volunteered in Senior Guiding Programme. I initially thought that it was to guide senior persons around. In Senior Guiding Programme, I volunteered in Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, National Dental Centre, National Heart Centre, Sengkang General Hospital and previously in Changi Airport Group. I was drawn to the idea of using my experience in a hospital setting to fuide others. I enjoy talking to and serving people. It’s a two-way benefit as I help others and learn something new from them.

Sometimes, I think that volunteering in Senior Guiding makes me a better listener – it makes me listen more to the people I serve as I try to solve their problems. As I perform my duty, I get to speak to people, listen to them, help them and gain more knowledge and experience. These little bits of experience and knowledge gained, I keep them with me, and in turn apply them somewhere else.

I don’t think of receiving any kind of reward. I just want to make myself active by serving – I want to keep myself fit and serve others at the same time. Since I have so much time now, I want to use this time to give back to the community.

It is really the knowledge gained over the years. I have gained a lot more skills and experience – skills from the various volunteering workshops at RSVP and applying them in real life while performing my volunteer role. I have also gained more knowledge in frontline operations – e.g. how the emergency department works at SKGH.

I’ve also made more new friends and get to share my experiences with others.