Ms Yak Lay Lian

Volunteering since August 2019

I have always wanted to contribute back to the community upon my semi-retirement two years ago and the opportunity finally came when I chanced upon RSVP Singapore at a roadshow in Suntec and once more at Paya Lebar in 2019. I met an RSVP volunteer, May Young, who shared her volunteering stories and she inspired me to join. Another reason that I joined was that RSVP offers a wide range of volunteering opportunities and is not restricted to a specific group of beneficiaries.

I chose to join the Episodic Volunteering programme because it provided a variety of volunteering opportunities for me to try out at a flexible pace. Throughout the time I was with RSVP, I have participated in an average of one to two activities per month. I enjoy the diversity in my volunteering activities – I have done Arts & Craft with beneficiaries at a nursing home, prepared food for underprivileged, was a Clean Plate Ambassador, was part of a holiday programme by RSVP’s Gourmet Activity Circle with the clients of Down Syndrome Association Singapore and many more.

Other than volunteering my time with RSVP Singapore, I have also attended the IT classes they conducted such as Google photos, Digital Video Management, Introduction to Drones etc.

I could have attended similar courses at the community club near my house but I chose to attend at RSVP as the trainer is a senior volunteer as well, hence they can understand me better and are more patient and willing to answer my queries during the lesson.

Volunteering has given me the opportunity to meet lots of new people. Working alongside individuals who also care about improving their surroundings allows me to better understand the circumstances of other less privileged members of our community. Having a broad, open-minded perspective of the different walks of life around me has enabled me to be a more effective and empathetic citizen.

Furthermore, being able to participate in big-scale community projects such as the Fu Dai Packing with Standard Chartered Bank in January 2020 where we helped to pack 3000 food items for low income families was an eye opener for me. I felt hopeful and touched to see so many like-minded individuals coming together for a common cause.