Volunteerism in Singapore

📸: Sharing of a hand sanitiser and masks in a lift. (Credits to: Minister Ong Ye Kung’s Instagram page)

#TIL the volunteerism rate of people in Singapore last year stands at 22% according to the latest edition of the biennial Individual Giving Study (IGS) conducted in 2021. Which means only one-fifth of us are involved in formal volunteering which is done with registered organisations.

This finding is surprising given the many known benefits of volunteering both to the community and the individual.

The IGS suggests that it is likely that regular volunteerism took a dip due to measures to curb the spread of Covid-19. The silver lining from the pandemic was the 11% rise in informal giving – more people were involved in volunteering or donating directly to individuals or community-led initiatives not under any registered organisation.

Indeed, there were many heartwarming stories of people helping one another when the pandemic first happened: acts of altruism like hawkers giving out free meals to the less-fortunate, to thoughtful neighbours sharing notes of encouragement and hand sanitisers in the common lifts, to fundraising activities for our migrant workers.

We certainly don’t have to wait for World Kindness Day to start helping others, formally or informally. Opportunities include the extensive list on SG Cares. We can also start small from our community, by helping inconvenienced neighbours to do simple grocery runs, or signing up to be Community First Responders with the Singapore Civil Defence Force.

Our acts of altruism and neighbourliness could start a chain reaction of kindness, making us a part of something bigger. As a volunteer said, “I hope we live in a place where people help one another and no Singaporean is left behind.” With Christmas just around the corner, giving back to society is a great addition to any list of gifts, we all make a difference to someone’s life when we volunteer in whatever ways we can. 🥰

#SGCares #Christmas #VolunteerSG

📝 Quote from https://www.volunteer.gov.sg/

🔗: The Individual Giving Study 2021 (https://cityofgood.sg/.../Individual-Giving-Study-2021.pdf)

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