My journey in NUS – just amazing

By Timothy Lin

3rd–year, Faculty of Arts & Social Science (Economics)

The NUSSU Volunteer Action Committee (NVAC) was recently awarded the Commonwealth Youth Silver Award 2007-2008. The award is given to outstanding youth groups in Commonwealth regions -- across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and South Pacific – for carrying out sustainable and innovative programmes for the benefit of their society. The NVAC was nominated by the National Youth Council for the award.

Timothy Lin at the Miracle League baseball for handicapped kids in Pennsylvania, US with Hannah, who is suffering from mild intellectual disability (July 2008).

MY first exposure to volunteering in NUS was when I joined my friend in her volunteering project -- MINDS Guillemard -- under the NUS Students' Union Volunteer Action Committee (NVAC). As I was nearing the end of my National Service then, I wanted to spend my time productively and to do something meaningful. I thought one way I could do this was through community service.

Little did I know that community work eventually formed the bulk of my experience and memories during my NUS undergraduate years -- despite Economics being my major.

In MINDS Guillemard, volunteers conduct weekly developmental sessions for the trainees, through music and dance and other experiential activities to instill basic discipline and help them to perform simple tasks. Trainees are also taught basic skills such as washing dishes and folding clothes to help them to perform simple functions at home. For the milder cases, such training prepares them for further employment at places such as SIA MINDS Employment Centre.

I soon became involved in another area of community work in NVAC – organising events to promote greater awareness in volunteerism among youths and members of the public. I have always been keen in organising events such as graduation nights and parties back in my secondary school and National Service days. However, I always felt there was something lacking in these events.

Charity Fiesta 2007. From left: Assoc Prof Tan Teck Koon, Dean of Students; Ms Tay E Teng, President, 28th NUS Students’ Union; Mr Joseph P Mullinix, NUS Deputy President (Administration); Ms Chua Tsinli, Project Director, Charity Fiesta 2007; Dr Balaji Sadasivan, Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts, and Foreign Affairs; Mr Timothy Lin, Chairperson, NUS Students’ Union Volunteer Action Committee.

So when I started organising Charity Fiesta in 2006, I became completely ‘addicted’. Charity Fiesta allowed me to put my organising skills to good use, while doing something meaningful at the same time. Since then, I have been involved in both Charity Fiesta 2007 and 2008. It's certainly heartening to see the event grow year after year -- especially the impact on both volunteers and beneficiaries. Through innovative concepts and programmes devised by successive teams, we were able to engage younger youths -- secondary school and JC students – as well as the larger public -- to expose them to the joys of volunteering.

During my time in NUS, I have also had the honour to serve as the Chairperson of the NVAC. The NVAC is one of the largest student volunteer groups in NUS with more than 350 members, hosting more than 20 local and overseas projects each year. It has been a great privilege and tremendous learning experience for me, interacting with a bunch of selfless and dedicated volunteers who care so much about their beneficiaries and believe in what they do. Despite not being a 'natural' volunteer, this experience has inspired me to continue to be involved in community work and social service.

As part of the Students' Union, I was also involved in NUSSU Rag & Flag last year as Flag Head, coordinating student efforts across NUS halls and faculties. Though helping to sell flags during school days might have seemed challenging for some of us, the experience at NUS has made me realise that it was an effective way to raise funds towards worthy causes. 2007 saw the highest amount of donations raised -- $502,929.40 -- in the 50-year history of Rag & Flag. This was 33 per cent higher than the previous year's collection of $376,800.75. Much credit has to go to the leaders of the various participating halls and faculties who went out of their way to encourage and motivate fellow undergraduates and freshmen to participate. I am glad that this year, a new high of $504,140.00 has been set. Such university-wide efforts not only promote camaraderie, but also nurture a sense of community amongst NUS staff and students.

There are many other experiences, stories and lessons I would love to share.

Volunteering has indeed been greatly enriching for me, in both tangible and non-tangible ways. Being involved in community service has greatly broadened my perspective of life. It has allowed me to discover, and better understand myself and my motivations. I have learnt to better appreciate the meaning of the phrase "It is more blessed to give than to receive".

Above all, it is the right attitude towards volunteering, and the genuine desire to help others and to make our contribution to the society in which we live, that will sustain us into the years ahead.

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