On a Sunday afternoon, 2nd October 2011, I was invited by fellow blogger/tweeple friend, Mr Smith of Waddup Events to an open house by non-profit community service agency, known as FaithActs, who were having an Open House on that day from the morning till late afternoon. Checking my schedule, I was there in the afternoon to visit FaithActs Open House 2011 and it was bustling with many people from all walks of life, with carnival activities and community interaction. Therefore, I decided to make a visit to FaithActs Open House 2011 and the Open House event was organised by Waddup Events.
FaithActs is a non-profit community service agency serving the needs of children, youths, families and seniors in Singapore. The Centre is located at Blk 76, Commonwealth Drive, # 01- 497, Singapore 140076. FaithActs aim to reach out and impact the lives of people through the provision of programmes and services which meet community needs and alleviate social problems, regardless of their ethnic, socio-economic and religious backgrounds. Source : FaithActs website
FaithActs provides quality and holistic services, addressing social issues, changing lives, meeting community needs, impacting, changing and transforming the lives of people there. With character development, sharing of life skills and values, FaithActs hopes to empower and heighten the confidence, self awareness and esteem of the needy children, youths, families and seniors in our community, thus helping them to cope with the challenges and struggles that they face in their daily lives. Source : FaithActs Mission
Mr Smith was very gracious and kind enough to give me a personal tour of the entire event and the facilities of the FaithActs and we had a good chat on how such smaller non-profit community service organisations are coping and doing in the modern society of Singapore, where they stand and how much help/aid can they get from the government to help their organisations to provide even more of their services to the needy people. From the various types of facilities, it’s not just for 1 group of people, it’s for everybody from the young to the old, a place for them to gather, learn and get together, instead of mixing with the wrong company or not having people to take care of them. There are also many other activities being organised such as sports and adventure photographs on their notice board.
This Open House is probably something new for non-profit community service organisations (Especially the smaller ones) to get themselves more known to the society, to share and tell people what they have been doing and how they can help the needy people in Singapore, especially in the current climate whereby the income gap is getting bigger between the rich and the poor, the haves and have-nots. I personally believe such Open House is not meant to get them more fame and publicity, and I personally helped out small non-profit community service organisation before too. Therefore, I can empathise the difficulties and challenges that they faced to get more funding, volunteers, publicity and recognition to allow them to continue their ongoing non-profit community services provision to the needy ones especially.
The visit to FaithActs Open House 2011 also strikes a chord in me, that I have to return back to my alumni mata Dragon Scout Group and help out together with my fellow old boys at the non-profit community service organisation that we had been helping out over time.
P/S: Coming from my days as a Boy Scout with the Gan Eng Seng Dragon Scout Group, volunteering my time at non-profit community service agency is something that I can relate to, helping out at Flag Days of the community service organisations that the Dragon Scout Group had ties with and it’s a meaningful and noble activity that brought back many old boys to continue helping them out. Till today, while I am not as active like before, I would try to take the time off whenever there are Flag Days that my alumni mata, the Dragon Scout Group is helping the non-profit community service organisations.