The Interact Coordinating Committee’s GREY CAN STILL PLAY project
Project Date: Saturday 17 March 2018
This was a one-day community service event which brought together 100 needy seniors from the Eunos/MacPherson neighbourhoods and 227 Interactors from 14 different Interact Clubs in Singapore for a day of fun and meaningful interaction.
The project included a “mass house cleaning activity” of homes of the needy seniors in the Eunos-Macpherson area in the morning, followed by engagement activities with the seniors by the youths through a “Carnival” which included activities such as games, handicraft making, singing and a lunch party.
The objectives were to foster the spirit of volunteerism and develop organisational skills amongst our youths and promote "Inter-club" collegiality, all of which are in line with the values of the Rotary family.
The tangible outcomes were (1) cleaner homes for the seniors, (2) meaningful interaction between youths and seniors, and (3) a HAPPY afternoon of activities for the beneficiaries.
The project was organised by the Interact Coordinating Committee (ICC) together with the Rotary Club of Singapore, Youth Corps Singapore and Metropolitan YMCA with funding support from Foundation of Rotary Clubs Singapore’s ROTARY HAPPINESS FUND, Canon and Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS).
The event was held on Saturday, 17 March 2018 with The Honourable, Ms Tin Pei Ling, Member of Parliament for MacPherson gracing the event as Guest of Honour during the Carnival segment at the Samtas Hall of the MDIS at Stirling Road.
Background
Last July, The Rotary Club of Singapore partnered Youth Corps Singapore, a division of the National Youth Council, Singapore to co-organise the Interact Leadership Training Camp (ILTC 2017). The camp saw 57 participants from 16 Interact clubs coming together for a 3D2N camp to equip themselves to be leaders in community service.
During the camp, the Interact Coordinating Committee (ICC) Board was elected from the Presidents of the Interact clubs. This year’s board members were Joel Tan, Hwa Chong Institution (President), Ananya Joshi, Global Indian International School Queenstown (Secretary), Hannah Quek, ACS Independent (Treasurer), Perry Aw, SJI International and Phua Yi Rui, Yishun Junior College (Board members).
As a follow-up from the camp, the ICC advised by Youth Service Director Dr Hoh Sek Tien, Rotarians Ronald Wong, VP James Lee and Adnan Ansari, organised its signature project on 17 March 2018 to coincide with Youth Corps Service Week 2018.
The project is unique in many ways, not just because it was a ground-up initiative by the Interactors but also because it was a project that required cross-school collaboration and carried with it immense logistical challenges. The Interactors met regularly since the end of last year to plan the project, iron out issues and overcome challenges. Rotarians provided that link with stakeholders and supported where they could.
Their efforts culminated in the very successful Interact service project aptly called “Grey Can Still Play”.
The ICC has set the foundation for future collaborative projects such as this and they hope to continue and expand the reach of this project in years to come.
Outline and photographs
We acccomplished ALL that we set out above and more! One could see it in the smiles of ALL present.