www.carecorner.org.sg vCares Newsletter Issue 4 1 Kicking Off to Positive Youth Development A look at sports volunteering Mention the word “volunteering” and you might think of an afternoon spent in an old folks’ home, helping to feed the elderly spoonfuls of porridge. Or perhaps you are scrubbing out kennels at the local pet shelter, against the symphony of barks and yips in the background. To some, such conventional ways of volunteering may sound like hard work mixed with sweat and grime or may lack appeal, especially to the busy professionals who just want to wind down after a long work week. But do you know that volunteering can involve a day of fun, allowing you to wind down with sports and yet making a difference in the community? On Saturday, 25 July, 20 Goldman Sachs employees had the opportunity to take part in one such activity: engaging in futsal with youths from CAPA (Commitment ● Performance ● Attitude ● Academy), a sports-based social work intervention programme under CROSSROAD Youth Centre; a youth centre managed by Care Corner Family Service Centre (Admiralty). The activity was jointly organised by CROSSROAD Youth Centre and Community TeamWorks (CTW), a global volunteer initiative by Goldman Sachs. One of the CTW captains for this year is Praveen, who shared with me how the company encourages its employees to contribute to society by taking part in a variety of volunteering projects throughout the year. This initiative has been running for more than a decade across its offices all over the world, from Singapore to São Paulo in Brazil, reflecting Goldman Sachs’ commitment to making a difference in the community. By 9am, the CTW volunteers gathered at the centre, all geared up for a session of sharing and fun with the youths. Featuring a diverse group of volunteers of various nationalities and job roles, the team of CTW volunteers were briefed by Joe Tan, one of the centre’s Social Workers, who shared about the programme and the impact on the youths. Though it was to be a brief one-day assignment, it had the ultimate aim of helping to widen the horizons of the youths and
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www.carecorner.org.sg vCares Newsletter Issue 4
1
Kicking Off to Positive Youth Development A look at sports volunteering
Mention the word “volunteering” and you might think of an afternoon spent in an old folks’ home, helping to feed
the elderly spoonfuls of porridge. Or perhaps you are scrubbing out kennels at the local pet shelter, against the
symphony of barks and yips in the background. To some, such conventional ways of volunteering may sound like
hard work mixed with sweat and grime or may lack appeal, especially to the busy professionals who just want to
wind down after a long work week. But do you know that volunteering can involve a day of fun, allowing you to wind
down with sports and yet making a difference in the community?
On Saturday, 25 July, 20 Goldman Sachs employees had the opportunity to take part in one such activity: engaging in
futsal with youths from CAPA (Commitment ● Performance ● Attitude ● Academy), a sports-based social work
intervention programme under CROSSROAD Youth Centre; a youth centre managed by Care Corner Family Service
Centre (Admiralty). The activity was jointly organised by CROSSROAD Youth Centre and Community TeamWorks
(CTW), a global volunteer initiative by Goldman Sachs. One of the CTW captains for this year is Praveen, who shared
with me how the company encourages its employees to contribute to society by taking part in a variety of
volunteering projects throughout the year. This initiative has been running for
more than a decade across its offices all over the world, from Singapore to São
Paulo in Brazil, reflecting Goldman Sachs’ commitment to making a difference in
the community.
By 9am, the CTW volunteers gathered at the centre, all geared up for a session
of sharing and fun with the youths. Featuring a diverse group of volunteers of
various nationalities and job roles, the team of CTW volunteers were briefed by
Joe Tan, one of the centre’s Social Workers, who shared about the programme
and the impact on the youths. Though it was to be a brief one-day assignment, it
had the ultimate aim of helping to widen the horizons of the youths and
www.carecorner.org.sg vCares Newsletter Issue 4
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inspiring them, through the CTW volunteers connecting with the youths and sharing their life stories and journeys.
There would be two parts to the event: empowerment workshops in the morning and futsal in the afternoon.
The empowerment workshops featured a series of short sharing sessions. CTW volunteers took turns to share on
various topics such as goal setting, career options and the importance of building a habit of saving. There was also an
interactive segment where the youths were challenged to use their thinking skills to solve problems through coding.
Sharing by CTW Volunteers
With the formal part of the sharing done, it was soon lunch; yet another opportunity for the volunteers and youths
to connect. Some connected through a simple indoor activity of passing the ball to each other, while some gradually
warmed up to each other along the way. One of the youths even approached CTW volunteer Takumi to ask about
saving money — it seemed that his speech had made an impact!
Soon, lunch was over and we arrived at Punggol Sports Hub for the much anticipated futsal; the youths were all
raring to go. For those not familiar with the sport, futsal is a variant of soccer that
is played on a smaller indoor field, with two teams of eight players each. A game
typically lasts between 8 and 20 minutes. It was perfect as a volunteering activity,
for the smaller field and shorter time meant that anyone could volunteer, as long
as they were reasonably fit and could kick a ball. This also turned out to be a
great opportunity for the youths to become ‘teachers’ as they helped to explain
the rules and demonstrate some basic playing techniques. CTW volunteer Vivien
Ting shared, “It was heartening to see the boys step up as leaders and teachers
and give some of us volunteers a crash course in Futsal, and also encourage one
another!” One of the youths also gladly loaned his extra pair of soccer shoes to
one of the volunteers so he could be part of the action.
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There were two tournaments: in the first tournament, mixed teams of CTW volunteers and youths played against
each other while in the second tournament, the CTW volunteers faced the youths. This prompted excited chatter
from the teens, who were looking forward to having new opponents to test their skills against. After a quick briefing
and some stretching, it was time to play! I shall let the pictures do the talking:
Volunteers connecting with the youths
All too soon, the game was over with the CTW team winning the secondary tournament, right after CTW volunteer
Viven scored a three-point goal (and this was her first time playing futsal). However, winning was never the goal of
the whole activity. CTW Volunteer David Lim remarked, “It was very meaningful to see how Care Corner helped
inculcate the right values of teamwork, respect, and inclusiveness among the teenagers. Seems that many of the
lessons they teach could be brought over to mainstream education”. It was indeed a “goal!” when everyone had fun,
built connections and inspired each other through a good game of futsal.
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Here are what some of the volunteers have to say about the day:
Dawn Loke: “I was really inspired by the passion of the youths for soccer! Also, it was
really heartwarming to see them accommodate us into the game, especially when we
could not really play!”
Ankur Vohra: “It was good… that we could interact with the kids directly, doing activities-
sports that they have the passion for. Learnt a lot from the experience, and hope the kids
took away good learning points as well.”
Seika Matsuoka: “All the youths had such a strong life force, from which GS employees were encouraged and
rejuvenated. By playing soccer, sharing experiences and making jokes, we learned about each other within a short
period of time. Thank you Care Corner for the amazing time. We shall keep in touch! :)”
Praveen Charles Jeyaraj: “We had a very meaningful time and there was a lot we also took back from everyone we
met. We are very encouraged to see the work everyone at CROSSROAD Youth Centre and we are sure many youths
have been and will be impacted positively.”
So, who says volunteering is all hard work and no play? Volunteering can be fun and yet meaningful too! More
importantly, there are no requirements needed, except for a willingness to share your time and be open to new
experiences. Not only do you get to do something meaningful, but you will also learn something new — such as
futsal skills, perhaps! For more information on volunteering in Care Corner’s Youth Services, please visit
http://tiny.cc/ccsvolunteer.
This article has been made possible and brought to you by our friendly Editorial Volunteer, Rachel and translated our
helpful Translation Volunteer, Tan Kheng Meng:
“ It is safe to say that Rachel loves stories. Fortunately for her, everyone
has a story to tell. She enjoys uncovering the lessons that people have to