Volunteerism Essay

2040 Words9 Pages
3) Volunteering has become an increasing trend in Singapore. The percentage of volunteers increased from 9.3 percent in 2002 to 16.9 percent in 2008 (Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports 2010). What are the avenues for volunteerism in Singapore? An individual can volunteer through non-profit organizations in Singapore or even through their respective corporate organizations. The opportunities range from ad hoc events to events that require longer-term commitments. I examine the motivations for volunteering in Singapore and conclude by analyzing the similarities and differences between work and volunteerism. OVERVIEW I will first introduce the common types of volunteering and develop on the avenues for volunteerism in Singapore. To better understand volunteers in Singapore, I will focus on Touch Community Services, a non-profit charitable organization in Singapore that is a member of the National Council of Social Service since 1994. Prevalent fields of volunteering in Singapore include social and health services, education, culture, environmental as well as religious services. These services can be further classified into target groups, mainly by age (children, youth and elderly), as well as unique groups that require different sets of voluntary skills (family, special needs, healthcare) (Touch Community Services 2010). Corporations and schools are able to establish partnerships with non-profit organizations mainly to help the organizations to raise funds as well as organize events. As such, most Singaporeans, no matter students or working adults, are exposed to a wide variety of opportunities for volunteering. The ease and availability of volunteering activities made possible through technological advancement as well as encouragement by the government could have partially accounted for the rising trend in the proportion of volunteers in
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