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November 22 21st November Outing21st November Outing
Shopping at Bukit Timah Plaza
Dinner at Choa Chu Kang temple
1. SETTING OFF
we had our regular volunteers and also some new faces; family members and colleagues from celeste, friends from joanne and others.
mun hoe helped demonstrate the handling of a wheelchair to the new volunteers.
there was also some confusion in doing the name-tags and sorting the volunteers to the colour groups as there were some last-minute changes in attendance.
the 21 elderly we brought were seated in 2 hwa buses.
over at the volunteers' bus,
the vgc (volunteer guitar connection) members were hyping up the atmostphere as they got everyone to sing along to popular songs on the way to bukit timah plaza.
2. BUKIT TIMAH PLAZA
the plaza's personnel were kind to offer their cargo lift to allow a faster transportation of the elderly to level 1.
we entered 'fairprice finest' and moved on to our shopping spree for about 35mins till 4.05pm.
despite the somewhat crowded supermarket and difficulties with the wheelchair on the travellator,
the volunteers managed:)
sure to say, the elderly enjoyed themselves and even exerienced paying for their own expenses at the cashier.
as like with other years, the elderly were given $10 for their 'shopping budget'.
i am not sure how many of the elderly exceeded the $10 this year though, haha...
of course, what is important is that the elderly bought what they wanted:)
3. SING-ALONG SESSION
we moved ourselves to a shelter outside the back entrance of the plaza.
over there, we sang more songs.
i also witnessed one elderly who started eating on the prunes she bought and she even went around offering it to the volunteers:)
4. CHOA CHU KANG TEMPLE
it started to drizzle but we arrived at the temple more-or-less unscathed.
the temple provided us with a vegetarian dinner, inclusive of a soup and fruits.
some elderly asked for more rice, and we had our toilet breaks too.
5. HOME SWEET HOME
it was around 6.30pm when we all arrived back at the home, tired but satisfied.
it was also almost amusing to note that by the end of the trip, the volunteers have all taken initiative in operating the wheelchair lifts for the hwa buses.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Cuixian and Celeste, for their hard work in organizing this particular outing, especially without our dear catherine (who is currently out of country) to look for advise in outing-planning.
Celeste's boss, Ju Kai Meng, for the generous sponsoring of this trip.
The temple, for sponsoring us a wondrous meal.
The buses, for granting us another drop-off point and 'kind of shut one's eye' to proper protocol.
Fairprice and Bukit Timah Plaza, for the trouble they have gone through to ensure that the elderly had a smooth trip.
All the volunteers, for their time and efforts.
October 05 Mid Autumn Celebration on Sat, 3 Oct - 9 to 11.30amMid Autumn 2009 at BHEH saw close to 50% new volunteers who joined us in the celebration with the elderly. At quarter to 9am, all volunteers were seen walking in with their big smiles. All looked so refreshing and eager to lay their hands on doing something. For working adults, I think Saturdays are probably the best time to catch up with some sleep while some with family may normally spend their moring time with young children and/or their spouse/parents at home or even catch up with house chores. And students like Yan Quan & Dawn, they could be sleeping or planning their time to study for the coming exams.
So why was everyone at BHEH at such early hour?? Very simple, it’s their volunteering passion that drives them to ‘make time’ to volunteer. KUDOS TO ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR GREAT TIME MANAGEMENT!! These wonderful volunteers are:
WU LA LA…..THE GIRLS Cherie Dawn Jacqueline Gladys Jiun Joycelyn Ling Priscilla Siok Hoon Yan Quan
BOM BI BI….. THE BOYS Chung Tat Ghim Boon Hwee Seng Mr Ong
We witnessed strong team spirit in the coffee making session. The team was happily stirring with giant spoons!!!
Everyone helped out in one way or another to put up the final preparation. Soon, we had our batch of elderlys from the upper floors to join the other residents who were waiting patiently.
We sang and engaged the elderly in simple games using pomelo skin and Chinese idioms. Newly introduced story telling game didn’t quite work out partly because the battery level of the microphones was running flat and elderly voices from afar could not be heard. Anyway, it was a new experience and hopefully, we could improverise on the game next time.
The highlights for the event were
Those who know me will understand that my writing for the blog also aims to encourage and motivate other volunteers to pen their thoughts. The blog needs constant dose of vitamins and nutrition to keep it alive and radiant!!! It is hungry for your tender loving care… if you have a problem signing in, please let me know.
As the event person, may I extend my sincere thanks to one and all for your lively presence and great enthusiasm!!!!
All the best, Catherine February 10 金牛迎春2009丢一枚金幣 愿老人家心想事成 挂一片祝词 愿老人家增福增寿 这就是The Evergreeners合力呈现给Bright Hill Elderly的新年节目 With the help of volunteers, the elderly were wheeled into the event hall and were encouraged to toss a coin and hang a lucky charm. Objective: to allow interaction between elderly and volunteers as well as getting the elderly into the CNY mood. Thanks to CK, Ally and Helena for preparing the lucky charms. To Li Theng & Dasmond for preparing the wishing well.
可口的新年糕点 小巧可爱 甜而不腻 老人家吃得开心 Thanks to Cui Xian’s mum and Mr Yeo for their kind donation. The goodies were delicious and filled the stomachs of the elderly, students and volunteers.
拜年祝语 义工真诚的祝福 愿老人家 身体健康，万事如意 Thanks to Kumari and her cousin for the lovely CNY bags used to pack mandarin oranges for the elderly. Not forgetting Seetoh, Mun Hoe, Kee Hoon, Jacqueline and ALL who helped in the transport, purchase and packing of the oranges.
舞狮欢腾迎新春 让老人家, 义工和在场的每一个人 都深深的感受到节日的喜悦 舞狮团精湛的表演 让老人家看得目瞪口呆 Credit goes Leon for his great coordination and congratulations to your troupe for another lively and fantastic performance. Special thanks to Benson who made it possible.
悦耳动听的曲子 来自中华中学的 华乐队和古筝团 学生们全神贯注 把首首动听的曲子 表现得淋漓尽致 Our deepest appreciation for teacher, Mr Ng for his continuous support and tremendous effort in taking charge of everything…his students, their instruments, loading/unloading of the huge instruments, transport etc etc.. Also thanks to teachers, Mdm Tam and Ms Alicia Ng for their time and untiring effort in putting together a great performance for the elderly. Finally, 3 cheers to all the performing students!!
Chung Tat 的财神爷照型 生动有趣 挺着大大的肚腩 摇摇摆摆派红包 让老人家笑逐颜开 Our heartfelt thanks goes to Li Theng and Dasmond for their kind donation of the red packets. To CT for his lively appearance!
美妙的歌声来自 甜姐儿—芳芳小姐 新年歌曲唱来扣人心弦 Hwee Seng 和 Belynda 的唱功 也有目共睹，三个齐心协力 把新年气氛拉得更高 Thank you very much, girls and boy!!
游戏和小抽奖 让老人家和义工打成一片 热热闹闹..乐趣无穷 Jobs well done….Mei Fang, Cui Xian and Jane!! And all the other volunteers who help out in the games.
Lastly but not least…..to Woei Shiuan for her fine culinary skills and the help of many volunteers like Karen, her friend, Celeste, Yen Yen’s husband, Darion and Kumari who meticulously prepared a sumptuous meal for all the elderly. Like I said to the elderly… 吃饱饱然后做个美梦…相信老人家已感受到这般义工的辛劳和爱戴!!
In a nutshell, I thought ALL the other volunteers who turned up to help in the event had put up SELFLESS EFFORTS and GREAT CONTRIBUTION. They were Ally, Belynda, Chung Tat, CK, Cui Xian & her students, Dasmond, Dawn, Dina & her lovely kids, Fang Fang, Ghim Boon, Helena, Hoon, Hwee Seng, Jacqueline, Jane, Joanna, Josephine, Kee Hoon, Lay Leng, Li Theng, Mei Fang, Molly, Mun Hoe, Pui Yee & hubby, Seetoh, Siok Hoon, Siow Har, Xiao You, Yan Quan and Yashi. In return, I hope you had all brought home a sense of pride that it was all very sweet and meaningful to volunteer in Bright Hill Evergreen Home.
让我们同心协力，努力，加油！为老人家带来更多快乐和欢笑！！
Cheers Catherine
January 04 Christmas Celebration @BrighthillDecember 27
I was requested by Catherine to write about the Christmas Party event on the blog and I told her she is giving me a difficult task. So guys and girls pls forgive me if there are lots of grammar and spelling mistake. I am suppose to write in when Seetoh has download the photo but I think he must has been busy that I still didn't see them on the blog. So I decided to go ahead and summarize them.
This was the first time that we have a Christmas celebration for the elderly. We have created and decorated a Christmas tree from a dried tree branches which found by Karen (I hope I got the correct person) and brought it to the home. It wasn't very stable as it has been slanting quite a few time. Seetoh had helped to secure it and it stand still till the end of the party. The party started with the song Silent Night and we moved into the hall with lighted candles. Mei Fung came out with the idea to put a thick piece of paper around the candles so that the melted wax would not burn our hand when we held them. (What a great idea!) She even volunteer to make coffee for the elderly to take them with the log cake sponsored by Cui Xian's friend (Sorry, forget the name). Thank you very much.
 We have to cut the cake into small slices as we worried that the cake may not be enough for all the elderly as more and more turned up. It was 40 at the beginning but slowly increased to 46 and still counting.... Luckily quite a number of them were full after high tea and rejected the offer. So volunteers have the chance to taste it too. It was soft, spongy and tasty. We shall ask them to sponsor for our future event. Hee hee  . The elderly enjoy the cakes while watching the slide show from Giant @Tampines outing.Molly has liven up the party by performing Magic tricks. She told us that she has a few more tricks which she will only do it on CNY events. "Hao Xi Zai Hou Tou" (the best will be left behind) Thanks for her help. Catherine is good at creating poems and lyrics. She has written a few lines for us to sing with Jingle Bell rhythms. At least the elderly understand better in Chinese version. Thanks for your creation.
I am glad to have Desmond acting as Red Nose Reindeer and Santa Clause as no other younger volunteers wish to do so not even my Darren. Desmond was shy during the performance but he was always singing out loud at home.
Our young volunteers, Yan Quan , Dawn, Xiao You & her sister etc were enjoy themselve so much on the Fashion Design game. Yan Quan and Dawn were so happy
and surprise when they got present from me. Hey girls, is just a little gift nothing much. But for this game I have feed back from Mei Fung that we have neglect the other elderly who were not involve in the games. Some elderly even doze off and some started to leave while the games were still on going. We should take note of that and have more groups games.
Due to times consume, we were unable to finish singing all the Christmas songs that we have planed. I hope we will sing most or all of them for our next party so it will not waste Yan Quan's effort for sorting and printing them. All the gift were sponsor by our volunteers like purse, recycling bags, pouches, soft toys from Catherine and items from bazzar. Cui Xian's had picked up the goodies bags from Tampines Giant which were supposed to be given to the elderly who went for the outing. Cui Xian, Catherine and a few of us came early to sort them out. Some items were taken out to wrap as the prizes for Fashion Design elderly. So glad that we have prepare 50 gift as we did not expect so many of them turned up.
Overall I think the elderly enjoy themselves. They did not reject when I put on the party eye mask for them. They also played with the tamborine and other hand instrument that we have passed to them.
In this even, I have made some mistake. Beginning of the event was not well plan. It was a little messy and blur blur. Initially, all of us would go round the elderly with the lighted candles and lastly gathered in front of them and sway along with the songs. But I have forgotten. Luckily I have Catherine help me to lead. Thanks alot Cath. I will make sure that I will have my plan written down nex time and will not happen again. (I hope so. Hee hee
To be frank I always get nervous talking in front of alot of people. Catherine, that is why I ask you to help me to host. Thanks again. Another mistake was that I have left the Christmas songs CD at home which I thought I have them ready. Luckily the home has one if not we have to sing Rodolph The Red Nose Reindeer without Music.Well, times flies. We have just send off 2008 and welcome 2009. There are alot of bad news from our government. We hope that, as times goes by, everything will be fine and not as bad as what we were told and warned.
Look forward to our next celebration and a better Christmas Party for 2009.
Wishing You All the Best,
Jane
December 28 Year End Elderly Outing to Giant Hypermart, Courts & Box Bistro at Tampinespaiseh..paiseh..kind of late posting on this event! But better late than never...
 Let me first commend on our photographer, Mun Hoe and his apprentice, Xiao You for their untiring efforts in breaking another record of 138 shots just for one outing!! Only Xiao You knew how she 'cheated' Mun Hoe of his camera and happily clicking away...some interesting shots resulted..not bad lah!
For the first time, we spent more transport cost by engaging 2 (previously 1) HWA vehicles to fetch 20 wheelchair bound elderly. This was In consideration of elderlys' immobility and to alleviate their fear of having to climb on bus steps. The result: COMFORTABLE RIDE, HAPPIER ELDERLYS AND PHYSICALLY LESS STRENUOUS ON THE GUYS!! its money well spent and a BIG THANKS to Josephine (Joanne's friend) for her full transport sponsorship and generosity!
Our other sponsors for the outing were Cui Xian's mum, CK and his friends! THANK YOU VERY MUCH
Besides our own volunteers, we welcome the happy return of Kiang, CK, Diana, Katherine, Joey, Josephine, Luisa and friends of Cui Xian & Joanne. All volunteers set off by driving their own cars. This was the second time Kiang helped out. The last time her vehicle was used to load wheelchairs. This round, 3 young girls namely Hoon, Dawn and Xiao You sat behind and mind you, they really were having lots of fun lorh! In a way, Kiang & I felt younger with them around though I was thinking of Yan Quan, another fun loving gal who was missing in action 'cos of his sick uncle. ,
With the kind coordination of Giant's security guards, shopping at Giant was a breeze for the elderlys. Moving up to the hypermart was easy 'cos the lift was really spacious and ideally located. Giant sponsored goodie bags for the 20 elderly. Judging from the happy faces of the elderlys, one could tell that most elderly enjoyed themselves as they moved row by row searching for their needs. Worth a mention was the company of the volunteers who helped them along the way. 3 elderlys were spotted sitted at a corner with 1 complaining of a headache....they did not buy much but we respect their wish to be away from the crowd..that was perhaps their comfortable zone but at dinner time, they were spotted eating their selected meals and when asked if they felt better, they smiled...
Dinner at Box Bistro located at Courts Megastore was really GOOOOD!! We were spoilt for choice..western sets, asian bento sets and local delights like laksa, prawn noodles etc etc. Each elderly picked their own meal and drinks. Simple but hearty meals..truly satisfying...what's more? we paid just 50% of the total bill!! THANKS to Courts & Jack's Place for their souvenirs and kind sponsorship!!! THANK YOU VERY MUCH...Nick, Sarimah, Evelyn, Jacob & his female colleague!! It was wonderful to see that the restaurant was all set up prior to the elderlys' arrival and special thanks to Jacob & colleague for their kind understanding.
Please feel free to blog on this outing or share any interesting happenings and introduce our blog to your friends. As I always said, this blog needs your love & contribution to make it livelier and worth reading!
Cheers
Catherine
November 11 Money no enoughI shared the excitement and happiness in searching for the 2 x 20 dollar notes! and I applaud the courage, patience and determination to those involved in the search 'cos I imagine it can be quite tortuous to dig into all the bits and pieces of papers!!!!
Money still no enough for the outing planned for 13 December 2008 to Giant Hypermart, Tampines. I am trying to secure some donations but if you have any lobang to find money to fund this event, do come forward. Thanks!!
Our recee to Giant was quite successful....the hypermart is spacious, alighting point is partially sheltered and suitable for wheelchairs..only challenge may be the travellator a bit steep so got to make sure wheelchairs are locked while stationery on the travellator and volunteers hold firmly and stand firmly. The men available during the outing will be required to position themselves to render help on the travellators.
Dinner....there are two options at Giant or Courts and our friendly volunteers, Cui Xian & Dawn are writing to the relevant parties to seek permission, sponsorship etc..
Transport...I suggest going for two HWA vehicles which can take 26 persons ie 20 elderly, some elderly-in-wheelchair while some transferred to seats and 6 other nurses cum volunteers. Such special vehicles will minimise the fear of these elderly who do not want to climb the big bus. So we are likely to work on a one elderly to on volunteer arrangement, no singing, no guitar performance onboard the buses due to space limitations. Will decide on transport for other volunteers...maybe some volunteers drive or engage a sponsored van. Afterall, parking is free at Giant. More discussions will follow.
For this Saturday, 15 Nov 08 do remember to join us in our first art & craft session for our first ever Christmas tree. Jacqueline 'picked' up a fallen tree and with the help of his colleagues, brought it over to the home and YES! our first step is to paint it silver... I have collected some shimmering chocolate wrappers. If you have other recycled stuff to share...anything at all that you can contribute...please do bring them along :) Ghim Boon will be there to turn them into useful & creative ornaments...hahas our newly appointed art director!!
Catherine
September 15 Mid Autumn 2008Hi volunteers
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR WONDERFUL PRESENCE LAST SATURDAY, 13 SEPTEMBER 2008!!
Mid Autumn has been a very traditional festival for the Chinese. Personally, I love it.
First of all, the Evergreen Volunteer Group would like to thank our sponsor, Mr Chin for the mooncakes and to Jacqueline for her coordination.
Due to time constraint, we did not run any lantern making session with the elderly like before. Instead, we put on our thinking hats and were pleased to have introduced a couple of new ideas to the celebration:
1) a lion dance performance jointly and wonderfully performed by students of Whitley & Anderson Secondary School. It was themed 七星拌月 2) the pomelo skin game creatively suggested by Jacqueline 3) the Chinese proverbs intelligently hosted by Mei Fang 4) the Chinese legend telling of Chu Yuan Zhang confidently narrated by Yan Quan 5) newly composed songs to cater to the festival and to the elderly’s taste 6) a wishing well (thanks to Chung Tat for sourcing this item)
We saw the return of ad-hoc volunteers like Felise, Yoshi, Dasmond & Li Theng. We welcome Michael who joined us for the first time and to our ever supportive volunteers….Jacqueline, Ghim Boon, Siok Hoon, Hwee Seng, Seetoh, Kee Hoon, Yan Quan, Dawn, Cui Xian, Mei Fang, Joanne, Siow Har, Molly & Mun Hoe!!
I deeply appreciate the joyous presence of the elderly. They happily took part in games and interacted freely with our volunteers and even amused us! Let’s hope they stay in good health and happy!
Thanks to our veteran photographer, Mun Hoe for uploading the photos so quickly. Enjoy!!!!
Cheers Catherine August 05 Talking about National Day Celeb on 2 August 2008Firstly, a big THANK YOU to Ghim Boon & Siok Hoon for working really hard and well that afternoon. Working with people is a challenge but I thought you two did a really good job for not giving up. They were busy moving around the hall and not forgetting to carry out the goodie bags for distribution to the elderly
Apart from the day’s celebration, several volunteers turned up punctually for two earlier Saturdays to work with the elderly on the paper hats. They were Tracy, Jacqueline, Sean, Pauline, Willie, Celeste, Siow Har, Ghim Boon, Siok Hoon, Yan Quan, Chung Tat, Kumari, Lay Leng, Mei Fang, CK and Molly. Both sessions were really enjoyable. Don’t forget to take a good look at the photos in the National Day album on your right to witness these wonderful volunteers’ creativity in the hats making….I truly admire their creativity!!
Of course, our elderly were all sporting enough to wear their hats, took photos and happily keeping their photos. Thanks to Chung Tat, Siow Har, Yan Quan, Mun Hoe & Seetoh for their hard work!
We were really happy to have senior volunteers like Shirley, Karen, Woei Shiuan and Chee Pin who came back to share a short and memorable time with us. WS, you are really BIG now… It would have been nice if more could join us.
Also thanks to Chung Tat for his sparkling juice! Together, we toast and shouted ‘yum seng’ at the top of our voices…..(did we frighten the residents? Even those with bad hearing might have heard us! Hahas…forgive us!)
As for the ‘red hearts’ which were carefully cut and painted with my love for each of you, good to hear that volunteers like them and hope to use them for future events. Thanks to Yan Quan for her idea to write our name on the hearts using blanco. Our names really stood up beautifully on the red background!
As for the banner, Hwee Seng exclaimed that each thumb print was a pledge for another 10 years of volunteering at Bright Hill Evergreen Home. Wahahaha…all of you are conned!!!! No turning back liao….
Catherine August 04 2nd Aug National Day Celebration and Upcoming Event2nd Aug National Day Celebration and Next upcoming outing:
It was a wonderful and excellent National celebration at the home last Saturday. To start it off, this is the first event where most of the volunteers are cladded in our Evergreen T-shirts; bravo. Plus the little red heart around it it sure gives us a sense of pride and belonging to the home and nation. We should wear it more often for future events.
It was a great to start the show with birthday songs and cake cutting with all the August “babies” which also include our elderly. The whole program was hosted by our ever smiling couple of Ghim Boon and Siok Hoon and thank you for hosting a great show. We did a round of national day songs and games prepared by Joanne and Meifang. Our Siow Har, Seetoh and Munhoe were busying taking pictures and printing out some of the pictures on the spot and passed it to the elderly. Then came our surprise of the day with special performance from Joanne’s colleague friends in Michelle and her dad; Mr Ang. Their professional rendition of songs in various dialects and popular Chinese and English songs drove frenzy in the house and we and the elderly keep asking for more from them. For a while all of us immersed in this Geitai atmosphere which in a way is fitting as it is the seventh month ghost festival. We had great fun.
We had a small celebration of our 20th years of the formation of the Evergreen group and I wish for another 20 good and excellent years of caring, compassionate and charitable hearts from the EVERGREEN VOLUNTEERS to the elderly and together we will make their last part of their journey a memorable and happy one. Thank you to all who were around and making it a very special weekend for our elderly on National Day Celebration and oursleves beside the usual watching of the Parade on TV.
Thanks to Catherine for organizing this event and the jellies, Cuixian and her mom for the cakes and Che Pin for the Muffins. Thanks.
Upcoming Event:
27th September Saturday 2-4pm Venue : TBD Event: ESN Carnival We will be bringing a group of elderly (15-20) of them to the Carnival with games, bazzar, mini concert and food. We did it last year at Yishun JC and the elderly enjoyed it a lot. Pls remember to make it a date with us on that day. More details to follow up.. July 23 National Day Celeb 2008 at BHEH
Dear volunteers A BIG thank you to all who joined us over the last 2 Saturdays and who helped out with the National Day hats making. Together, we engaged and persuaded a good number of elderly to work with us and through the process, we enjoyed the company of these elderlys and new volunteers. Volunteers too unveiled their talents in arts which we thought was really amazing! Be sure to join us again on 2 August 2008 for an early National Day celebration to be hosted by two wonderful volunteers, Ghim Boon (aka John) & Siok Hoon. Details of the day’s programme are attached. We will like to extend a warm welcome to ALL volunteers and to our senior volunteers whose names are mentioned in this email. Please pardon us for not keeping a good record of senior volunteers’ contacts. 你们真的太久没来了! 下来聚一聚吗? If you are still in contact with other senior volunteers, please do pass on our invitation for them to join us for a REUNION on 2 August 2008. Let’s ALL get together to celebrate the volunteer group’s anniversary! We understand that the group was formed in August and it will be great to receive confirmation on which year it was formed. Volunteers who purchased the group’s T-shirts, please remember to wear them! If not, you are encouraged to wear the national colours, red/white. Cheers - Ghim Boon, Siok Hoon & Catherine J
June 30 A day of WOW on 28th June Bazaar and Funfair Event I would summarise last Sat event of the Bazaar and Funfair as a day full of WOWs experience for me. I arrived at 1:45pm on that day and thinking I would be one of the early birds but I would not be any wrong. Meifang was already preparing the stalls and WS, Celeste and another of their friend were already in action in the kitchen busy with the food preparation. My first WOW was our dear WS was still walking as pacy and active as ever despite being pregnant and I think she was standing throughout the whole event of food selling. The second WOW greeted me when the stalls were being laid out and I realised our event was getting bigger and much more eventful with a lot of varities; we have our usual bazaar event, our food selling of Rojak and DIM SUM, 2 stalls of games and the opera show. Great thanks to all who mastermined all these activites, Meifang and Joanne for organising and canvassing for the event; WS and Celeste for the food preparation and Kumari for helping to secure the DIM SUM sponsorship. Of course the enthusiam of the volunteers who had mended the stall and moblising the eldery really helped to light up the event.
When the much waited event was fully started, I got an WOW as the whole recreation hall suddenly become so alive and bustle with so many activities and people. Elderly was actually flocking to the different stalls and refusing to move away while others eldery were waiting behind for their stalls. I had to tread from one corner to another. The scene that captivated me most was a lot of elderly was actually watching the opera show with a plate of rojak/DIM SUM on their plate and hanging behind their wheelchair was plastic bags full of their successful "hunt" of the day. A lot of thoughts and efforts must have gone through in preparing this Event, from the organisers to every single volunteers that had helped out in the EVENT, Thank You and hoped that you too feel that the time and efforts were well spent. By the way this is not the end of my WOWs.
Just when I though the EVENT was over, Catherine held us back for an light interactive activity for all the volunteers. I got an WOW as I thought it was really a very good gesture as among the volunteers that day, a lot of them may not know each other. The activities drew us together and a final group picture for all volunteers that day was a great finale for a jouful day. Thanks to Catherine for organising this and her Jelly (Courtesy of Meifang's birthday). My last WOW of the day was the Evergreen T-shirt given to me by Cui xian. Finally after volunteering for so many years in the home, we got a T-shirt with our group's name. And for those who had yet to place their order, do it so soon as it is worthed every penny of it..Thanks CuiXian and Xiao You for helping us to get our volunteer T-shirts.
As for me, Molly and myself were hosting a group of about 9 volunteers from ESN; Elderly Sector Network (volunteers from other homes, like Moral, Silra etc). This is an yearly exchange ESN program where voluneeters from different homes are exchanged to join in other home activities. This help to bring the volunteers from other homes closer together and allow exchnage of ideas and tips on each other events. Eg one of the very good feedback on that day was to have a stall like a Photo Kiosk station where pictures of volunteer and elderly can be taken and printed out on the spot and the picture would then been given to the eldery to keep for rememberance. They had tried out in other events and it was very well received. We can try it out in our next event. Come July, we will been ask to send a few volunteers to participate in SWAMI home activities, pls let me or Molly know if you are interested to join. I would encourage you to do that as I had my share of exchange program in Sirla and Moral and it was really worth it. I want to take this opportunity to thank Molly for representing us so well in the ESN committee and credit of course also goes to her recently recruited side kick in Cui Xian. The ESN has really enjoyed their company....Thanks and take care.
Chung Tat June 06 Bazaar 28 June UPDATEHi All,
We are very blessed to have found 2 kind sponsors for ALL the bazaar items. Really thankful for their contribution, Not only did they sponsor, they BOUGHT ALL the items at a go. They'll be driving the truckload of stuff to the home soon.
Guess Who? For those who are keen to find out who... here's the clue... "Beauty N the ... Handsome"
So, for those who'd already asked your friends for donations, U can still contribute to our MAKAN corner... money can be used to buy ingredients for us to prepare snacks for the elderly on that day. Let me know asap. THANKS!
Haffa wonderful weekend ahead!
Rgds, meifang
June 04 Bazaar_28 June
Hi all,
We are organizing a BAZAAR cum FUNFAIR on 28June (Sat).
We are trying alot of NEW things this time round like giving FREE Coupons (worth $0.50) to each elderly for FOC shopping.
"FIRST ROUND of shopping strictly with coupon buying. Only after all elderly have depleted their 50cents, we will sell the balance stocks to those interested elderly using their own cash."
On top of that we have Games stall, Movie stall and Makan corner. As such, we NEED alot of help on that day. 1. BAZAAR Stall Helpers
Job duties: Set up tables in Hall, display items for sale, Price tags, plastic bags, get ready coins and small notes for "change", replenish stock, "Limit" sale for certain stocks (e.g. 2bottles of axe oil per elderly), During Closure: DO A STOCK-TAKE
Number of volunteers needed: 6
2. GAMES Stall Helpers
Job duties: Set up 2-3 games stalls in Hall, get game materials from volunteer room, we welcome NEW games ideas!, get ready prizes for elderly participants,
Number of volunteers needed: 6
3. MAKAN corner helpers
Job duties: Prepare Coffee, food items for "give-aways", food/ fruits items for sale, toast bread with kaya & margarine? Any other ideas?
Number of volunteers needed: 6 (3 at stall, 3 in kitchen) 4. Others
- Movie person?
- Salesman
Job duties: Bring the elderly around to purchase Food/ watch movie/ Makan snacks etc. and to PROMOTE our Bazaar items, Games, Movie & Food items. Make your customers Happy!
Number of "salesman" needed: The more the merrier!
5. Looking for DONORS
If you have friends or colleagues who are willing to help out but may not have the time to do so, we welcome their kind donations in cash or in kinds for the following items:
BAZAAR JUNE 2008
Do let me know asap if u can come and help out in any preferred way on 28 June.
Looking forward to seeing u!
Best rgds, meifang 96160400
Quote May 01 Jalan Jalan TripIts rather weird to be blogging. i've never blogged. i'm an unhip teen, i know. hmm.
So anyway last saturday we took the elderly out on a jalan jalan trip to teh selegie area, and i was really happy to have been part of the organising process. Somehow i felt it made the trip more meaningful for me and catherine was really nice to include us young and inexperienced kids in the organising committee!!!
I think i wont elaborate much on the trip process: dawn and yanquan can do it HAH.
But i think i'll just share some reflections about the trip. I realized how much love and care we have for the elderly, and how unabashedly proud we are of that fact -- the time we starting singing in the middle of crowds show how much we enjoy having fun with the elderly. At first i felt rather self-conscious to be frank (because i am very shy. and unused to crowds. really. im VERY VERY shy) , but after that i think i loosened up and became blind to the crowds that were staring and staring and STARING. well not really blind. i could see the. and i was rather angry with them. but i have a temper and get angry easily so maybe its just my weird temper there. anyway. i just learned to IGNORE those people and have fun. i mean, WHO CARES, right? but I think this incident reflects rather badly on these singaporeans. I felt really irritated and annoyed to see the people staring- some even with disgust- at us singing so enthusiastically to the elderly in public. Why do they do that? Do they think we are some kind of road show? and some of them really stare with blatant and undisguised contempt. Like we were some nuisance. However there were people like the ice cream man who gave me hope about singaporeans, but the rest were just a bad reflection of our society. If I had been a passer-by, i think i will feel very very happy that there are people so compassionate and caring and who have so much fun with teh elderly. i'll probably start singing- if i knew the songs, that is. i think we youngsters should go master some songs. i cant wait for xmas cus then we'll be able to belt out the christmas songs with ease!!!! i saw foreigners clapping and smiling at us. they didnt know how to sing the songs but they helped by clapping to show support. the singaporeans? i bet some knew how to sing. most in fact. they were mostly aunties and uncles. can sing dont sing. tsk tsk.
and once again THANKYOU TO THE ICE CREAM MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! if i see him again, i'll buy ice cream from him definitely:D
After hearing stories about the fun on the bus and looking at the pictures, i felt like we minivan people had missed out on the merriment and joy of the guitar and singing. BUt then again, the bus people didnt get to hear Uncle Siew sing on his own without lyrics or without help! His voice was wavering but strong and made me feel very happy that he should have this opportunity to sing for the volunteers to hear. Sometimesi think the elderly would love to do something for the volunteers, its just that they dont have the chance. This reminds me of another time i helped out at teh lion's befrienders cip with my class in sec one. The elderly i was attached to was mute and deaf but very cheerful and she tried her best to participate in teh activities./ And when it was my turn to do something- i cant rmb- she clapped so hard. And in the end, when she won something she wanted to give it to me and i was so touched i wanted to cry. but of course i gave it back to her. OH DEAR I AM SIDETRACKING VERY BADLY. anyway perhaps Uncle Siew was very happy he could sing for us. And happy to hear our appreciative applause!
This trip reminded me alot of the sec one cip trip, which in fact left a really deep impression on me. for example the old flats we saw during this trip. my friends and i snuck into the flats to visit the elderly while the class was keeping up. I wanted to see the old lady one more time. But couldnt find her. Anyway. The size and the gloominess of the flats appalled me. I rmb all of us cried on our way home because we were so sad. but i suppose the elderly are used to it. its something familiar and safe to them maybe. its something they recognise as home. maybe if we move these elderly to a big bungalow they will feel very out of place. I think its really good that we brought the elderly back to look at such flats. It probably reminds them of their old homes. Maybe.
Speaking of homes, dawn and yanquan told me that there was this elderly who, on the ride home, kept telling the uncle that she forgot the way home or something. And she wanted to go home. So poor dawn and yanquan were at a lost, but managed to calm the elderly down. I suppose when they will blog about this. But even though i was not there, i can imagine how lost and hysterical and sad the old woman must have felt, and how sad it was...
anyway. This trip also taught me that when i grow old, i must age with joy!!!!!!! no matter how hard it is. some of the elderly were depressed teh whole time, and showed hardly any joy. Its sad for us to see these elderly not having fun. But we've tried our best, and i find that it is their own mindset and determination to not to have fun that didnt allow them to enjoy the trip to its fullest. There were very cheerful and optimistic elderly, like Kwok Kuen, who met everything joy and wonderment and greeted every volunteer with a smile. I think it is only with an optimistic mind like hers will you get to have fun. If you keep thinking like some of them 'im going to die alr, why bother', then its just too bad for you. I pity them of course, and wish we can do something about it, but it is really up to them to decide. Or perhaps one of us could miraculously change their perspective of life. and death.
i know if im old and about to die, i'll eat and eat and eat!!!!!!! and laugh all i can! i'll try to laugh to death if i can!!! my mom would be scolding me right now for saying such things actually but hey i'll be having fun dying!!!i love to laugh! and eat! But perhaps i'll change later. maybe there's something about being old that makes us depressed and negative. but i think when im old imemember all the happy brighthill eldery and start laughing again. but who knows! maybe by that time technology will be SOOO advanced we'll all live to 150! or 200! or maybe technology will kill us instead. or the earth could have overheated. you know, what with global warming and all.
wow come to think of it i wrote quite alot- since i hardly touched on the trip in detail. I dont really like to write about what happened in detail. like in kindergarten where they made us keep journals. 'this morning i woke up at 9am. Then i go to the toilet to brush my teeth. Then I eat breakfast. Then my mommy bring me to go shopping.' etc. THEN the teacher scolds me for using too many 'then's!
but most of what i wrote is quite unrelated to the topic at hand. NEVERMIND. i like writing. like it, but not very good at it. i think. sometimes im good, sometimes im not. when i have to describe the scenery etc, i'll fall asleep writing. and thats not the point! writing is supposed to be fun! WAIT. IM BLABBERING AGAIN. so back to the point:
Quintessential reflective essay statement: This trip has left me with many pleasant memories and enriching lessons i will remember for a lifetime.
MY OWN reflective summary: i really really really really really really want to know is this:
WHO IS NURSE PAW PAW?!!?!?!??!
Xiao You
April 30 JALAN JALAN TRIP ON 26 APRIL 2008Hi wonderful volunteers!!!
On behalf of the organizing committee, THANK YOU ALL for choosing to volunteer with us, the Evergreen Volunteer Group and devoting your precious Saturday afternoon with the Home residents. Together, we walked…perspired…sang...laughed…and did some crazy busking on Waterloo Street… many thanks to Sam, his wife & Willie for their guitaristic performance. It was indeed an enjoyable and memorable outing and without all your help, it could not have been this successful..!!
May I dedicate this little version to one and all out there….(could Joanne and Molly please extend this thank you note to your colleagues/friends/guitarists)
B eat the heat and traffic lights R each out for the streets and I nto the beancurd shop & kopitiam G ladly the elderly tuck into their snacks H appily & sincerely praying T o Jesus or Goddess of Mercy and
H igh we feel as volunteers sing merrily to the elderly and many onlookers I n the heart of Waterloo Street L ifting the spirit of volunteerism L etting out our love and care to Bright Hill elderly
H otspot is the special dinner place O h no..some say it sounds like a pub M agically it is a place for good food E at to our hearts’ content and seal our trip with sweetness…
We look forward to your future support.
Cheers Catherine Chan together with organizing committee members CK, Cui Xian, Dawn, Hoon, Xiao You & Yan Quan
April 16 Outing for Volunteers to Chek Jawa on 13 APRIL 08!It was wonderful to see so many people turned up at Changi Jetty for our volunteers' outing on 13 Apr. Our group was BIG with 20 people headed to Pulau Ubin for a BIG funtime. In fact, alot of us have been waiting for the low tide @ Chek Jawa for a long time and we finally have a chance to do the boardwalk! With no guided tour, we were unable to get Up Close n Personal to the sea creatures but some sharp volunteers spotted different types of crabs: single pincer (Left or Right- handed), hermit crabs, jelly fish, mudskipper, soft corals, mussles, oyster n even scallops! Thinking of what to cook for dinner? Some of us were strolling slowly on the boardwalk but some were quite fast... 1 moment i was pointing out to my sister the camourflaging mudskipper and the next, many were out of my sight when i looked up. Anyway, i think most have seen enough, there are just so "many" things u can see on the boardwalk unlike the "shorewalk guided tour". (Sounds so sour grapes) Will try to see if we are lucky to get a guided tour next time... After the boardwalk of about 1km,we ended up at the tower overseeing chek Jawa wetlands. As usual, we took a group photo but what was special this time round was that an ELDERLY man whom we have NEVER met joined us in the photo-taking! Maybe he can sense that most of us are volunteers for the ELDERLY and got acquainted with us. Quite a friendly n sociable elderly man. He seems to enjoy spending time with "youngsters" like us. We should learn from his attitude, it doesnt matter, "Just Do It" After photo-taking, it was time to proceed back to the jetty for a drink before moving on... we unloaded ourselves at the jetty after a "worrying about the cyclists' safety" ride from chek jawa and had a short break. Some of us took toilet breaks, photo-taking breaks, exhibition viewing breaks, "fishes spotting" breaks, staring at the sea breaks etc, etc. We headed for a refreshing coconut juice to re-charge ourselves from the hot weather but See Toh ordered something special; he ordered a "HOT coconut" ... Wondered how it tasted? Ask the plaintiff After the water break, we decided to head back to mainland as it was too Many thanks to those who turn up for the outing, hope u had had a good time like me Presenting certificate of attendance to: Catherine, Molly, David, Siow Har, Mun Hoe, Lay Leng, See Toh, Hwee Seng, CK, Cuixian, Claris, Fion, Jeffrey, Woei Shiuan, Daniel, Jacqueline See you next time! meifang
Quote Chek Jawa April 01 Karaoke - April 08First of all , dun treat this mail as April Fool mail hor .
Turning Karaoke area into Lounge ------------------------------------------- For the next Karaoke session, proposing to be on 19 April 2008. That day , we shall convert the usual place in to a Lounge.
Plan , 1. Arrange the table and each table can have mixture of volunteers and elderly.The table should cover with presentable table cloth and pot of flowers . ( give you space to think ka from here ...) 2. Then we can have a bar counter for making coffee or tea ,cocktail,plate of fruit ... and to serve the drinks ( Kumari do you want to take up this duty , idea from Bazaar la), elderly has free flow of drinks. 3. Each table may have peanuts or fruit and everybody voulunteer on each table take turns to sing a song .
What do you think babes and hunks .
Not a april fool joke.
Regards, Hwee Seng |
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to hike around the island and as such, we bum-boat back to changi jetty, had lunch (so many famous Nasi Lemak Stalls but unfortunately, NO vegetarian food for some of our volunteers) 
and dismissal thereafter.
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