PARK $2 Project (P2P)

It has been a fulfilling week for me. I got to know of 2 charity initiatives (Saturdays at Lengkok Bahru and Caring Singaporeans Outreach Group) and I tried to render some support for these 2 projects by appealing for volunteers and sponsorship. I am not affiliated to these 2 initiatives (don't want to steal their credits) but I thought their cause is meaningful and we should all support and encourage such initiatives to bring kindness and love to the less fortunate members of our society. I am also very touched by the generous and warm response from my friends, who rally to offer their time, effort and donations to help out in the events organized. I am very proud to have such kind friends like them, it further reinforce my belief that I have found the right people to join me in this lifelong kindness journey.

The past one month has been nothing short of exposure to the charity work for me and I come to realize that in order for any charity movement to be successful, there are two important components; volunteer support and funding. The volunteers are the vital resources to keep things running smoothly on the ground and the organizing committee will not able to complete a successful event without them. The second important resource for any charity projects is funding, this is the area I would like to further elaborate, especially after what I have observed for the past one month.

When I browse through the cases in "Keeping Hope Alive", I am reminded that this resource is clearly essential because the beneficiaries are in need of diapers, mattress, groceries, fridge, wheelchairs and money to pay outstanding bills. Fion and her team of volunteers have done an excellent job in helping to clean the houses of the beneficiaries, keeping them clear of bed bugs and stench. The rest is dependent on kind donors to sponsor the basic necessities that the beneficiaries need. Without them, the beneficiaries will continue to face challenges in their everyday lives.

I come to realize that funding is one big headache facing all the organizers of such charity drives. We can appeal and there will be generous friends who step out and donate in hundreds of dollars but I feel that this approach is not sustainable. How long can one consistently donate $200 every month to charity? I believe most of us belong to the middle income household and some of us are breadwinners working on a tight household budget. If we were to depend on a few person to donate in generous amount to help the beneficiaries, these donors would soon exhaust their own budget. However, if we can get many people to donate a small amount, say $2, at a minimum interval of once a month in between donations, I believe that is more sustainable in the long run. While some people may dismiss $2 as an insignificant amount, it can mean so much to the beneficiaries, it can buy a loaf of bread or some food to keep a person from starving. With the intended multiplier effect of many donors, we are looking at possibly $20, $200 or even $2000. I believe this amount would go a long way in providing happiness, hope and support for the needy families.

"PARK $2 Project (P2P)" aims to share with you what are the ongoing charitable initiatives and the support required from the organizers. Members of P2P can come together to leverage on the multiplier effect to do more with less (pool together a huge sum of donation through minimal contribution each by getting many friends involved) and help the less fortunate members of our society. On behalf of the organizers and beneficiaries, I thank you for your kindness and support for our group. Thank you for bringing joy, love and hope to the lives of the needy, poor and less fortunate friends of our society.

My Amazing Young Friend, Derek Lim

I was chatting with a new friend on FB last night and he shared with me that he has been volunteering for the past 2 years plus and enjoying every moment of this meaningful experience. We talked briefly about my kindness project and he also shared that he is trying to spread positivity and kindness on his FB wall. Out of curiosity, I went to check out his wall and I am really amazed by what he has been been doing for past 2 year plus, all the way back to 2011, when he first joined FB.

His wall is filled with positive and uplifting comments, articles, pictures that encourages happiness, kindness, positivity and compassion. The well wishes he shared for the world, the good things he has done for the less fortunate, the willingness to reach out to help another fellow human being, make me feel that he has so much love inside him. He really earns my respect for what he has done for this world and the people around him.

I found the most amazing discovery when I scrolled to the very end of his wall and saw his birthday, 22 May 1995. OMG! As of today, he is only 18 years old, which also means that he started proactively giving love to the people around him when he was 16 years or even younger. He may be so young, but his maturity and compassion level has far exceeded many peers of his age. I wondered how many good things I have done when I was a 16-year-old. The future is bright for him and if he can influence more of his peers to be like him, I am sure we are going to have a new generation of kind, caring and compassionate leaders.

I thought I should share some of the amazing comments I read on his wall:

"since christmas day is coming soon and our o level results are too.i thought that i should start giving a daily prayer and blessings to all my friends.i really wish you all have a great christmas week this week and i also pray that you all will get good results for o level.i know you all will do well.i hope this cheers somebody up.thx."
-Derek, Dec 2011

"Actually Derek, which course are you entering? I've seen you helping so many other people ranging from many different course yet I've not known yours. Lol."
-Troy Tay, March 2012

"Hope every one in polys will have a wonderful beginning to their studies in poly i also hope that everyone will have lots of happy moments in poly good luck to everyone"
- Derek, Apr 2012

"Since mother's day is tomorrow ,Happy Mother's Day to every mother in the world i hope that everyone's mother will be blessed with wonderful health,luck and love i hope that everyone's mother will be happy and will have a great day tomorrow for mother's day i hope that all of their wishes will come true and they will have more wonderful and sweet moments in their lives with their lovely family and friends i hope that every mother in the world will have lots of special,awesome and beautiful memories to gain in the future in their lives"
- Derek, May 2012

"Sometimes, the most happiest moments in our life is when we give that magical touch to another's person life which brightens up their lives even more"
- Derek, Oct 2012

"The best feeling in the world is to see someone smile"
- Derek, Nov 2012

"I wish that everyone who is feeling down or sad now, will cheer up i wish that everyone won't feel down or sad anymore and that they will be very happy and smiling ^^ i wish that everyone will have a wonderful and meaningful day today with lots of happiness and smiles ^^ Be Happy always ^^ jiayou to everyone in their projects,studies and assignments you can do it ^^ all the best ^^ "
- Derek, Jan 2013

"My wish is to have a chance to start a project to help the needy, children or elderly in the world!"
- Derek, Jun 2013

"Learn baking so that I can bake cupcakes, muffins and many more food for the needy elderly, children and families as well as for all of my friends so that they will be very happy hopefully, one day, I can learn how to bake"
- Derek, July 2013

"I volunteered to spent the whole afternoon with special needs kids and interact with them they are so so so sooooooooooooooo cuteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee and so funnnnnn! I love kids! ^^ we should respect everyone for who they are even if they have intellectually disabilities or any form of disabilities Today was so so so meaningful because not only I get to interact with them and make them happy! but ii also learnt the great importance of accepting people's differences and respecting who they are everybody is unique in their own ways! ^^ This puts a new belief in my life and encouraged me to spread more love and happiness to everyone around me!"
- Derek, Sep 2013

"Bless those who doesn't have a family or loved ones to spent time with during the holiday seasons (Christmas and New year) this year with lots and lots of happiness, love and smiles! Bless those who also have problems during this holiday seasons with lots and lots of happiness, love and smiles! I wish that all of them will be able to enjoy the holiday seasons a lot this year and that they will be very happy!"
- Derek, Dec 2013

Instead of wishing for an ipad, a new phone, a branded school bag or more allowance to indulge in fun, food and play, Derek is wishing for less suffering and more joy to the people around the world. Instead of spending time in arcade centers, movie theaters, Derek is spending his time volunteering in elderly homes, children homes and bringing joy to the beneficiaries. That says so much about the character of this young man. Well done, Derek Lim ! I am proud to have you as a friend and hearten to see so many amazing things you have done. I hope to meet you to do something meaningful together, someday. Cheers !

[Reflection] First Volunteer Activity after 7 years

Today is a day that I have been looking forward to because I am going to do something which I have procrastinated for a long time. More than 3 years ago, I signed up as a member under a Volunteer Portal called SG Cares, which provides ad hoc volunteering activities, for busy Singaporeans who are unable to commit to volunteering on a regular basis. However, a combination of timing mismatch, lack of interest from my circle of friends and procrastination meant that I have not signed up for a single activity under SG Cares since then. The reason I always give myself is the same, "There's something more important to do that particular day". Deep down, I have always missed the good old days of active volunteering during my undergrad studies.

One of the reason of setting up PARK and starting my kindness journey is to tell myself that if I can't find time or motivation to do volunteer work, let me do something meaningful instead of doing nothing at all. Therefore, I made it a point to start from the very basic, the very small things that I think I definitely can do. It is also another way of building momentum towards bigger things to come. When I open my heart to kindness, more opportunities start to pour into my life, starting from the simple acts of kindness that I can do everyday, to the volunteer opportunities with 'A Packet of Rice', 'Willing Hearts', 'Caring Singaporeans Outreach Group', 'Keeping Hope Alive' and Lovorth's '12 Days of Christmas' Project. Every opportunity gets me excited and motivated to be involved.

I am amazed by how far kindness has taken me and I believe I am only seeing the tip of the iceberg. In this journey, I met amazing people who have so much love for this world and have stepped out to make a difference for their cause. They are the ordinary people who do extraordinary things and their spirit of giving is truly inspirational. Looking back, if I had not started my journey of giving kindness, I guess I would still be procrastinating about when I am going to start my volunteering journey and soon, many 3 years would have passed and I achieved nothing, with a large part of my life gone. Whether I become an active volunteer (I hope I do) or not, the mission of embracing kindness and proactively giving kindness must go on.

It is my biggest wish that you, my friend, can join me in proactively giving kindness, because you will soon realize that it is one of the best thing you have ever done in your life. This journey will bring you happiness, satisfaction, meaning and purpose and I am sure you will not live to regret it. My humble advice is always to start small and over time, you can accomplish big things!