Following on from our previous post on Project Inspire, we met with one of the amazing volunteers from this project so she could share a little insight on her experience as a volunteer. Read on to find out more about how Christine Ho fits regular volunteering into her everyday schedule and how she feels inspired by Inspirational change makers right here in Singapore.

And don't forget its not too late to enter Project Inspire! Read our previous post here to find out more.

What made you decide to Volunteer for Project inspire?
-After moving to Singapore from Canada, I was seeking opportunities to get involved in the community and make an impact. Expatgiving provided a great platform to learn and connect with other local organizations and opportunities. With interests in innovation and social enterprises, I decided to apply to volunteer with Project Inspire. 

How long have you been volunteering for and how many hours a week do you give?
-After an interview with the Singapore Committee for UN Women, I've been volunteering as a Country Ambassador since February 2015. There is flexibility for volunteers to drive their activities, so time commitment varies. So far, it's ranged about 1-3 hours per week. 

What is you job role and main responsibilities? Can you talk us through a typical day at Project Inspire?
-The main objective of the role is to promote Project Inspire, grow our online community, drive project entries and provide support for the competition. Activities may include: training on launch materials, creating content for social media and articles about Project Inspire, attending local community events, networking and outreach to local applicants and groups, organizing satellite events. We also engage in ongoing discussions with the Project Inspire team and ambassadors around the world, sharing ideas and supporting each other. 

How does this volunteering experience benefit you? What skills have you gained from volunteering with project inspire?
I have enjoyed connecting with change makers in Singapore and around the world. Their passion is energizing and it's inspiring to hear about their experiences and how they're empowering others and catalysing socio-economic development. They have developed innovative solutions, from cleaner cook stoves and alternative energy sources to vocational training and jobs for disadvantaged youth to micro-enterprises run by women entrepreneurs. In addition to learning about international development and social enterprises, it's also been a great opportunity for me to further develop my social media and marketing communication skills. 

What advice would you give to others looking to volunteer for the first time?
Volunteering is a great way to meet and connect with others, learn new things and develop skills. Check out the diverse opportunities available through Expatgiving, and other groups or start your own initiative. Find causes that you're passionate about, be open-minded and willing to learn, flexible, and enjoy the experience! You are never too young or old to start volunteering and there are opportunities available for different interests and skills. Since high school, I've been involved with a variety of groups and activities, from climbing the CN Tower for a community fundraiser to organizing Engineers Week activities in the US to teaching English in Indonesia to building a house in Nepal. The possibilities are limitless and you have the power to make a difference in the world -take action today! 

Have an idea to change the world? Project Inspire is now open for applications until July 1st. Find out more at http://projinspire.com/ 

A special Thanks to Christine to take the time and share with us her inspiring thoughts on volunteering. 
As she mentioned, there are different volunteering opportunities suitable for everyone. To find out more about an opportunity that you could get involved in that could fit around your existing busy schedule, come and talk to us at our next Volunteering Orientation event! Find out more here

Do you have an inspiring or thought provoking story or experience you would like to share? If so please get in touch -we'd love to hear from you!

As images of devastation and tragedy in Nepal and neighboring countries affected by the earthquake pour across social media and TV, the natural question for many of us is "How can I help?"

Here at Expatgiving we have spent some time researching the charities and aid organisations to give you our views on some of the best ways to help. Although volunteering is a wonderful thing to be involved in, it is not always the best answer in such huge scale operations. 

A recent article in the Guardian shared an interesting view:

...Something that has been much discussed in the international aid community is the lack of coordinated response to the Haiti disaster. Ragtag brigades of well-intentioned do-gooders flooded the country: students, church congregations, individuals who had previously vacationed in the area, all clambering over one another looking for a way to make their mark and do good, but lacking either the skills or coordination to have an impact. Indeed, many ended up slowing down the aid efforts. There were even reports of teams of doctors who arrived to help but were unable to feed themselves. This wave of unsolicited and poorly planned shipments of untrained people and donated goods was dubbed by some humanitarians “the second disaster”...."

Read the full article here

Singapore Red Cross

It is reported that Singapore donated $1000,000 SGD to the Singapore red cross for aid. despite this huge sum it is still not enough, and is appealing for more donations:

“We are appealing to the Singapore public to help the affected people as they mourn their loss and begin to rebuild their lives. The Singapore Red Cross will channel the funds collected towards acute emergency relief and recovery assistance for the affected communities and the people who have lost homes and livelihoods,” said secretary general of SRC, Benjamin William.

The Singapore Red Cross office is operating extended hours to receive walk-in donors from. Members of the public can drop off donations at Red Cross House, 15 Penang Lane, Singapore 236486, from 9am to 7.45pm on Mondays to Fridays and 10am to 3pm on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.

There are numerous other ways to donate to the Singapore Red Cross, more details can be found here

Facebook

Facebook users have proven that the 'donate now' button on the site has been extremely powerful. Since this tool went live at the top of peoples feeds, more than half a million people have donated raising more than US$100 million in funds for International Medical Corps.

International Medical Corps is an organisation which 'Assists those in urgent need anywhere, anytime, no matter what the conditions, providing lifesaving health care and health care-related emergency services - often within hours"

International Medical Corps is deploying mobile medical units to provide emergency care and vital relief supplies, including medicine, hygiene kits, shelter materials, blankets and water purification supplies.

Unicef

The United Nation program dedicated to helping children in developing countries, is currently "mobilizing an urgent response to meet the needs of children" affected by the disaster, and is working to deliver water purification tablets, hygiene kits and nutrition supplies to those in need.

Donate via their website here

 Global Giving

GlobalGiving is a charity fundraising website that has set up a fund specifically for Nepal relief efforts. The money collected will go to “help first responders meet survivors' immediate needs for food, fuel, clean water, hygiene products, and shelter. Once initial relief work is complete, this fund will transition to support longer-term recovery efforts" run by vetted local organizations, according to a post on the GlobalGiving site. 

For more information, visit their website here

If you haven't done so already, we urge you to donate whatever you can to the Nepal crisis. As mentioned, these 4 organisations mentioned are just a small percentage of the many, many charities out there. 

Fundrasing events are also a great way to get the whole community together for a great cause, if you are holding an event then we'd love to hear from you!

Finally, from everyone here at Expatgiving, our thoughts are with the people of Nepal in this tragic and devastating time.