Community Service

Community Service awa members contributed over 1,900 volunteer hours last year

AWA’s Community Service supports 5 featured charity organizations where we’ve designed programs so members can choose from a variety of schedules and volunteer options. In this issue, we highlight Willing Hearts. Willing Hearts - 1 year in review Willing Hearts is AWA’s newest featured organization. Since the fall of 2018, AWA has been a constant presence in the kitchens at Willing Hearts, with volunteer shift opportunities that include mornings, afternoons and weekends. In that time, over 180 hours have been donated by AWA members as well as by their friends and family. Willing Hearts operates a soup kitchen that prepares, cooks and distributes approximately 6,000 daily meals to over 40 locations islandwide, 365 days a year. Beneficiaries include the elderly, the disabled, low-income families, children from single parent families or otherwise poverty stricken families, and migrant workers in Singapore (source:http://www. willinghearts.org.sg/about-us/)

AWA members in the Willing Hearts kitchen

T his amazing organization does all this with the work of a handful of big-hearted paid staff, and the rest is 100% volunteers. AWA members volunteer alongside people from across Singapore working with their own organizations, schools, offices, families or a group of friends. All who have volunteered their time have learned new ways to chop vegetables, marinate food, make dumplings, cook in giant woks and have seen the workings of a huge industrial kitchen. The kitchen aunties and uncles who are there nearly every day keep us occasional volunteers in line, and teach us the skills needed as we go along. Anytime we arrive, there is anticipation of what is to come. In the past 1.5 years, we have experienced

An example of some of the fresh food prepared at Willing Hearts

just about everything! Some days we arrive to get the jobs in the wet kitchen of cutting, marinating and prepping the protein to be cooked the next day. This is always busy and active, and often an interesting challenge to the senses. Otherwise we head out to the back area where there are rows of tables for chopping and shredding veggies for the next day's stir fry. It’s a slower pace and allows for chatting. The regular volunteers know when and where people are needed and keep people moving throughout the day. Working in kitchens is not clean work; all the clothes we wear that day (and sometimes our shoes) are thrown in the laundry when we get home. However, the reward far exceeds the messy clothes for the day. You will leave knowing without question that you made a difference in the lives of those less fortunate. Additionally, Willing Hearts shifts are a great way to get to know fellow AWA members. As you are busy preparing foods at your station, you can chat with your fellow volunteers, often exchanging stories of travel, expat life and home. You will definitely make new friends in the process. AWA schedules monthly shifts for members to gather and prepare food for those less fortunate. Let's get cooking!

For more information, please visit http://www.willinghearts.org.sg or email willinghearts@awasingapore.org.