Owen Green and Sriharsha Sikhakollu eleventh grade Serving meals to housebound Singaporeans
Service Beyond SAS By C A R A D 'AVA N Z O Communications Writer While Singapore American School offers students myriad service opportunities through class projects, grade-level efforts, and service clubs, some students find ways to contribute outside of school. These students have joined community-based service groups or have independently spotted opportunities to fill a need. Especially during the COVID-19 period, when some school-based service options were modified or put on hold, these out-of-school service opportunities have provided a way to learn more about the wider community, maintain perspective, develop skills, follow a passion, and connect with new people in new surroundings, online or in person. We celebrate these students for following our core values while displaying initiative, independence, curiosity, and creativity as they contribute to wider communities and follow their passions!
55
JOURNEYS
W i n t e r
2 0 2 0
COVID-19 has affected us all with unprecedented inconveniences, and all the time we spent indoors over the summer break offered us an opportunity to think about how we can do our part in assisting those with less ability and freedom. After some research, Sriharsha and I found Touch Home Care, an offshoot of the Touch Community Services organization. The organization works with volunteers to deliver warm, healthy, free meals daily to elderly Singaporeans who are not able to leave their homes—especially during times like these. Every Sunday, Sriharsha and I sort, pack, and deliver meals across HDB apartments in Jurong West. Many Sundays we deliver upwards of 20 meals, sometimes splitting up to cover more ground when convenient. Sriharsha and I appreciate the direct nature of sorting and delivering meals, and so we have kept with it. Since school started, we have shifted from volunteering three times per week to once, every Sunday morning. We have delivered over 250 meals so far, and we hope to deliver 1,000 meals before we graduate!
Ella Boasberg twelfth grade Working at a soup kitchen Over the summer, my friend Emma Anderson and I worked at a soup kitchen for four hours every morning. Willing Hearts continued to prepare meals for delivery during the circuit breaker. The friendly aunties and uncles always greeted us with big smiles behind their masks, asked how we were doing, and dropped by to check on us while we were working. We especially enjoyed cutting vegetables outside and chatting with local Singaporeans as we filled baskets with green bean coins and sliced okra. Fellow volunteers included flight attendants, retirees, and office workers. Through our conversations with them, we learned about their lives and Singapore, and we gained a new appreciation for their dedication to the cause; some would come at 5:00 a.m. to work the morning shift before heading off to work. It was because of the friends we made that our last day of summer break at Willing Hearts was bittersweet. As we said our temporary goodbyes, one auntie clasped our gloved hands and remarked how much our cutting skills had improved and how she would miss seeing us. Emma and I had only been in Singapore one year, so Willing Hearts gave us the opportunity to interact with Singaporeans outside the SAS community and learn more about this country. We are so happy to have had the experience and can't wait to continue volunteering in our free time!
W i n t e r
2 0 2 0
JOURNEYS
56