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Rainbow Connection - June 2018

Download our latest June issue of Rainbow Connection now to find out more about the June holiday events we have in store for you!

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Rainbow Connection - May 2018 Special Edition

Download to read our special edition copy of Rainbow Connection.

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A year of rainbows for our little ones with Micron Foundation

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As part of their Diversity and Inclusion efforts, Micron Foundation has adopted Club Rainbow (Singapore) [CRS] as one of the charity organisations to give back to community this year.  

An alignment in vision between Micron Foundation and CRS on enriching the community sees Micron supporting our mission of empowering families with children having chronic illnesses and special needs, to provide them an enriched and quality life. Teaming up with CRS Community Partnership, Micron was able to reach out to majority of our beneficiaries through the various events such as Celebrating Heroes in September and third edition of the upcoming Dreamseeds Arts Fest in November by offering many volunteer hands, warm hearts and big smiles.    

This year also marks the 40th anniversary of Micron Technology Inc., where hundreds of employees were invited to enjoy a night of celebration with the company in Sentosa. As employees filled up the foyer outside of the ballroom, they were invited to pen their well wishes for the company on pieces of coloured papers. These were then used to form a rainbow, inspired and in recognition of us, Club Rainbow (Singapore) their adopted charity, along with a donation drive.

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One other activity of Micron’s anniversary celebration was extending invitations to 42 of our beneficiaries and their families to enjoy an evening at the Universal Studios with them.

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We are very grateful and blessed to have Micron partnering with us, in choosing to support our little ones. Their valuable contributions to our organisation through volunteering efforts and monetary donation truly helped in many ways. 

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Happy Birthday, Club Rainbow (Singapore)!

This month, we celebrate our birthday and reflect on how far we come to be and couldn’t have been possible without the generous and kind donations from corporate and individual donors who have been supporting our cause for many years and more to come…

How to celebrate Club Rainbow’s birthday?

 
 

How did Club Rainbow (Singapore) came about?

Set up in 1992, Club Rainbow (Singapore) [CRS] is a non-profit organisation with a mission to provide compassionate relevant services to the families of children who suffer from a range of major chronic and potentially life-threatening illnesses.

Children in Club Rainbow range from new-born to youths up to the age of 20. Many of them require frequent hospital visits for treatment, complicated therapy and long-term medication. Club Rainbow works closely with KK Women’s & Children’s Hospital (KKH), National University Hospital (NUH) and the neonatal unit of Singapore General Hospital (SGH). On the recommendation of doctors, the children are referred to Club Rainbow for critical follow-up support.

Armed with the vision to be the leading service provider that meets the needs of these children and their families, Club Rainbow adopts a holistic approach to help our beneficiaries in 5 core aspects:

Financial Support

Emotional Support

Educational Assistance

Social Integration

Informational Resources

 We offer a variety of free support services to our beneficiaries in each core aspect, some of which include home and hospital counselling, tuition services, social integration programmes, bursary awards and educational seminars.

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DSAF Sneak Peek

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Marked your calendar?

Registered for the various workshops?

Fast forward to the week of Dreamseeds Art Fest 2018, visitors could attend and immerse themselves in the realm of Arts through the line up of creative workshops available such as Baby Beat, Paper Marbling, Immersive Storytelling, etc.  

So what are you waiting for?

A peek into the activities happening during the week…

The Dreamseeds Art Fest

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DSAF 2018 goes with the nature of being introspective with a contemplative eye.

The annual Dreamseeds Arts Fest(DSAF) presented by Club Rainbow (Singapore) (CRS), will take place on 17th November for a week-long of programmes till 24th November 2018 this year at the Aliwal Arts Centre.

The DSAF is a platform which offers our beneficiaries an opportunity to showcase their artistic imagination and creativity. The beneficiaries will put on performances and have their art works on display both solo and constellation of many art pieces brought together in harmony at the exhibition. This event is for families, art enthusiasts and collectors.    

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Felicia Lee from Programmes Development (PD) highlighted, ‘DSAF 2018 will take a more introspective and grounded, with works exploring themes of self-identity, personal memories and etc.’ The team also shared some insights of what will be happening at DSAF 2018, visitors to the event can expect to see more creative workshops through corporate and programme partners.  

Music Mentorship Programme (MMP) in collaboration with Thunder Rock School returns in line with DSAF 2018 where a group of CRS beneficiaries forms a multi-instrument band, together with their music mentors for a performance. Don’t miss the scene this November!

Last year, DSAF displayed about 132 new art works and attracted slightly over 900 visitors over the 8 days.

Follow DSAF 2018 on our Facebook and Instagram for updates and pictures of past events!

Talent Development Fund Insights

A peek into this year’s Talent Development Fund (TDF) shows an overall 15% increase in applications received as compared to last year with 55% coming from 2017 applicants, and for this year, we see at least 13% chose a new genre.

What is Talent Development Fund (TDF)_ The TDF is an annual reimbursement scheme by Club Rainbow Singapore (CRS) to recognise and nurture CRS beneficiaries’ non-academic talents and interests by moti (2).png
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Over the years, our Programmes Development (PD) team have been reviewing and curating workshops, allowing beneficiaries to discover and develop their interests. This year a number of new programmes were added as Annabel Lee of PD indicates their focus is to look beyond from just creative workshops to programmes that act as a bridge to allow beneficiaries to take their interest and pursue it as a possible career option. This will create an impact on the beneficiaries’ lives by helping them to identify opportunities for social integration, develop their capabilities and ultimately to be independent today and ready for tomorrow, the future that awaits them.

‘We have been proactively identifying beneficiaries who display great interest, potential to commit in pursuit of discovering and developing that area of interest.’ commented Annabel. She is also happy to share, ‘for those who did enrolled in courses, a good majority have been making significant progress.’

The PD team works closely with the Social Work Department (SWD) who identifies and assists in reaching out to beneficiaries whom they felt has potential in the Arts; Community and Partnership Marketing (CPM) supports by spreading the awareness of TDF.

The TDF application for 2018 is closed now; do keep a lookout for our next round of TDF next year!

Caregiver Workshops by Club Rainbow (Singapore)'s satellite centres at KKH and NUH

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During therapy sessions or classes is one of the times for caregivers to let down their hair and relax, take a little time to reconnect back to their well-being and having some ‘me’ time. Acting as a complement to our main facility downtown, both satellite fronts in KKH (Kandang Kerbau Hospital) and NUH (National University Hospital) do organise some interesting workshops for caregivers in the short given period.

Workshops are potentially run by caregivers themselves, activities dedicated for caregivers by caregivers. We see individuals coming to partake, learn a new skill and discover new interests together.

Pebble Painting by Miss Christine Yong (a friend of our beneficiary’s mother) at Agape Village.

Flower Hand Bouquet Workshop by Susan, a volunteer at KKH. On other occasions, she teaches painting to breast cancer survivors as a way for them to destress.

Dyslexia Awareness

The month of October is dedicated to Dyslexia across the globe.

What is Dyslexia? How does it affect a dyslexic daily?

Dyslexia is a type of specific learning difficulty identifiable as a developmental difficulty of language learning and cognition. It is a learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling. It can occur in people coming from all backgrounds and intellectual levels.

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What is so often taken for granted like going around with daily routines, a simple act such as taking a newspaper to read could prove to be a daunting task for a dyslexic.

Based on an international research conducted and shared by Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS), dyslexia affecting Singaporeans falls within the international range of 4% to 10% of the population. It is a lifelong condition with no cure because it is not a disease but with the appropriate reading specialist and therapeutic trainer, a dyslexic can successfully learn to read (and even to spell). It is a condition that does not limit one’s success in life as supporting organisations of Dyslexia around the world shows a strong link between entrepreneurs and dyslexia.  

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Today in Club Rainbow (Singapore), about 1% of our beneficiaries diagnosed with dyslexia are recommended by doctors through our satellite offices in KKH (Kandang Kerbau Hospital) and NUH (National University Hospital). Through the efforts of our teams from Social Work and Client Services, beneficiaries will have access to different types of therapy and our core services depending on their overall medical condition. Cases of dyslexia without other chronic or rare illnesses will be referred to Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS).

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Sources: Dyslexia Association of Singapore, Austin Learning Solutions, Dyslexic Advantage

Event Review : Celebrating Heroes

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Children scrambling for a seat and parents settling down in the hall, what better way to end the beautiful closed-door event of Celebrating Heroes (CH), than with the Disney movie – Moana.

This year’s installment of CH held at Enabling Village, an integrated, all-accessible community space, welcomed beneficiaries and their families, volunteers, Council members and staff coming together to recognise and salute the 7 tireless caregivers and siblings for their unfaltering energy and determination with their loved ones on the journey of chronic illnesses and special needs.

Overcast with showers in the early morning which subsided slightly past 9 am, a sigh of relief superseded with excitement as it was just in time for the team to complete the final set up of the event site and to prepare for the commencement of the celebration of our beneficiaries’ (super) heroes in their lives.

Eric Teo (CRS Council Member) on the left, Teo Siang Loong (Executive Director, Programmes Development) and Amit Malik (Sub-Committee Member) on the right joining in the fun stretching.

To kick-start the event, the audiences were called to stand and join in some morning stretches, relaxing their muscles and warming themselves slightly in the cool weather. After introductions done by the emcee, all recipients of the Exemplary Caregiver Award (ECA) were invited up on stage for the sharing session, where we had the pleasure of having Miss Annette Chua who was an award winner from CH2017 to participate in the forum as a moderator and contributor.

The awardees and Annette were able to exchange their experiences as caregivers with the audience who benefited from the sharing. Catching up with Annette after the event, she expressed “I feel very inspired by this year’s winners as they have gone beyond the boundaries as a caregiver to give their time and energy in taking care of a person who is of no relation to them. It’s just amazing how big their hearts are. It’s truly an act of big love!”

Annette also pointed out that apart from the challenges faced by caregivers, beneficiaries and their families, they do need to feel as part of the community too. She calls for the public to come together as supportive and inclusive oneness.

For this year, we have added a new award category - Exemplary Sibling Award (ESA) to recognise the siblings who also played an important role in our beneficiaries’ everyday life.

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““It is particularly heartening to see some of the awardees, who are children of Club Rainbow (Singapore) themselves, displayed the unwavering spirit and perseverance to care for their siblings. They are our real-life superheroes who should be a motivation to all.”

Teo Siang Loong, Deputy Executive Director/Head of Programmes Department”

Being a beneficiary of CRS himself did not stop Muhammad Saifullah Bin Ghazali from stepping up as a responsible elder brother to his sibling who was affected by a neurological disorder. Apart from clinching the ESA, he was also awarded the Admirable Award for his strength and determination.

We need….
4 hugs a day for survival, 8 hugs for maintenance and 12 hugs a day for growth

Our own little way of giving hugs to the caregivers and siblings is by dedicating this day of celebration to them, sharing their stories, spreading their positivity and strength to all out there who are feeling despondent and in challenging situations; letting them know that ‘You Never Were Alone’.  

Whilst caregivers were having a respite break, sitting back and enjoying the immersive sharing session, picking up useful tips along the way, a collaboration with NTU Operation Hope saw a room setup with various inclusive game stations like Stick-Tac-Toe, Where’s my match?, Test your strength, Bin the bag, Super Launcher, Matric Maze for the beneficiaries.

Besides these game stations, children were also seen bouncing away happily on the bouncy castle and having their go at the outdoor sport games, some of the many fringe activities that brought smiles and laughter to faces of the little ones and those young at hearts.

A couple of CRS partners like Shatec, Speech Academy and Karate had booths to present their programmes, services and trial lessons by Karate.

Looking back on the last CH event, we saw the number of families coming forward doubled at this year’s CH. According to Programmes Development (PD), out of a total of 570 attendees, 105 were our beneficiaries, accompanied by 310 other family members as compared to 82 beneficiaries and 158 family members from CH 2017. Organisers of the event, both Khloe Lee and Tay Zhizhong from PD were happy that the event went as planned and shared their sentiments, ‘This year’s event ended with the highest turnout of beneficiaries ever recorded for a Celebrating Heroes event. We had a total of 105 beneficiaries who attended the event this year. Overall, parents were satisfied with the activities that were provided for them and the kids’ said Zhizhong and with Khloe adding on, ‘It was nice to see the families gather together and enjoying the activities planned for them. The stories of our award winners are also inspiring and refreshingly positive.’

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In ensuring there were ample serving hands for the event, we had a pool of committed volunteers, many from Micron, NUS, NTU, and SMF came forward as befrienders and to help out in various areas. As the saying goes, ‘Many hands make work light’, thus, we like to take this opportunity to extend our thanks to all who took time from their other priorities to support and celebrate the event with us.

Some of the many happy faces captured during the event!

Do check out CRS website, Facebook or Instagram for the write ups and videos on the inspiring journeys of our 2018 ECA and ESA winners.

Giving Back to Community

Giving and sharing is the best and beautiful thing in our life. I wish to try my best to help other people till my life ends. - Edmund Lee

Giving and sharing is the best and beautiful thing in our life.
I wish to try my best to help other people till my life ends. - Edmund Lee

Mr Edmund Lee, a familiar name to many parents over the years who will stand to attest his patience, gentleness and confidence assuring presence during the cycling lessons when they visit his humble bike shop in Queen’s Road with hopeful hearts of having brave little riders at the end of the training sessions.

Edmund was chanced upon by our team during one of our door-to-door promotion exercise for Ride for Rainbows (RFR) annual event. It was the first time Edmund heard about CRS and yet both he and his wife opened their hearts to hear us out as we explained more about our organisation and the beneficiaries. Almost immediately, he felt connected and the call to support our little ones through RFR.

When asked of his strong beliefs about CRS, he replied “Children are our future, our hope. I believe we should try to support families who have children with special needs because apart from the medical conditions, families are also faced with many challenges brought about through such a situation. I am very glad that CRS is a platform offering various kind of support to these families and I definitely give my utmost support.”

A father of 3 children, aged 23, 25 and 29, Edmund had the privilege to experience childhood blissfulness with love from his parents and 6 siblings, without any illness or disability. Through his growing years, he understood that not everyone has the same privilege when affected by medical conditions. This made him more conscious of families who are in need and to include the notion of giving back to community as part of his life in the later years.

In the past he was very much focused on supporting his family, spending a lot of time on his work life which left him little or no time for any community service. Now with his children all grown up and independent, he is taking the opportunity to kick off his plans for volunteerism even before retirement, striking a balance between both fronts. While we work hard to provide our children with a better quality of life, Edmund feels that we should consider supporting non-profit organisations like CRS who helps children with chronic illnesses and needy families lead a more enriching life. And he wants to use his own network to help as many as possible. “After all, life is very short.” says Edmund.

“The contribution by each individual is small as compared to that of an organisation. However, even if it’s a small effort, it should be meaningful” commented Edmund. As an avid cyclist himself, he finds that RFR resonates with his profession and what he has been looking for in community service. He participated in RFR 2018 for the first time. Using his years of network, he managed to garner slightly over $14K for the fundraising event, emerging as one of the top fundraisers for the event.

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Club Rainbow (Singapore) likes to thank Edmund and many other long-time supporting individuals who have been with CRS for many years.

You can support Edmund in his fundraising effort for Club Rainbow (Singapore) by clicking here. 

Celebrating Heroes

Once again, Club Rainbow celebrates the silent heroes who have been supporting their love ones or charge tirelessly as they set forth through each day, living life as fully as possible. This year at Celebrating Heroes, a new award was introduced, th…

Once again, Club Rainbow celebrates the silent heroes who have been supporting their love ones or charge tirelessly as they set forth through each day, living life as fully as possible. This year at Celebrating Heroes, a new award was introduced, the Exemplary Sibling Award. This award recognises the efforts and contributions of the siblings of our beneficiaries who have given their time and unconditional love against all odds.

Read on as we share the meaningful journeys of the Exemplary Caregiver Awardees and experiences of the Exemplary Sibling Awardees, our inspiring young heroes!