'Tis the season for giving

As the University vacation period began, groups of NUS undergraduates dedicated their time and efforts to play a part in making the holiday season a joyful one for some underprivileged communities.  

On 11 December, students from the NUS Science Volunteer Corps, in collaboration with Kraft-Heinz and international relief organisation Rise Against Hunger, hosted Pack-A-Meal. The event — a first of its kind in Singapore — saw some 200 students, staff and alumni sorting, weighing and packaging rice, grains and dried vegetables into a total of 80,000 packets of food meant for needy families in Cambodia and the Philippines. Each packet can provide food for up to six people.

A volunteer with some of the Singapore Cheshire Home beneficiaries

Closer to home, on 14 December, a group of students from the NUS Rotaract Club spent a day with the beneficiaries at The Singapore Cheshire Home — a rehabilitation home for the severely disabled. The 18 volunteers organised a special Christmas celebration, engaging the beneficiaries in a variety of games such as Christmas-themed Bingo, sing-a-long sessions and art-and-craft sessions.

"The beneficiaries looked happy and this experience taught me to be thankful for the small things in life," said Clarisse Gan, NUS Business Year 1 student and one of the volunteers at the event.

At the end of the event, the students also gifted each beneficiary with an event T-shirt and a goodie bag.