Championing community service

• Supported by Pilot Pen (S) Pte Ltd, the Pilot Pen Community Champion Award aims to recognise outstanding contributions and dedication of SMU students in community service

• This is the first time that Pilot Pen (S) Pte Ltd has a collaboration of this nature with a tertiary institution in Singapore

• The Award is also unique because, of the various community services awards at SMU, Pilot Pen is the first company to present awards to four categories of community service programmes

“SMU’s emphasis on community service resonates with us at Pilot Pen Singapore, and closely aligns with the values and ethos of the company. We believe that a holistic education should include not just academic pursuit, but also character building, empathy for the needy, and giving back to society.

“We are happy that four very worthy SMU students have been selected to receive the inaugural Pilot Pen Community Champion Award today. I am confident that the partnership between Pilot Pen and SMU will yield fruitful results and positive long-term impact,” said Mr Tan Chin Huat, Managing Director of Pilot Pen (S) Pte Ltd.

Mr Tan made these remarks after he presented four SMU students with the inaugural Pilot Pen Community Champion Award at a presentation ceremony hosted by SMU Dean of Students Associate Professor Ong Siow Heng on 8 April 2015.

Supported by Pilot Pen (S) Pte Ltd, the Pilot Pen Community Champion Award aims to recognise outstanding contributions and dedication of SMU students in community service.

Four awards, one each to a beneficiary group comprising the Elderly, Persons with Disabilities, Youth-at-Risk, and Low-Income Families / Single-Parent Families, will be given annually to students who have made significant community service contributions and dedication towards social services to the local community at large.

This is the first time that Pilot Pen (S) Pte Ltd has a collaboration of this nature with a tertiary institution in Singapore. The Award is also unique because, of the various community services awards at SMU, Pilot Pen is the first company to present awards to four categories of community service programmes.

Pilot Pen (S) Pte Ltd has decided that starting 2016, the number of students recognised for their contributions to the four beneficiary groups would be increased to six.

Marcus Tan Chao Ming, a third-year student with Lee Kong Chian School of Business (LKCSB), received the award for the Youth-at-Risk category. In 2013, Marcus helped to mentor and tutor lower secondary students at Bedok View Secondary School who were academically weak. In 2014 and 2015, he and his team of volunteers partnered with Central Singapore Community Development Council to reach out to youths from low-income families living in rental flats in Redhill.

Receiving the award for the Low-Income Families/Single-Parent Families category was Jasmine Lin Qianru, a third-year student from School of Information Systems. In 2015, Jasmine initiated a project called SMU Chance in partnership with South East Community Development Council. Jasmine led the SMU team in distributing and installing energy-efficient light bulbs in the less-privileged families.

LKCSB year-two student Glen Lee Chin Teck was presented with the award for the Persons with Disabilities category. Glen has participated and organized numerous activities for the patients at the Institute of Mental Health, those suffering from leukemia, as well as children with Down Syndrome.

[Caption: Marcus Tan (top) and Fiona Lim (below) shared the local and overseas community service projects they led and participated in at the award presentation ceremony.]

Final-year student Fiona Lim Shi Hui from the School of Social Sciences received the award for the Elderly category. In 2014, Fiona was a project coordinator for a study on the needs of the elderly poor in Singapore at the Lien Centre for Social Innovation. As Vice President of SMU Rotaract Club, Fiona initiated projects with NTUC Eldercare Seniors Activity Centre, Down Syndrome Association and Rainbow Centre in 2012 and 2013. She also volunteers in her personal capacity with Willing Hearts soup kitchen in food preparation and distribution for needy elderly and low-income families, as well as with the Apex Club at Bukit Timah in distributing food to the elderly.  

Said Fiona Lim, “I am thankful and humbled to receive the award. I am also encouraged that Pilot recognises people who have a heart to contribute to the community. Through initiating community projects and volunteering, I have learned so much about the vulnerable groups in Singapore, their unmet needs and picked up new skills to help them. More importantly I learned that you cannot wait until there is a suitable time to volunteer or when you are fully equipped to volunteer. There will never be such a time. You are always in a position to contribute.

“My education at SMU has been made more meaningful because my time was not just spent developing the headware (knowledge and skills) but also my heartware (passion for the community). I am currently volunteering in my own capacity with Chong Pang CC where I give tuition to children from lower income families every Saturday as part of the Nee Soon Football & Study Programme. Volunteering gives me a sense of purpose and keeps me grounded. Being able to help others regardless of how little I have is immensely rewarding, that is why I volunteer and will continue to volunteer.”

Marcus Tan added, “I am proud to be a recipient of the Pilot Pen Community Champion Award. My overseas and local community service stints have benefitted me greatly by expanding my horizons and allowing me to appreciate the challenges faced by the less-privileged youths in Singapore and overseas, as well as to explore various ways to help them progress. Looking at the impoverished students in Thailand being so content with their lives even though they have to live with so little made me realise that happiness was more than just satisfying material needs. Looking ahead, I will continue to work with the SMU Soccer Team to ensure the sustainability of the SMU-Central CDC FreeKicks Programme for the coming year.”

[Caption: (3^rd & 4^th from left) SMU Dean of Students Associate Prof Ong Siow Heng, Mr Tan Chin Huat, Managing Director of Pilot Pen (S) Pte Ltd, and (extreme right) Mr Benjamin Teh, General Manager of Pilot Pen (S) Pte Ltd, with the award recipients (1^st & 2^nd from left) Jasmine Lin Qianru, Marcus Tan Chao Ming, (2^nd & 3^rd from right) Fiona Lim Shi Hui, Glen Lee Chin Teck.]