SMU was presented the Community Partnership Excellence Award at the People’s Association Community Spirit (PACS) Award 2019 ceremony held in November 2019. This is the fourth consecutive year that SMU has been honoured with this prestigious community service award.

The award is a recognition of SMU’s continued leadership in driving sustainable projects and collaborations with community partners, as well as the significant contributions made in community service. It also recognises the strong partnership SMU has established with Central Singapore Community Development Council (CDC), to serve and provide for needy beneficiaries.

The award bears special significance because it is based on the nomination and recommendation by PA’s internal selection committee.

Recipients’ contributions are based on five main areas: (a) Volunteerism Philosophy and Commitment; (b) Community Bonding and Outreach; (c) Sharing and Caring for the Community; (d) Impact and Multiplier Effect on the Community; and (e) Quality of Partnership.

Dean of Students, Prof Paulin Straughan, together with several staff from the Office of Dean of Students, received the award on behalf of the University at a ceremony held on 20 November 2019 at One Farrer Hotel.

The award takes into account SMU’s involvement in numerous community projects and partnerships made in 2018. This included the University’s signature charity event, SMU Challenge. The nine-month long event, which involved numerous fundraising efforts and outreach activities for targeted beneficiaries, culminated with Sport-A-Cause, a day-long sports fiesta where participants enrolled in mass yoga and Zumba sessions, as well as a fun run. In total, SMU Challenge raised $10,000 for its main beneficiary, Mountbatten Vocational School.

SMU student volunteers were also involved in several Purple Outings and engaged with beneficiaries from Mountbatten Vocational School, Special Olympics and Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities. At Purple Parade 2018 - Singapore’s largest movement to support inclusion and celebrate the abilities of persons with special needs - 130 SMU staff and students, including student volunteers from SMU Challenge and Prinsep Street Residents (PSR), took part in a march past together with friends and families of the Prader-Willis Syndrome support group. Students from PSR had previously attended an awareness talk by a spokesperson of the disease, which is a rare genetic disorder.

Several members of SMU Chinese Orchestra (SMUCO) also performed at the parade, as part of The Purple Symphony (TPS) showcase. TPS comprises musicians with and without special needs and serves as a platform for musicians to learn and share music with one another, and more importantly embrace the spirit of inclusiveness and excellence when performing collective. SMUCO has been a part of TPS since their inception in 2015.

SMU remained committed to community service and in 2019 partnered extensively with Central Singapore CDC’s community arts groups on a number of arts platforms. These tapped on Central Singapore CDC’s Do-Good-Grant, which supports arts initiatives and community collaborations, collectively termed “Arts with Heart”.

One prime example was during the 2019 SMU Arts Festival where SMU Chamber Choir trained and performed with seniors from Silver Stars @ Kelantan RC Choir, while SMU Samba Masala played alongside Community Drumming Network during the well-received festival opener. A visual arts exhibition also saw SMU Artdicted, SMU Literati and SMUSAIC interact closely with merchants from Bras Basah Complex to tell their story through various visual art works. These pieces were showcased at The Substation Gallery.

Said Prof  Paulin Straughan: “Whenever the opportunity arises, we try to involve our students with the community so that it becomes almost second nature for them to want to give back. It is an extra honour that we have been recognised with this award yet again. It truly shows that we are on the right track in teaching our students to create meaningful impact in what they do.”