NCSS 40-Under-40 I National Council of Social Service

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NCSS 40-Under-40

NCSS 40-Under-40 programme is a signature leadership programme that aims to empower young, promising social service sector leaders to contribute their voice in shaping the sector's future, build collegiality and leverage on new found connections to make change happen. This youth leadership programme provided a platform for 40 participants from diverse backgrounds across the public, private and people sectors to have exciting and meaningful exchanges on how they aspire and are committed to bring about social change.

NCSS 40-Under-40 Past Participants

Collaborative Stories

I am TechXplorer (2020)

Collaborators


David Hoe (2020)	Neo Hong Hong (2020)

Objective

To enhance students' readiness for online education and complement schools' cyber-wellness efforts.

How It Works

Equips Primary 5 students from disadvantaged backgrounds with essential digital skills, such as:

Laptop usage
Windows basics
Online applications for home-based learning
Touch-typing

Results

Feedback from parents indicated high engagement and enjoyment among participants, with some children even creating websites using Google Sites.

The Majurity Trust Maybank Momentum Grant (2020)

Collaborators


Charles Tan (2021)	Sharon Eng (2019)

Objective

To enable small, promising charities struggling due to Covid-19 pandemic to continue their work with communities-in-need, through capital and capability support, enabling them to build a greater ability to be self-sustaining.

How It Works

Singapore’s first-of-its-kind recyclable grant for charities was launched through this collaboration. The S$2 million Maybank Momentum Grant (MMG) provides capital support to small charities. An additional $2M was generously pledged by Maybank Singapore in 2022.
Charities are given up to a $150,000 flexible grant to support key personnel and organisational costs, capability building support, SME banking solutions and subsidised digital solutions to kickstart their organisational development and transformation efforts.
The grantee charities commit to paying the grant forward over a period of 5 years, beginning at the start of year 3.

Results

17 grantee partners have been awarded the grant since its launch. 13,275 beneficiaries have been collectively supported.
Overall, the grantee charities have strengthened their organisational capabilities and are on track to achieve financial sustainability, improving their abilities to serve beneficiaries better.
Of the 17 charities, 5 charities have gained IPC status, and 1 nonprofit has gained charity status. 4 more charities are working towards attaining their IPC status in the next 1-2 years. The first batch of grantee charities from the 2021 cohort has started to pay it forward with $70,000 in recycled funds accumulated so far.

“The support from Maybank Momentum Grant helped us to accelerate our fundraising team’s growth and learning. We now have a robust fundraising strategy that will help us better sustain the organisation and the work we do.”

– Asher Low, Executive Director, Limitless.
Limitless has since attained its IPC status, unlocking greater funding opportunities for their growth.

Digital Inclusion Programme (2021)

Collaborators


Francesca Wah (2020)	Neo Hong Hong (2020)

Objective

To build digitally inclusive communities to overcome the digital divide in Singapore through partnerships within the People, Private and Public sectors.

How It Works

The team works with schools to identify the lower-income students, and with IMDA’s support, provides stable internet access and laptops for these students.
Through partnerships with Corporates, workshops are conducted to build students’ digital literacy skills, e.g. teaching laptop operating skills and inculcating cyber-hygiene habits.
To elevate IT capacities in the community, youths are also trained as IT ambassadors, establishing interest groups to customise workshops according to community needs.

40-Under-40 x DBS Innovation (2021)

Collaborators


David Hoe (2020)	Felicia Chua (2020)

Objective

To drive deeper engagements between corporations and social services.

How It Works

Together with DBS staff (David Ding), a 2-day NCSS 40-Under-40 x DBS innovation workshop titled "Future of Social Services.” was designed and facilitated.
The workshop brought together 22 other social service agencies to collectively address problem statements and envision changes in IT for the social service sector.

Results

The workshop identified global trends, and charted individual journeys within those trends, igniting insightful discussions and advancement for the future of social services.

YMCA x Inclus Train & Place Programme (2021)

Collaborators


Anders Tan (2021)	Sharon Chan (2021)

Objective

To assist young adults with special needs in securing jobs in the hospitality and F&B industry.

How It Works

Through a partnership between YMCA and Inclus, young adults with special needs are developed holistically to prepare them for employment.
Inclus focuses on building soft skills (e.g. stress management and interview training), while YMCA builds the technical skills for the hospitality industry.
The programme also offers post-employment support, enrichment classes, and a supportive community for continuous assistance.

Results

The pilot has successfully evolved into a permanent programme, and is currently in its fourth run.
Over 20 hotels have been engaged, resulting in 30 successful placements.

YouMatter (2022)

Collaborators


Cho Ming Xiu (2019)	Phua Chun Yat (2019)	Felicia Chua (2020)

Objective

To empower youths above 13 years old to respond to challenges and become peer supporters.

How It Works

Through a localised outreach approach, YouMatter fosters a supportive community within the neighborhood.
Campus PSY collaborated with mental health partners, Samaritans of Singapore, Singapore Association for Mental Health, and SunCare SG to equip student leaders with mental health literacy and peer support skills.

Results

The programme had three successful runs, training student leaders from various secondary schools in the Punggol area.
Participants reported positive impacts, with 80% feeling their mental health literacy improved, 85% feeling more confident in supporting distressed peers, and 90% learning about community mental health resources.

Art Refresh (2022)

Collaborators


Mark Lin (2020)	Alicia Teng (2020)

Objective

To enhance health outcomes for cancer survivors experiencing cancer-related fatigue.

How It Works

6-week programme which utilises the arts as a means to engage and rehabilitate cancer survivors. The programme consists of visual arts, museum visits and group facilitation.

Results

Upon completion, participants had improvements across all Energy Restoration Attributes, with Connecting and Belonging showing largest percentage improvement of 11%, demonstrating the effective use of arts to create positive health outcomes.
Some participants even expressed a desire to volunteer with National Gallery Singapore, highlighting the impact they felt through arts.

Ray of Hope Locum Social Worker Team (2023)

Collaborators


Darryl Loh (2019)	Tan En (2019)

Objective

To convene inactive social workers who are keen to work on a freelance basis, and create a dedicated pool of locum social workers to address manpower constraints in the social service sector.

How It Works

Ray of Hope can find more beneficiaries and crowdfund for them, while keeping manpower costs low.
Once a sustainable pool of locum social workers has been created, this service may be expanded to other social service agencies in need of extra manpower to handle case loads.

Migrant Workers Community Health, Volunteer Training (2023)

Collaborators


Siti Zubaidah Yusoff (2022)	Charis Chan (2022)

Objective

To be a sustainable and permanent service provision for migrant workers and domestic helpers in Singapore to receive comprehensive care.

How It Works

Through a collaboration between SG Red Cross Society and SATA CommHealth, holistic care services are delivered to the migrant workers and domestic helpers in Singapore.
SG Red Cross Society provides mental health support, while SATA CommHealth focuses on providing rehabilitative care (i.e. physiotherapists and occupational therapists) to improve their overall well-being.

Animal Assisted Therapy for Stroke Survivors (2023) | Stroke Support Station (S3) and EQUAL

Collaborators


Ng Rei Na (2019)	Leong Sweet Ee, Sandra (2019)

Objective

To improve well-being and social-emotional communications of stroke survivors.

How It Works

Piloted in March 2023, 4 stroke survivors benefitted from the programme.
Clients connected with EQUAL’s canine partner, Teddy, and together we engaged in a variety of in-person and technology-facilitated workshops and discussions.
EQUAL designed a programme tailored to the access needs of stroke survivors who rely on various mobility aids.
As a group, clients practised perspective-taking, learned more about their own and others’ communication styles and preferences, and reflected on the experiences of providing for and accepting care from others.
Clients who had not opened up in prior S3 sessions were moved by the special presence of EQUAL’s canine partner to share more about themselves, reflections and struggles in the small-groupwork setting.

Results

Some of the qualitative feedback from S3 participants include:

“More comfortable with sharing in general.”
“(Experienced) Increase(d) love for others.”
“I learn how to care for others.”

Highlights

2022

From 19 – 21 September 2022, the signature youth leadership programme reinstated its 3D2N residential element at Changi Cove. 40 youth leaders from the social service, healthcare, public and private sector gathered at a serene sanctuary to learn, network, reflect on the sharing by guest speakers, and discuss issues at a macro level.

Themed ‘Forging A Better Future for All’, the programme was curated to take participants on a journey of (i) discovering self & community, (ii) seeking new insights and innovation and (iii) envisioning and building a better future.

Participants cherished the opportunities to hear personal and authentic sharing by prominent speakers such as President Halimah Yacob, Mr Eric Chua, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Ministry of Social and Family Development, Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin, Mr Philip Yeo and Mr Lien Choon Luen.