Uphold the spirit of our pioneers and inspire others to serve

Chairman of Youth Corps Advisory Committee, MOS Desmond Lee
CEO of the National Youth Council, David Chua
Youth Corps Leaders
Proud parents and friends of our Youth Corps Leaders
Ladies and Gentlemen

A very good afternoon to all of you, and it is great to join you today for this special event – our very first commencement ceremony for our Youth Corps Leaders. 

1. We started this idea of a Youth Corps two years ago, and we were motivated by the idea of having a volunteer youth movement, and a volunteer corps that would provide many more opportunities for young people to give back to the community. We want our youth, with their energy, idealism and passion, to go forth and change Singapore, change the world.
   

2. When we started the call for volunteers, we were not sure how many people would respond. All of you stepped forward as the pioneer batch of Youth Corps Aspirants, and it seems like only yesterday that I met all of you at OBS during your induction programme. Today you are now full-fledged Youth Corps Leaders, ready to make a big difference in our society. We are proud of all of you, and congratulations once again.
   

3. I want to thank all of the people here that have walked with you during your journey in the Youth Corps, and the many people that have helped to make this possible. I am glad to see many parents here, and I am sure that many of you are proud of what your children have gone through. Everything that they have gone through in the last year has made a deeper impact in their lives, and they are ready to make a difference in the community.

4. I also want to thank all of our Youth Corps staff, our OBS mentors and our community partners. All of you have been working tirelessly to put together a very meaningful programme. Thank you very much.
   

Building relationships within communities and within your cohort

5. To our Youth Corps Leaders, I know that your journey in the Youth Corps has allowed you to make a positive difference in many lives. And listening to your sharing, I know that your lives have been enriched by relationships you've developed with the individuals and communities that you have interacted with. In the Lakeside community, some of you were involved in a community garden project. You met Madam Ho, whose husband of 20 years had passed away. Together with other senior citizens, Madam Ho became a community gardener, but she chose to keep to herself. Over time relationships also grew, and Madam Ho began to speak enthusiastically with people she meets about her shrubs and flowers. She takes immense pride in the garden. I understand that Madam Ho even treats one of you, Shaun, like her grandson! Shaun can't be here with us today, as he's helping with the National Day Parade preview today as a guide. Nonetheless, he previously shared this with us:

   “I was there to teach her (Madam Ho) how to take care of the garden. She taught me how to nurture relationships.”
   

6. Shaun thought that he was giving back to a beneficiary, but in fact he was also learning from the process. Another team embarked on a project for four to six year-old kids from Lakeside Family Services Centre. The project was to help children develop and interest in learning English. The team started a programme called “Little Learning Club”, and partnered with a student volunteer club from ITE. I understand that the project was not very easy, and that the student volunteers from ITE were not very prepared for their first engagement with the kids. Many didn't have prior experience with kids. However, with encouragement and effort put in by the Youth Corps Leaders, the student volunteers grew more confident and enthusiastic. The kids too started to take to their elder “brothers and sisters”, who introduced them to new ways of learning English, and organised fun activities for the kids. At the mini-graduation ceremony when the kids went on stage with the student volunteers, many were seen holding on to their big brothers' and sisters' hands firmly, as if not wanting to let go. In fact, many parents shared that their children were upset at having to leave only after 90 minutes of the “Little Learning Club”. It shows how much effort the Youth Corps Leaders have put in to connecting with the kids and the student volunteers, and into building a connection between family members and the community.

7. These are just some examples of the impact and contributions that all of you have made throughout Singapore and even overseas. The experience you have had is immeasurable, and I'm sure you have learned a lot. More importantly, you have impacted many lives wherever you have been, and I hope that this has been a very meaningful journey for all of you.

8. I'm also glad that you have built strong relationships with your community partners. For example, one team worked with YMCA to install solar panels in a village school and clinic in Laos. YMCA had much praise for the team members, let me just read out a few of them:
   

   
   a. “Ramona interacted well with local communities and made them feel at ease with foreigners' presence”;
   b. “Audric took the initiative to unload the heavy solar panels”; and
   c. “Shi Han is meticulous and responsible, and would get the minutes of meeting ready right after meetings, allowing the team to be kept updated on progress.”
   

9. I want to thank you all for being such good ambassadors for the Youth Corps, and getting the Youth Corps off to a good start! The goodwill and reputation you have built will pave the way for the success of the Youth Corps.

10. Of course, it's not just the relationships you've built in our communities or with our community partners. The bonds of friendship between all of you are also very strong. You joined the programme as strangers, from different backgrounds and age groups, but coming together as part of the Youth Corps has brought all of you together.

11. During this journey, some of you have gone through difficult times. For instance, one team was working with Sunlove Home for the intellectually infirmed, and a couple of patients had trouble recognising the team even after repeated engagements. Other patients were not too enthusiastic during initial engagements. I can imagine that this might be discouraging and demoralising, but you all supported each other as teammates, and together you persevered. Shobana was elated when a particular patient, who was usually glum and indifferent, got off the bus, recognised the team, and smiled. It might seem like a small gesture, but it made an impact on the whole team as their repeated efforts had paid off. These are the efforts that all of you have given to the community, and I'm sure that it has made you even more motivated to want to serve.

12. I understand that you all have stood by each other through thick and thin, including many late night meetings.  Celebrating tiny successes and sending notes of encouragement have brought you all closer. In her blog, one of the Youth Corps Leaders, Shermaine, shared how her perspective has changed through her time in the Youth Corps, and she wrote in her blog:

    This year with Youth Corps has taught me more than resilience and the value of love. It has also shifted my outlook in the possibilities that can come with a great deal of compassion and dedication. When I think of us collectively, I am confident that a small group of people with great love can change the world.

Providing youths with a wider range of volunteering opportunities

13. This is precisely what the Youth Corps is about. All of you coming together as Youth Corps Leaders, believing that you can change Singapore for the better, and change the world for the better. As the pioneer batch of Youth Corps Leaders, you have set the tone and benchmark for future batches of the Youth Corps. We will continue to step up the programme, inducting new batches of Youth Corps Aspirants every year. We want the Youth Corps to be a national movement for youth volunteers, and would like to see more youths coming forward to serve. 

14. We know it's tough and challenging to be a Youth Corps Aspirant. Each of you has devoted a few hundred hours on training, meetings, and engagements over the last one year. It's a big commitment, and this is in addition to your daily demands, be it at the workplace, in school, or at home.

15. In addition to the one-year Aspirant journeys that we will continue to run, we will provide more bite-sized volunteer opportunities that all young people can participate in. These opportunities might range from a one-time event, such as this afternoon's event where 100 Youth Corps members spent time with more than 70 beneficiaries from our community partners here at Gardens by the Bay, to regular volunteering opportunities, for example weekly reading sessions with children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

16. We are planning a whole series of volunteer opportunities throughout the year, where more people can join the Youth Corps. Hopefully in the process committed ones like all of you may sign up for the Youth Corps Leaders Programme. There will also be opportunities to volunteer at meaningful events, like the National Para Athletic Championships that will take place just next month. At the end of the year we are also hosting the ASEAN Para games. There are many other events that we can leverage to create volunteer opportunities, and we will do so to encourage more people to join the Youth Corps and volunteer.

17. We want the Youth Corps to be a national youth volunteer movement. Every youth can join the Youth Corps as a member and sign up for these volunteer opportunities. So encourage your friends to sign up, especially those who are too busy to go through the one-year Aspirant journey but want to do their bit to serve the community. Over time if they are interested and have the passion for it, they may be prepared to take on bigger volunteering commitments.

18. NYC hopes that we can grow the Youth Corps, and we hope that we can count on your support to help make it happen. As the pioneer batch of Youth Corps Leaders, you're in a position to help us grow and shape the development of the Youth Corps. As we have more people joining the Youth Corps, we will need people to lead them, organise them, and mentor them. As Youth Corps Leaders, you are uniquely qualified to do this, and we hope that you will pay it forward, continue to serve as leaders and mentors to succeeding generations of Youth Corps members.
    

Upholding the legacy and spirit of our pioneers

19. I would like to add that it is very special that all of you are graduating as Youth Corps Leaders in this year of our Golden Jubilee, our SG50 year where we celebrate Singapore's 50th year of independence. There is a lot to give thanks and celebrate for, because of what our Pioneer Generation has done and sacrificed. They have worked very hard to build our nation. And what we can achieve over the next decades, what we will celebrate at SG100 depends on what our youth – the pioneers of our future – do today.

20. As Youth Corps Leaders, do continue to uphold the legacy and spirit of our pioneers, and set an example for your peers and others from your generation. We saw this during Mr Lee Kuan Yew's Lying-in-State in March. I was encouraged to see Youth Corps aspirants coming forward with the idea of distributing drinks to those who were queuing at the Padang for hours under the hot sun. Your actions inspired many volunteers to join in the effort. If you continue to serve the community, others will follow in your footsteps and play their part in making Singapore a better place.

21. Lastly, let me once again congratulate the pioneer batch of Youth Corps Leaders – well done, we are very proud of you. Keep serving, keep that motivation and passion to serve, and be an inspiration to the people around you. Congratulations and have a great evening ahead!