ANNUAL REPORT 2010 / 2011 - MINDS

NUS. The project groups banded together wherever possible to
jointly organise festive celebrations. During the year, Guillemard,
East Point and Basic Knowledge Training Group had a combined
Mid-Autumn Festival celebration with their beneficiaries and family
members, and several other project groups held a combined outing
to the Singapore Flyer, with over 100 beneficiaries for a day out at
Sentosa and the Underwater World.
Collaborations with volunteer groups and organisations within
and beyond MINDS
MINDS MYG also continued to strengthen partnerships with the
MINDS Caregivers Support Group (CSG) and external organisations
such as Special Olympics Singapore, HSBC and the Elderly Sector
Network (ESN). The partnerships led to more extensive sharing
of best practices in the areas of volunteer management and
recruitment, the organisation of special events such as a combined
health and dental check-up and a highly successful and fun-filled
Family Day cum CSG Anniversary Party which included hip-hop
performances from MINDS Towner Gardens School and the MINDS
Taiko Drums team.
Continuous Learning for Volunteers
Training continues to be a top priority to ensure that volunteers
are equipped to provide optimum learning opportunities for the
beneficiaries. Volunteers benefited from workshops conducted by
Special Olympics Singapore, which led to a mini-Special Olympics
where beneficiaries competed in bocce and floor hockey. Ms
Caroline Essame, a creative arts therapist who specialises in
human development and the healing arts was also engaged to
conduct a dedicated hands-on workshop for the volunteers.
FY 2011/12 WORKPLAN
• To provide a varied range of activities and learning
environments:
MINDS MYG will continue with community outreach
programmes and combined project activities. This year’s ACID
will evolve around adventure learning, with beneficiaries given
the opportunity to experience camping within a supervised
environment and a range of outdoor activities. Several
project groups would be organising overseas trips, venturing
to neighbouring countries with the clients, volunteers and
caregivers.
There will be partnerships with MINDS CSG, Special Olympics
Singapore and other organisations to jointly-organise learning
activities beyond the classroom setting.
• To equip volunteers with the requisite skill-sets and resources
to be even more effective friends and role-models:
In addition to sourcing for relevant courses for our volunteers,
MINDS’ allied health professionals have agreed to conduct
dedicated workshops for volunteers. A mentorship system will
be established where the more experienced volunteers would
provide guidance to newer volunteers. New volunteers would
also be required to attend combined volunteer orientation
programmes held quarterly.
• To foster strong cohesion between caregivers and volunteers
through regular dialogue sessions and cohesion activities:
Activities such as regular meet-the-parents sessions and
annual Chinese New Year home visits are instrumental in
fostering cohesion between parents and volunteers. There
will be conscious efforts to further strengthen the volunteercaregiver
link, and caregivers will be invited to participate in
special events such as project groups’ anniversaries, seasonal
celebrations and project-level annual camps.
MINDS ANNUAL REPORT 2010 / 2011 45