Community Heroes: Aged 16, I wanted to help kids from single-parent homes. Establishing credibility proved a challenge

I have been volunteering since young at old folk homes and charity flag days, and enjoy interacting with people from all walks of life.
In 2022, an ordinary volunteering gig at a family-day event changed the trajectory of my life.
I was talking to a single mother, whose husband had recently been imprisoned. 
With no familial support in taking care of her two children, she said that her life was burdened with endless financial and emotional struggles. 
She had with her at the time her timid and shy six-year-old daughter, who was too nervous to talk to those around her and would only meekly respond to questions. 
Her story struck a chord within me and I realised the struggles that many families face under the radar.
The encounter inspired me to start Ties of Love, a ground-up initiative that aims to support single parents and families. 
Our team, which also consists of my classmates Eva, Rashee, Sanvi and Zee Yann, started brainstorming ideas with the aim to make an impact. 
After some planning, we founded Ties of Love in 2023. 
As junior college (JC) students, we started off passionately, hoping to use our youth to our advantage. 
We made up for our lack of experience with our desire to make a difference in the lives of people who were often overlooked.
We started off small, conducting grocery runs and engaging in conversations within the Nee Soon South neighbourhood to forge bonds with the residents. 
These activities were funded by sponsors that our partner, Ms Vivan Pan, founder of the Single Parent Support Group (SPSG), had found. SPSG is a Facebook group that brings single parents together to create a mutually supportive and encouraging community.
These experiences enabled me to understand the true sentiments of the residents. As we learnt about their daily struggles, my mind teemed with ideas on possible ways to help them. 
To us, giving a child a dream is an important starting line.
Last December, we successfully organised our flagship initiative, Dream Big, Dream On — a career exploration programme for children and youth aged eight to 15 from single-parent families.  
Having previously interviewed residents, this programme was in line with their hopes of providing a good future for their children. 
We spent two days taking our 20 participants on learning journeys to tech giant Google, national broadcaster Mediacorp, and accounting firm Baker Tilly, so that they could better understand the working world. 
These visits involved learning more about the different roles in these companies through interactive three-hour sessions. We also concluded the programme with the participants shaping their dreams out of plasticine, producing an array of objects representing their diverse passions.
Waking up at the crack of dawn to travel to Nee Soon South was an emotionally taxing experience, but I was fuelled by the prospect of finally bringing our vision of this programme to life. 
After all, it had been several months of intense planning and endless discussions.
The programme’s success did not come without challenges, as our age turned out to be a double-edged sword. 
Being a fully youth-led ground-up, my team and I had difficulty establishing our credibility in the eyes of partners and beneficiaries, perhaps stemming from their concerns regarding our ability to handle large projects. 
Being questioned on what school or organisation we were affiliated with was common, with many being shocked that we had set up a ground-up independently. 
Although I was rather disheartened during those first few instances, our team refused to let it deter us.
We concluded that the best way to go about establishing our credibility was by expanding our networks and forming deeper ties with existing and potential partners and beneficiaries. 
So, we reached out to Ms Pan from SPSG and tapped her expertise.
She took us along with her to conduct grocery-giving and we picked up skills such as how to start conversations with residents and gain their trust. 
Despite all these challenges, the small wins kept us going. 
A high point in our programme was when one of the participants, a bright 14-year-old boy, exclaimed “I want to be an accountant!” after we visited Baker Tilly, a partner in our initiative. 
We were heartened that these kids got to see the fun and engaging side of these jobs. It not only broadened their horizons, but also showed them that even jobs that might seem mundane at first can be full of excitement and potential, roles towards which they could aspire. 
Having just started out, my team and I have much to learn. 
Our future goals involve holding more runs of Dream Big, Dream On. We also hope to expand our outreach to other neighbourhoods, too. 
Although the challenges faced along the way may be daunting, everything boils down to one simple end goal — to better the lives of those in our community.
ABOUT THE WRITER:
Helena Chan, 17, is the co-founder of Ties of Love. She is a junior college student who is passionate about social issues and has been an active volunteer in children’s organisations and eldercare activities. She is also a national fencer in the youth category. She enjoys drinking matcha lattes and reading.
Ties of Love is supported by Bagus Together, an initiative which helps changemakers and ground-ups start and sustain their work.
If you have an experience to share or know someone who wishes to contribute to this series, write to voices [at] mediacorp.com.sg with your full name, address and phone number.