PSSA 2011 - Formal Group/Non-Profit/Public Sector Organisation

Singapore Polytechnic

Singapore Polytechnic (SP) has developed a well-structured framework for its community involvement efforts, which are built upon and supported by its staff, students and partners working together cohesively around three designated areas:

• To be involved in charitable activities through voluntary work and professional assistance.
• To participate in Community Engagement Programmes that require specialised partnerships and resources. • To contribute to fund-raising and donation efforts.

SP taps on the expertise and resources of its staff and students to bring about practical improvements to people’s lives. SP CARE, an initiative since 1996, harnesses SP’s strength in design and technology to provide innovative solutions to overcome difficulties faced by people with disabilities in their lives. One notable example was the collaboration between SP CARE and MediaCorp Channel 8’s ‘Dream Potter’ programme in 2010, where they designed a special computer-aided system to enable a bed-bound beneficiary with muscular dystrophy condition to communicate via the Internet.

SP has been actively working with selected partners to provide innovative programmes that benefit the less fortunate. A recent example is the EyeCare @ South-west project, a partnership between SP Optometry Centre and South West Community Development Council officially launched in March 2011, which aims to provide free primary eye care to low-income residents and elderly with poor vision. Under the supervision of their lecturers, SP Optometry students aim to conduct free eye checks for 2,000 beneficiaries in 2011.

SP’s commitment towards fund-raising has also been commendable. The Singapore River Raft Race, an annual fund-raising event initiated and actively supported by about 17,000 SP staff and students since 1994, and subsequently the Singapore International Water Festival jointly organised with Public Utilities Board since 2009, have raised more than $1.5 million to benefit 23 charities. Another laudable example is SP’s keen participation in the President’s Challenge where they raised more than $1 million over the past ten years.

With an impressive array of programmes sustained through the years, SP has effectively engaged its staff and students to embrace social responsibility and care for the community.

PSSA 2011 winners: