CS2023: The Young Artist Behind The Design

Palette to mix and match

As Club Rainbow’s very own young artist, Jonas has drawn many pieces of artwork and created figures using clays during his free time. Artworks Jonas and his brothers, Lucas and Titus have created over the years have added more colours and uniqueness to the house. As much as he loves all his artworks, names were made for some of his artworks such as a sunflower clay he created. According to his mother, the first piece of artwork created by Jonas was at the age of four and he has been constantly creating pieces of art since then.

Jonas managed to have his artworks exhibited in an exhibition through his school. Not just that, he was also featured in a lifestyle magazine for his artwork. Happiness was reflected on Jonas’ mum’s face as she shared about his achievements and milestones. As the artist of the design that was printed on Travel 2.0: The Travel Organiser, Jonas is the first person to unbox it (Catch the release of the video on Club Rainbow’s Youtube Channel!). The Travel Organiser is a 6-piece set that comes in grey with the design printed in yellow. The designs are small icons Jonas created, including earth, flowers, a blue recycle bin, trees, etc.

Being a recipient of the CRS Talent Development Fund (TDF), Jonas was offered the opportunity to discover his abilities and gradually develop his skills throughout his journey with CRS, attaining accomplishments in the Arts. The fund supports art workshops, and programmes, giving him the lead in assignment opportunities.

For more details on Travel 2.0: The Travel Organiser, visit our Charity Merchandise page.

Innovative Event Management That Gives Back

As part of the vocational development programme, Club Rainbow organised a bake sale earlier this year, in which our beneficiaries and caregivers participated to gain new skills and earn supplementary income.

Dream Station, a local events management and production company, contributed to the sale of baked goods by purchasing items from our beneficiaries. When asked why they chose to support us, they explained that their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) arm has the vision to collaborate with charitable organisations like Club Rainbow and to promote sustainability in their events. At the time, their client's CSR programme mandated that the items in their event's goodie bags have a CSR angle, and since it was around Chinese New Year, Dream Station had the idea of sourcing edible goodies to fit the theme. In addition, they also supported two other non-profit organisations (NPOs) besides Club Rainbow.

Dream Station initiated its CSR programme in 2020 and has been actively helping the community. During the Covid-19 pandemic, they provided hygiene packs containing masks and hand sanitisers to foreign workers living in dormitories and donated excess mask stocks to other non-profit organisations. They focus on in-kind contributions and efforts to give back to the community. Dream Station suggests that clients use services offered by charitable organisations and does not charge mark-ups or surcharges if clients decide to engage them. For example, from packing goodie bags to delivering them, it is passed on a cost-to-cost basis, which is atypical of events management companies that usually charge mark-ups for such services. Dream Station offers such angles to all their clients, especially MNCs with their own CSR arms, and the uptake by their clients depends on the business angle. However, Dream Station tries to push for the engagement of charitable organisations.

After emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic, Dream Station plans to restart its CSR efforts, focusing on giving back to society by providing services to help and encourage giving back to the community. If they have excess logistics or stocks after organising events, they give them back to society for better utilisation.

Moving forward, one of the pillars of Dream Station's CSR efforts is sustainability, which aims to reduce the wastage of consumables by encouraging clients to use sustainable supplies. They also want to empower underprivileged employees by hiring freelance staff from lower-income families who have teenage kids or mature workers looking for part-time jobs, providing them with another source of income.

Dream Station will continue fundraising campaigns on the giving.sg platform and will be directly involved physically in fundraising events, such as sourcing in-kind sponsorships for events management to run carnivals. They will also focus on empowering the community, which aligns with what Club Rainbow is trying to achieve through the rollout of vocational programs that support caregivers and beneficiaries, providing them with supplementary income while reaffirming that their journey is not just to take care of people with special needs, but also to show that people with special needs can contribute to the community.

Into the fourth iteration of the programme, one of the CRS participants could work in a baking establishment based on their experience and certification gained from the programme. Club Rainbow is grateful to Dream Station for their support towards the Vocational Programme.

Facing Challenge Head On

The Challenge

Since birth, Nur Izzudin, now 9 years old, has been struggling with an extremely rare skin disease called Bullous Congenital Ichthyosiform Erythroderma (BCIE), with only less than 10 recorded cases in the national records. It is characterized by scaly skin from birth and, thickening and hardening skin which develops as the patient grows older. When he was born, Madam Siti, Izzudin’s mother and primary caretaker, struggled to take care of Izzudin, where even the simplest of tasks could end up hurting the then fragile baby.

When asked if taking care of Izzudin is difficult, she replied:

“Yes, initially, he is so fragile, he is so small, even if I want to carry him, I am afraid that I will injure him unintentionally… but we keep learning about him, how to take better care of him“.

Solving the Puzzle

Due to the nature of the skin disease, any form of friction on Izzudin’s skin would leave an abrasion on him, this means that even putting a shirt on him normally would hurt him. His grandmother then sourced shirts that have zips around the shoulder to facilitate the wearing of the shirt, subsequently, they realized that button-up shirts were easier and better, but they had to find button-up shirts that had soft collars so that it does not cause abrasion on his neck.

A hot day causes his whole body to flare up in patches, causing him great discomfort, conversely, if the weather is too cold, his skin will be too dry and end up cracking. They realized through trial and error that air-conditioning to cool him down is not ideal as it dries his skin, hence, they place fans all around the house.

In facing these challenges, Madam Siti and her family treats taking care of Izzudin as a learning process. They treat it as a cipher they have to decrypt, a code to break and every day, they learn something new that will help them break the code, that will help them take better care of Izzudin, to alleviate his condition.

Clearing Misconceptions & Creating Awareness

Growing up, Izzudin was not cooped up at home to protect him from the external atmosphere, but he was brought out often to allow him to pick up social skills. One of the common misconceptions that the general public has about his condition is that it is contagious and sometimes, members of the public go up to Madam Siti and inquire about it. Madam Siti told us that clearing these misconceptions lends a voice to patients with the disease and empowers them to be more confident in facing the public.

Encouragement for Caretakers

Madam Siti leaves these words of encouragement to caretakers who are facing similar challenges:

“Your child may be a blessing to you instead of a challenge, they are more sensitive and less self-centred than others. Treat your child like how you want others to treat him, don’t coop them up at home, don’t alienate them from society, help to spread awareness of their condition to empower them.”

Ride for Rainbows 2022 and 30th Anniversary Birthday Bash

Club Rainbow (Singapore)’s biggest event of the year, Ride for Rainbows 2022 and the 30th Anniversary Birthday Bash have successfully concluded on 27 November 2022.

The physical Ride for Rainbows is back after being virtual for 2 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic!

In conjunction with Club Rainbow (Singapore)’s 30th Anniversary, this year's edition for Ride for Rainbows is met with a hybrid format, giving our riders the flexibility to participate in a physical or virtual ride. We also had a birthday bash carnival with a tons of carnival games and rides at the end of the physical ride to celebrate this very special day and spend a fun filled day with our beneficiaries and their families!

On that day, there were over 600 participants and volunteers who turned up at Marina Barrage. This includes 78 families, close to 200 riders and over 100 staff and volunteers.

With that, we would like to take this opportunity to express our utmost gratitude to all our supporting parties, including our beneficiaries and their families, sponsors, riders, donors, staff and volunteers! This event would not be possible without everyone’s help and support. 

We hope to see you all again for Ride for Rainbows next year!

Please email rfr@clubrainbow.org to be a part of Ride for Rainbows next year!

Club Rainbow (Singapore) Family Retreat

We had the SUN, the SEA and all (Club Rainbow) Hearts on board the Spectrum of the Seas!
Our annual family retreat is back!

Bouncing back from the pandemic, Club Rainbow (Singapore) (CRS) is much pleased to bring back the annual family cruise trip this year! The specially curated event is open to all CRS beneficiaries and their immediate family members only. To ensure that all families get the opportunity to be part of the Club Rainbow Family Retreat experience, priority was given to families who have not been on any CRS-organised overseas family retreat event or cruise in the past. 

During this 4D3N cruise getaway, the workshops and activities organised by CRS on board were for the beneficiaries and families to unwind, learn and forge new friendships. The ice-breaker activity saw both young and young at heart getting up and about, scouring around to complete their Bingo sheet.  

One of the highlights of the 3-Day programme is the self-care programme for the caregivers on Day 2. The session was well received by caregivers, with many sharing that it was a good opportunity to reflect, self-comfort and relax. They had an enjoyable time, chatting and laughing with other Club Rainbow parents making reference to being like a big family. Miss Ng, an immediate family member of one beneficiary shared, ‘Time to reflect on me. Do a gift for my child. Write a card to encourage myself and self-meditate time. Best of all, 2 hours away from kids to relax (no worries as we know they are well taken care of by CRS)’.

The most popular activity among the caregivers is the DIY keychain with folded stars carrying the wishes and hopes that the parents have for their children. Many found it to be therapeutic and meaningful. For one parent, the activity showed them how much their son has achieved. Apart from penning their thoughts and wishes for their children, expressing heartfelt feelings into a keepsake was memorable for the parents. Mdm Yeap, mother of a beneficiary looks beyond positively, making new goals and hopes for 2023.

In closing the Day 2 session with self-encouragement, a number of caregivers expressed that they have never once thought of writing to themselves as they are constantly focused on caring for their special need child. ‘I seldom think about my own strength. A bit blank initially as I was not used to self-encouragement but it is good exercise’, shared Mdm Elvira. With much emphasis on the importance of a self-care routine, Mr Teo, father of a CRS beneficiary mentioned that the postcard writing activity helped him with self-care check-in of his own mental health and well-being. Resonating with Mr Teo’s sharing, Mdm Chew was happy that she learned to self-appreciate, ‘I love myself more, my well-being.’

Day 3 shouts out for teamwork and family bonding through the Club Rainbow Fashion Show. ‘Fun & innovative. We are glad to be able to design & create something special!’ said Miss Ng, the immediate family member of the CRS beneficiary. Many inclusive activities are planned to encourage parent-child engagement, ‘Quality time together is so precious. Thank you for organising!’ shared gratefully by Ms Lai, a mother of a CRS beneficiary.

All the families agreed with both mothers of CRS beneficiaries, Mdm Yap and Mdm Lee that the retreat was ‘Enjoyable, refreshing. I feel happy.’ and more importantly ‘We do things as a family!’.

Club Rainbow : Excellence and Tertiary Awards 2022

Education is one of the core pillars of support at Club Rainbow (Singapore) and we believe that it is the foundation and stepping stone in developing the potential of our beneficiaries. The Excellence & Tertiary awards are an opportunity to recognize our beneficiaries’ efforts and celebrate their successes. These awards are for those who completed their major national examinations like PSLE or N levels last year and for those in tertiary institutions.

This year, we presented 3 categories of awards - Excellence, Progress and Outstanding Character. 

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Our Excellence Award winners have performed exceptionally in their major national examinations and in their tertiary institutions.

Excellence Awards recipients:

• Aiden Chan Yen Peng

• Ng Gin Hon Royce

• Eswaran S/O Raja 

Our Progress Awards winners have displayed perseverance in their academics and have overcome challenges to make significant improvements.

 Progress Awards recipients:

• Victoria Tan Hui En

• Vasanthii D/O Raja

Our Outstanding Character Awards winners have participated actively in school and the community, displayed exemplary conduct and leadership qualities, and above all, inspired others by being role models.

Outstanding Character Awards recipients:

• Aniq Irfan Bin Norhisham

• Siti Nur Alawiyah Binti Kamsani