Celebrating Heroes 2023: Beacon of Hope

365 DAYS, 4 COMMENDABLE SIBLINGS, 3 SELFLESS CAREGIVERS AND 1 OUTSTANDING SIBLING WITH ONE COMMON MOTIVATION – A LOVED ONE.

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Celebrating Heroes, an original event by Club Rainbow (Singapore) has been honouring countless caregivers and siblings over the decade. Taking a hiatus from 2021, we continue to recognise these heroes walking in our midst.

Starting as Caregivers Appreciation Day, the event evolved to Celebrating Heroes (CH) in 2015, where the first Exemplary Caregiver Award was presented. Whilst the common saying goes ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ but the most important support comes together as a family unit. Siblings are often forgettable when immediate priorities surround children with chronic illnesses. Acknowledging these young ones as part of the core support system of the family, we appreciate outstanding siblings too who share the daily responsibilities of caring for their brother or sister together with their parents.

Exemplary Caregiver Awardees Panel Discussion

This year, we received numerous nominations for many caregivers and siblings from all walks of life and even ages. After many tear-jerking encounters from the interviews with nominated caregivers and siblings, we are proud to share this year’s Celebrating Heroes 2023: The Beacons of Hope – 1 commendable sibling, 3 selfless caregivers and 4 outstanding siblings! These awardees are true representatives of the many caregivers and siblings of Club Rainbow who give their time selflessly to their loved ones.

Joanna Yap and her daughter Amelia, Exemplary Caregiver Awardee

Meet Joanna Yap, mother to Amelia and one of the Exemplary Caregiver Awardees. To help Amelia reach her fullest potential, she spares no expenses in finding activities, interventions and different resources that will be able to enrich Amelia in her swimming abilities and baking skills. From enlisting the help of her friends to impart baking skills and bible knowledge to Amelia so that she will be able to learn things that are outside of her school curriculum. To developing Amelia’s passion in baking and now enrolled in a pastry course in Delta Senior School.

She has done a lot beyond just being a mother; ensuring that Amelia works towards the goal of becoming a national swimmer; becoming a kindergarten teacher so she could be better equipped to teach Amelia.

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Exemplary Sibling Awardee, Wen Xin

As much as Wen Xin remembers, her brother was born normal and she always loved playing with him, taking care of him and being the older sister. At the age of 6, Wen Jie was diagnosed with a rare condition, leukodystrophy. He then received a bone marrow transplant operation: however, after the operation his condition deteriorated and began to lose his speech, sight and physical ability.

Wen Xin shows great responsibility in caring for Wen Jie especially when their parents are not around, Watching her brother’s lost of ability first hand at a young age has caused her lots of distress growing up, needing the help of art therapy. However, she uses these experiences to share and help others who are going through similar situations.

Now at the age of 18, Wen Xin is one of the- Exemplary Sibling Awardees. She is helping Wen Jie with his daily needs like suctioning and NGT feeding. She is not only able to take care of Wen Jie but her other younger brother as well. She is also a part of our programme, Youths for Rare, where she took part in a human library project with NUS and NTU school of medicine where she shared her journey with Wen Jie to medical students, showing great determination and courage to fight alongside her brother.

To hear more of our awardees, watch the Celebrating Heroes 2023 videos here:

Exemplary Caregiver Award 2023

Exemplary Sibling Award 2023

Local Running Community with Big Hearts

Speaking with Mr Pang Wee Khai, Founder of Enjoy Your Run, we learnt why and how Wee Khai (WK) supports Club Rainbow (Singapore) (CRS).  

CRS: How did the group *Enjoy Your Run* come about?

EYR Team at East Coast Park

WK: Enjoy Your Run (EYR) came about during COVID-19 and the relaxation of the control measures. There was also generally more interest in fitness and wellness. A group of friends with some running background came together and decided that it was perhaps more enjoyable to exercise as a group for motivation because running at times requires tremendous discipline to follow through. So that was how we started to gather in small groups in July 2021, on a monthly basis at East Coast Park. It gradually became a weekly gathering for the passionate runners in the group.

Over time, EYR grew organically both in number of active members and the fitness goals achieved. Besides improving general health, several runners smashed their limitations and set new personal records for running - from middle distances to ultra-marathons. What seemed impossible was made a reality due to the strong bonding and teamwork at EYR, both on and off the running course.

CRS: Why have you decided to raise funds for the children of Club Rainbow, and is there any meaning behind the campaign title "Let the children run"?

EYR founder, Pang Wee Khai

WK: I came across Club Rainbow at NUH when my firstborn was born with a genetic condition many years ago. Although we did not engage their services at that time, we came to know about the existence of such charitable organisations, which provide support to families whose children suffer from chronic illnesses. Due to personal experience, it was meaningful to be able to raise funds for an organisation close to our hearts. In fact, there were two online campaigns done previously before the first group effort in 2022 ->

https://www.giving.sg/campaigns/raceto40-marathon-club-rainbow
https://www.giving.sg/campaigns/bryceton-goes-for-10k

Campaign: EYR 2023

http://Give.asia/EYR2023

CRS: Have your group encountered any challenges in your fundraising journey and how did you overcome those challenges?

WK: Generally, friends are supportive of our collective effort. Of course, there are also many other fundraising campaigns out there. It is more about creating awareness and being sincere about what and why we do it.

In terms of challenges, it is inevitable that injuries may happen in the course of getting stronger and fitter. Like all dream journeys, we may face unforeseen circumstances on the road to better health, especially because many teammates are busy working parents. We learn to be patient and share our burdens with each other. In comparison, the children and families of Club Rainbow go through much tougher challenges, which few people can fully comprehend -- we keep this awareness close to our hearts as we fundraise for their cause. 

CRS: How do you shout out for your campaign?

WK: We have been periodically creating awareness on our social media whenever the situation allows. It was also great that we had help with dollar-for-dollar matching by Tote Board, which gives friends more reasons to support our effort.

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Inspired by Wee Khai’s initiative? You can start your fundraising journey with us today!

• For the least effort in managing initiatives and maximum fun
  Fundraise through Ride and Ralk for Rainbows 2023

• Grow the community with maximum flexibility
  Start your own fundraising initiative like Wee Khai, email contact@clubrainbow.org for more details.

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

Choose to be Happy!

“Don’t Worry, Be Happy!”

Everybody tends to say this to someone having a wrong time, but what does happy mean? Is it that easy to be satisfied?

The word happy is generally defined as a feeling of pleasure or contentment. Such feelings could arise from something as simple as eating something delicious or seeing something beautiful; and can be immediately felt by a child who just got a new toy.

So, what do we do when we are having a bad day and finding it challenging to feel happy? Although we are told that it is fine to embrace our negative feelings, we could always go a step further by embracing those bad feelings and then taking action to exchange them for more positive thoughts. A bad day is no reason to ignore all other good parts of life. Many studies have linked happiness to health as a good mood helps us smile more, sleep better, and feel more energetic. 

One easy way to feel pleasure and contentment is to be thankful. I like to keep a gratitude journal to remind myself of things I am grateful for throughout the day. Small mundane things, like the bus arriving on time or remembering to bring an umbrella on a rainy day. By doing so, you will likely realise that you are luckier than you think. I also know someone who practices ‘gratitude hour’ where he spends an hour every Friday sending emails thanking people who helped him throughout the week.

Most people have also heard of the adage – It’s better to give than to receive. While rewarding ourselves, we must also remember that we are all capable of spreading happiness by building a more compassionate world and not forgetting the needy. You could start by gifting to those who need it or volunteering your time, as experiences provide a higher level of happiness than material items.

If there is one particular day each year where we should put in extra effort to purge all negative emotions from our system, that would be 20 March, also known as the International Day of Happiness. First celebrated on 20 March 2013, the United Nations General Assembly established the International Day of Happiness to make people worldwide realise the importance of happiness in their lives. Building on the idea, the United Nations also launched 17 Sustainable Development Goals aiming to eradicate poverty, reduce inequality and protect our planet to make people’s lives happier. (More information can be found here: https://www.undp.org/sustainable-development-goals)

Here at Club Rainbow, we hope that our beneficiaries can live as happily as possible despite the challenges they face in their lives. In conjunction with this year’s International Day of Happiness, we would appreciate your support for our efforts to make this world a better place for children in Singapore living with chronic illnesses. Actions matter, and you can make happiness a choice every day!

Written by: Tang Su Yen
Edited by: Club Rainbow (Singapore)

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We welcome volunteers to support our beneficiaries and passionate individuals who like to kickstart creative fundraising initiatives. Email us at crscpm@clubrainbow.org to start your journey with us today! Other ways you can be part of - https://www.clubrainbow.org/take-action.

Project Hope

Projecting hope through their outreach in supporting charities, Sumitomo Corporation took to supporting Club Rainbow's Arts Development Programme with the purchase of mugs bearing a child's artwork - 'Unity is Strength'.

How did the team overcome the challenges of giving back during the pandemic?

During this pandemic, we never lost sight of what’s most important for us, i.e our values. Commitment to giving back is a key tenet of our business principles, “benefit for self and others, private and public interests are one and the same”. We know that we are all in this together. Although we can’t do it as extensively as in the past due to the challenges posed by the pandemic, that doesn’t stop us from seeking alternatives, such as supporting talent development and donation which we worked with Club Rainbow.

What is Project Hope?

Our “Project Hope” is …

Read more - https://bit.ly/2OLXyAk

First published in Club Rainbow Singapore LinkedIn article.

Coming together as a community in 2020

In it together

2020 is a year that will go down in history as the year where almost all of human race ‘caught a cold’. It is a year that disrupted many industries and lives.

It is a pivot year for both organisations and individuals - a test of resilience and embracing change.

On a positive note, one would see it as a year of opportunities. It gave way to technology that did not reach its potential such as virtual events, tools and technology integration. With the pandemic giving the population a push to connect virtually locally and beyond boundaries, making unified communication the keyword to communicating today.

Not ready for change

Our beneficiaries and their families faced tremendous pressure from the lack of access to technology for education and professional, increased financial aid. Many of these families depend on the gig economy for monthly sustenance.

With the pandemic, many experience loss of income coupled with worry for the safety of their chronically-ill child whose immune system is severely compromised, leaving the little ones susceptible to contracting the virus.

Forward Nonetheless

From a year of trials and opportunities, these 3 important aspects apply to almost everyone:

1. It’s OK to be not OK

The pandemic changed

• the way academic lessons are carried out

• the way businesses are operating

• social interactions are restricted to minimal

• social activities are either cancelled or reduced to smaller group size.

Some CRS beneficiaries and their families felt disconnected and were at a loss during the lockdown.

Many children needed laptops and internet access to keep up with ongoing academic lessons. The children’s usual leisure activities are also cancelled or converted to online sessions. We are thankful that many corporate and community donations came in to support these immediate needs.

2020 indeed took CHANGE to a whole new level. All aspects of comfort were disrupted for both personal and professional. The personal touch was quickly replaced with unified communication and integrated technology. This brought about uncertainty, a need to retrain and upskill.

2. Always Keep An Open Mind

With CHANGE, there are always opportunities for personal and professional growth.

CRS teams were challenged to think out of the box to increase community engagement, conversion of physical to virtual events and engagement with the beneficiaries and their families. Children and their families were also encouraged to participate in online activities to keep connected and engaged.

3. Never Give Up

An encouraging and positive environment helps to give the children confidence as we go through one of their critical milestones – PSLE. All the children who have been attending weekly tuition with us passed their PSLE exams this year. It wouldn’t have been possible without the dedication of volunteer tutors who still came forward for these children and never gave up despite the pandemic.

As the saying goes ‘The community that plays together stays together’ and this couldn’t be more true than in current time. The support from relevant authorities helped charities with financial support such as the Fortitude Budget and matching grant from Toteboard. Donations from individual and group fundraisers aid in the increased need for financial assistance, food rations and immediate demand for hygiene products to maintain adequate sanitisation.

We want to thank all our corporate partners, group and individual fundraisers, donors, volunteers, beneficiaries and their families for their perseverance and getting through 2020 together.

Let’s continue to Stay Safe, Stay Strong and Stay United!

We wish everyone a Happy Ox-picious Lunar New Year! May the year of Ox bring all of us good health, abundance and prosperity!

Come what may...

Come rain or shine, caregivers of our children will always stand by their little ones.

Why should we step back when haze and rain came upon us on the Saturday morning of Celebrating Heroes 2019? All the more to put our best foot forward in acknowledging their admirable efforts and to celebrate these unwavering everyday unsung heroes.

We hosted close to 1000 participants this year, which includes our children, their families and volunteers. The event was held at the Singapore Zoo, amongst nature – both flora and fauna. We are happy to have our guest emcee, Mr Gurmit Singh who has been supporting Club Rainbow (Singapore) since our humble beginnings.

Two programme tracks ran concurrently. One for caregivers with various activities such as yoga, self-massaging techniques, ways to manage stress and anxiety, etc. while the children's programme managed by the NTU team – treasure hunt and fringe activities both of which received an overwhelming response from our little ones and caregivers!

We were blessed to have volunteers from FTI consulting, Andaz, Singapore Healthcare, Young Living, NTU, NUS, SIM and our ardent regulars. With these passionate volunteers coming together to brave the hazy and grey morning with us helped to bring the event through to a sunny afternoon for everyone.

We received both thanks and positive feedback from families and volunteers! Awesome day for all!

Taking a cue from our caregivers, don't let the bad weather outlook get you down. Here are ways to keep healthy, take a B.R.E.A.K and stay on top:

• Build deep connections by staying connected with support groups, friends and family.

• Reconcile with yourself daily with tips from wellness and mindfulness workshops.

• Eat healthily and rest regularly.

• Always seek help when needed.

• Keep hydrated at all times, most importantly.

Welcoming our new Council Members...

This year, our management council bids adieu to some members, thanking them for their contribution. At the same time, they extend their welcome to a couple of new members coming on board who also share the same values as Club Rainbow. We are happy to speak with some of the new members and get to know them better.

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Miss Wong Qin Lei joins the Management Council of Club Rainbow (Singapore) for a term of one year as the Programmes Director. Before coming on board, Qin Lei found herself drawn to humbly giving back to the community through the form of supporting the elderly group by helping to create awareness on elderly living in solitude to all walks of life. Over ten years of devoting her time, she experienced personal nourishment in the process of developing empathy and patience for this group of pioneer generation who contributed to the building of our nation.

Loving her profession in the industry of early education by day and giving hours of volunteering when she can, one may say that community work is in her blood… We catch up with Qin Lei recently for a chat and uncover her secret of what keeps her driven in community work.

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Q: What about CRS mission and work motivates you?

QL: Working with children of varying needs, I believe that children shape our future to the type of society we would see moving forward. The key highlight of CRS’s work that impresses me lies in its holistic ecological approach in offering services to the children and their families across the spectrum with the aim of uplifting the quality of life for both the children and their families. This, in turn, translates to child-centric solutions that would bring greater and more significant impact on the beneficiary and the family.

Q: What do you reckon the difference would be compared to your previous experience with charity?

QL: Go along with me on this one; imagine the philosophical view of the Circle of Life.

The elderly and the child stages are the closest to one another. They are at the phases of a typical lifecycle where they are at the most vulnerable.

A child potentially has to learn how to fend for him or herself, acquire certain life skills and also how to navigate when they eventually become a contributor to our society in their own ways. I think it’s the same thing for the elderly where after going through the whole journey of life, and they are at the stage of life where they have become frail and the same thing being vulnerable. They are at the mercy of their body, people around them, caregivers, etc. I think at the end of the day, these two groups of people need care and attention.

In my opinion, I don’t see much difference, except for the difference in the types of care and attention required between the two groups.

Q: Juggling between work and volunteerism, what challenges did you face, and how did you manage it?

QL: In the pursuit of a career path in my early years, both satisfaction and purpose were not achieved easily at work. Through committing time to community work over the weekends is when I feel recharged with a sense of purposefulness and joy. Among the ups and downs that I faced during this period, the thing that challenges me most was the lack of understanding from my family on my decision to dedicate time to volunteerism.

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“Through committing time to community work

over the weekends

is when I feel recharged

with a sense of purposefulness and joy.”

- Qin Lei -

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Due to the difference in views of community giving, Qin Lei shared that she does face occasional disagreements with her family. Setbacks such as children not turning up for the arranged tuition sessions certainly did not help to make situations any better. Still, she held on to her resolute belief of ‘a simple act of giving brings joy’ which kept her connected to social service regardless of being surrounded by negativity. 

QL: So some of these things do happen at the same time. I guess that there are just little things that may occur throughout, and in life, whenever you run a project, there could be a setback. You’ve got to ask yourself then why do we want to do this? Why do I want to do it? So let’s say today my outreach failed and I can’t help this person but can I help the second person? Can I try again for the second person at all? This persistent prompting is what kept me going towards community giving, bringing me happiness, and that is important to me — my way of self-care.

Q: What advice do you have for fellow professionals in considering volunteerism?

QL: I like to share that regardless of whichever juncture of life you are at and if you have a moment with yourself, to take a step back and reflect on what you have done and achieve in the past years. Asking yourself, would you count it as a blessing? Feeling blessed, would you be able to give some and if yes, then how would you like to give and what would you like to give? So I guess it’s not an advice, it’s more of a question that you could ask yourself. It is not easy for people to tell themselves ‘I am blessed’. I don’t have a perfect life and not a religious person, but I dare to say that I feel that ‘the guy up there’ has been rather kind to me in general. The key thing here is not ‘I need to give’ but ‘I want to give’. When you want to give, you will give wholeheartedly — the intent.

The key thing here is not ‘I need to give’ but ‘I want to give’.

When you want to give, you will give wholeheartedly.

THE INTENT.

- Qin Lei -

Q: Qin Lei, thank you for sharing with us so much! Before we go off, please do tell us one thing about you that would surprise us and Club Rainbow followers.

QL: I walked around with a bone fracture in my foot for 15 years without realising it. I was advised by a medical professional to leave the broken piece alone since it did not interfere with walking. So I walk around with a bit of a broken bone in my foot these days!

Follow us on our social media channels – Facebook and LinkedIn for the latest updates! You may also support our mission by contributing through this link - #Clubrainbow.

Not all chocolates and candies for Sherman, he wanted more…

Having a placid disposition such as Sherman Low, anyone would be quick to pass a personal judgement on the limit of what this young teenager is capable of with good support and I wasn’t spared of being considered as one such person.

The Low family came to know about Club Rainbow (Singapore) [CRS] through a recommendation via our satellite office in Kandang Kerbau Hospital (KKH) back in 2011. Sherman was 15. At that time, he was diagnosed with Neonatal Encephalopathy, suffering from epilepsy and the function of his right arm was not good.

Greeted with a warm smile, Mr and Mrs Low Kim Kai and their son Sherman were very happy to be invited back to CRS for a chat.

Sherman felt good to see that his humble contribution at the heart of CRS – the Reception area where he had jointly decorated the piano and the beautiful wall mural, capturing subtle attention of whoever enters the facility.

Mrs Low shared, “Before CRS, there was nothing for Sherman. We didn’t really know what to do for him in terms of his personal and social development.” and Mr Low added, “We do give him pieces of paper for him to do some scribbling and drawing at home”. Sherman would sometimes break down and cry, not knowing how to occupy his time. “This certainly made me felt at a loss because I wasn’t able to help him”, and Mrs Low shook her head as she relive that moment. She feels that CRS was the foundation which helped to expose her son to many opportunities for him to explore his potentials and to inculcate the importance of constant learning and self-development.

Recalling back together with the Low family on their initial encounter with CRS, was Miss Sylvia Mak. Sylvia, a proficient Principal Social Worker with CRS commented, “From the first time I met Sherman when he was 15, I knew he had great potential to be more than what others perceive him to be!” Subsequently under her persistent encouragement, Sylvia managed to convince his parents to take a leap of faith in their son; to invest in his future. She helped them with application for the CRS Talent Development Fund (TDF), a fund that supports our beneficiaries in their endeavor of pursuing their passion.

With the TDF, Sherman was able to pursue his first interest in a stringed instrument – the Ukulele but took a liking to the Classic Guitar through an introduction of a friend. He received his guitar from CRS, used it for his practice sessions and enjoyed playing during his cell group’s weekly meetings. The challenge he faced being a left-hand, his coach conducted lessons using his right hand but despite of such a barrier, he rose above the challenge and continued improving his skills and went on to perform at some of our concerts.

From then onwards, there was no stopping this young gentleman. It was as if he was scaling mountains after mountains, uncovering the many interests he possesses and trying out everything possible, disregarding his medical condition. He also dabbled with roller skates and rock climbing; even with safety precautions in place, both parents were still worried for his safety. At the same time, they knew that they had to let him go, allowing him to scale the heights and be himself. He was like any regular teenager of his age, facing the world with curiosity and unfaltering faith.

“My daddy and mommy are my greatest inspiration!”

As a returning recipient of the TDF, his interest took him indoors to the lanes of bowling pins where he received a customised weight bowling ball to complement his feeble arms. Mrs Low’s persistence of appealing to the bowling trainer and her son’s endurance, Sherman was able to build up strength in his right arm which later proved to be helpful in his career.

As the years pass on, Sherman took up swimming which was quite unthinkable for a person with a weak constitution but continued to push his limits. After training rigorously, he took part in the 9th Special Olympics Singapore National Games 2017 and emerged as the first runner-up. On this note, Mrs Low also took the opportunity to show her pride for Sherman by thanking him. Why? You may ask…

Before Sherman took up swimming, his father had never gone to the pool. And now with Sherman going for his personal self-training sessions, his father starts to join him and before long; the whole family find themselves looking forward to this activity as a way of having quality family time together. Well done, Sherman!

Some of the achievements he collected from swimming during his stint with CRS are National Inclusive Swimming Championships 2017: Gold Medal, participated in SPH Foundation National Para-Swimming Championship in August 2016. For now, he only swims for leisure but still continues to challenge himself by recording his laps during each session and occasionally getting into friendly competitions with his elder sister.

One of Sherman’s art piece.

Most children have an insatiable desire to increase their knowledge through their parents and from the people surrounding them. Sherman is definitely one of them as he sought to feed his curious mind constantly and sees him venturing into the Arts. Mrs Low proudly shares that Sherman goes to Very Special Arts (VSA) where he was able to further develop his drawing and painting skills.

Over the past few years, Sherman’s masterpieces have been displayed at several Club Rainbow ARTitude+ exhibitions and one of his works (not shown here) was presented as a token of appreciation to the Singapore Turf Club in 2012.

Sherman with his elder sister, Xin Tian on the cruise.

As the family was reminiscing on memories, I was filled with curiosity “How was your experience with CRS like?” Mr and Mrs Low replied with gratefulness “It’s just too many unforgettable experiences to mention over the last six years. Family Day, Anniversary, TDF, Camp Rainbow, etc. and the list goes on.” However, one particular beautiful experience which they held close to their hearts was the Family Cruise organised by CRS. This was etched deep in their minds as it was the first time the whole family went on a trip together since Sherman was 3 years old. The cruise trip in 2011 was certainly a rainbow in their life; it brought joy and created many beautiful memories for them. 

Apart from receiving educational and social integration needs for Sherman, his parents were also glad to receive financial support through various forms like subsidies, grants, bursaries and daily necessities from donations in-kind which help the family to deflate the cost of living to some extent. Most of the rations are sponsored by corporate partnering with CRS as part of their social responsibility to the community.

“Knowing I was going to graduate, I felt excited. However, after receiving the certificate of graduation, I felt sadness and a moment of emptiness because I miss CRS.”

Playing back his time with CRS, the joy he had during the various events and challenges he faced in his self-development journey. All the years of bonding with CRS family and now that he had graduated, he wants very much to be able to come back and support CRS. However, a full-time employment with the sheltered workshop by Bizlink Centre would pose as a challenge. Sherman’s wish is that he is able to come back to participate and perform in CRS events, to volunteer his hands, to give back to CRS community as much as possible. This is the only way he strongly feels that he can show his heartfelt gratitude and love.

Looking back on the journey both Sherman and his parents have come this far, everything was worth the while. Mrs Low strongly expressed, “It was all possible because of the core services (Educational, Financial, Social, Emotional and Informational Support) provided by CRS and firm belief of their staff. Not only workshops are relevant and affordable, CRS also offers financial support too.”

“Thank you, 彩虹俱乐部!”

“Thank you, 麦阿姨!”

(An actual account of Sherman Low and Family, one of Club Rainbow’s graduated beneficiary by Rachel Fernandez)

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Some food for thought…

You are not defined by your circumstances;

You are defined by how you handle the circumstances.

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A year of rainbows for our little ones with Micron Foundation

As part of their Diversity and Inclusion efforts, Micron Foundation has adopted Club Rainbow (Singapore) [CRS] as one of the charity organisations to give back to community this year.  

An alignment in vision between Micron Foundation and CRS on enriching the community sees Micron supporting our mission of empowering families with children having chronic illnesses and special needs, to provide them an enriched and quality life. Teaming up with CRS Community Partnership, Micron was able to reach out to majority of our beneficiaries through the various events such as Celebrating Heroes in September and third edition of the upcoming Dreamseeds Arts Fest in November by offering many volunteer hands, warm hearts and big smiles.    

This year also marks the 40th anniversary of Micron Technology Inc., where hundreds of employees were invited to enjoy a night of celebration with the company in Sentosa. As employees filled up the foyer outside of the ballroom, they were invited to pen their well wishes for the company on pieces of coloured papers. These were then used to form a rainbow, inspired and in recognition of us, Club Rainbow (Singapore) their adopted charity, along with a donation drive.

One other activity of Micron’s anniversary celebration was extending invitations to 42 of our beneficiaries and their families to enjoy an evening at the Universal Studios with them.

We are very grateful and blessed to have Micron partnering with us, in choosing to support our little ones. Their valuable contributions to our organisation through volunteering efforts and monetary donation truly helped in many ways.