[Feature Photo: SMU Staff together with (in centre L-R) Mr Sundaravadivelan Selvam, Vice-President, OCIS, Professor Paulin Straughan, Dean of Students, Mr Eric Song, Head, Sports & Adventure, Office of Student Life, Mr Jimmy Ye, Head, Creative Experience and Partnerships Team, Office of Dean of Students (partially hidden in blue) and Mr Kenneth Tan, Director, Office of Student Life (far right) posing for a photo at the SMU gym]
On 8 September 2018, a total of 500 Singapore Management University (SMU) students, alumni, staff and members of the public gathered for the SMU Challenge 2018 Finale – Sport – A – Cause (SPAC) at SMU’s Campus Green.
In its second edition, SPAC expanded its range of activities beyond the Fun Run to offer a vibrant platform for everyone to contribute to a meaningful cause – raising funds for our beneficiary, Mountbatten Vocational School (MVS), to upgrade its school facilities and educational programme.
Despite the torrential rain at the break of dawn, participants’ and volunteers’ moods were not dampened. There was a Hatha Yoga class taught by SMU Yogi and Fitness Zumba class at the T-Junction concourse and SPAC’s signature activity – Fun Run held at the SMU Gymnasium. All who participated were in high spirits and enjoyed themselves.
For as little as $10, participants could purchase a strip of game coupons that entitled them to play family-friendly games like perler beads making, bouncy castles, balloon sculpting, face painting, giant jenga and tote bag painting. Game coupons could also be used for the purchase of mystery bags, called “Imagine Better” bags. Inside these bags, one could find snacks, gift vouchers, button badges and even tee-shirts.
Sport – A – Cause is the cumulative effort of SMU Challenge’s 50 student volunteers after nine months of outreach. The student volunteers went on several Purple Outings with three beneficiaries that are intellectually disabled and blind from Mountbatten Vocational School, Special Olympics and Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities.
Ma Zi Yao, the President of SMU Challenge 2018 commented, “It has been such a fulfilling nine-month journey planning the various Purple Outings and Sport-A-Cause. Managing such a big team is never easy; yet at the same time it brings me a great sense of fulfilment when I see organising committee members, student volunteers, SMU staff and faculty as well as members of the public come together to run and engage in other activities, for someone else’s education. At the end of the day, the smiles on MVS students’ faces are priceless and remind us why we do what we do.”
Mountbatten Vocational School’s Principal, Mr Ernest Toh, added, “It’s a pleasure working with SMU Challenge. They are always on the ball, and everything is prepared and very well-planned. We are not fully funded by MOE, therefore we find donations to be very helpful for upgrading our equipment in our training facilities. It has been more than ten years since we last upgraded, it would be time to give it a fresh coat of paint and replace old and broken equipment. I feel that students have benefited by mixing with the student volunteers. We are grateful for the programme and all the donations that SMU has given us. So thank you SMU again, for choosing us to be your beneficiary!”
SMU Challenge’s volunteer, Lim Yi Chang from School of Accountancy also said, “I have joined SMU Challenge because I wanted to experience a different CSP (community service project). I wanted to engage more with the beneficiaries to build stronger friendships through the Purple Outings, and I really looked forward to the finale (Sport – A- Cause). It was very encouraging to hear from the beneficiaries themselves that we have made an impact. Thank you SMU Challenge for giving me the opportunity to be part of something bigger.”
The event reached its fundraising goal of $10,000 and the organisers would like to thank everyone for who contributed to the success of the event.
More photos of SMU Challenge 2018 and Sport – A – Cause can be found at:
