Speech by Minister of State for Health Dr Amy Khor at the RSVP Volunteer Appreciation Nite 2014

SPEECH BY MINISTER OF STATE FOR HEALTH DR AMY KHOR AT THE RSVP VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION NITE 2014 ON THURSDAY 4 DECEMBER 2014

RSVP President Mr Koh Juay Meng

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen  

1        It is a pleasure, and a privilege for me to be your guest this evening, as you honour the efforts of all the volunteers here.

2        Volunteers are special - they are driven by compassion to better the lives of the less privileged in the community, without expectation of any acknowledgement, or reward for their efforts.

3        I am particularly touched and inspired to see so many seniors as volunteers. Your action speaks louder than words, in educating our society that seniors are assets of our society.

4        The Ministerial Committee on Ageing is currently developing an Action Plan to help seniors now and in the future, achieve successful ageing. Senior volunteerism is an area of focus. Many seniors participated in our focus group discussion on senior volunteerism and highlighted that we should identify more volunteering opportunities for seniors, provide training for seniors to effectively volunteer in the community, and do more to recognise outstanding senior volunteers for their efforts.

5        RSVP is a forerunner in promoting senior volunteerism. It was founded some 16 years ago on the belief that seniors are national assets, a precious human capital with skills and decades of work and life experiences, ready and waiting to be tapped. RSVP aims to provide a platform to facilitate the channelling of these significant untapped skills, wisdom, experiences and energy, and simultaneously to encourage active ageing, through purpose-driven volunteerism for the betterment of society.

6        Sixteen years on, the vision of its founders is in full bloom, with a wide range of programmes being offered. RSVP also continues to evolve and introduce new programmes to plug gaps in much-needed areas. For instance, the My Buddy befriender programme, in which  volunteers make regular home visits to senior patients discharged from hospital or who are in the early stages of dementia, was introduced in June last year. Another programme is the Mentally Disadvantaged Outreach Programme, wherein volunteers befriend and rehabilitate mentally ill patients with the view to easing them back into the mainstream.

7        RSVP is blessed to have a dedicated and committed pool of seniors - men and women who are keen to reach out to help the disadvantaged in our community – who have helped to translate RSVP’s vision into reality. They put in much time and effort throughout the year to help others. It is hence only fitting that the annual Volunteer Appreciation Nite shifts the focus to the volunteers, and celebrates volunteers’ contributions. I know that many of you look forward to this annual gathering to catch up with old friends and renew ties.

8        So have an enjoyable evening, and may your volunteering journey reach greater heights in the years ahead! 

9        Thank you.