Today, Food-from-the-Heart celebrated its 5th Anniversary (the date of founding was 5 Feb) with its Volunteers at the National Museum of SIngapore. It was one of those occasions when one sees a big crowd at the museum, and as Christine aptly described it, it is the right place to celebrate another success story. A Singapore success stories, made possible by the Volunteers of FFTH! And certainly, fellow Volunteers and their families and friends had a great time exploring the contents of the museum. I have not been to the museum for a long time. The last time I remembered seeing a huge skeleton of a whale (I think) but this time, I was pleasantly surprised by the fantastic layout and storyboarding.
The capable organising team, bolstered by volunteers from ITE and SMU, had it all mapped out. It was like a big funfair in a very sophisticated place! The ever familiar and beautiful red hearted balloons were fluttering almost everywhere, not to mention the kids enjoying hanging on to them. There were performances from various groups, from schools to MINDS [Cheerleading by Shuqun Primary School, Angklong performance by Jamiyah, Dance by MINDS, Malay Dance by Shujun Primary School and Trash Percussion by AG Flames]. Tourists and local visitors to the museum must be delighted that the museum was open free-of-charge to them, as it was to Volunteers of FFTH. Indeed, some watched and even joined in the grate with the catching tunes and dancing by the performers.
12.30pm saw the arrival of Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports and Second Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, greeted by a pair of Lions from Evergreen Primary School. At the opening address, he noted that FFTH has a very capable organisation with the massive logistics of deploying food to their destinations, but he said that it would not be a succcessful business without it having a heart. He noted that it was more than just delivery. It is about love, care and compassion. While responding to Christine about the life of the organisation so long there is a need and there is support, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan said that he could not help thinking that he wished that there would be no such need in the near future, but he acknowledged that was a much bigger dimension to the role that FFTH is playing in the society.
Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan spoke from his heart and he is also a doer.. When our volunteer photographer, Zat was awarded a prize for his submission to the “Human Heart Photo Contest”. he went to his aid to take a picture for him!
On the hit of the gong by Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, some 60 teams (I understand) – both competitive and non-competitive – took off to the “8 Treasures Chest Hunt”. The teams came in all sizes, from a small family to a team of friends. They went in search of the clues listed in an instruction manual given to them. Thanks to Hello-Technology who sponsored the SMS-tracking, the participating teams were to send the answers via SMS to a given number. Hello-Technology’s Ho Sun and her colleague were tracking the SMSes at the “Platform” of the Museum as they come in whenever each team completed one treasure chest. It was “amazing race” running with live telecast. Maybe, in the next opportunity, members could use their handphones to track the status of the race! (^^) The teams were running neck-to-neck (but they did not have the time to check) and there were quite a number of changes in places as each team raced against time and accuracies.
For the non-participants to the race, the huge museum and its displays were able to keep them busy. I am sure many, just like me, learnt alot about our local history as we walked through the audio-visual galleries. For me, it was a nostalgic walk back in time. I was able to show Hermie, a fellow volunteer photographer (and one of our workshop presenters) the old towns of Singapore. In between, we were capturing the teams in action.
At 4.30pm, we have another VIP, Special Guest, Mrs. Tan Chee Koon, CEO of National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre. In her address, she said that she had known Christine and Henry since the beginning of the FFTH and has noted the dynamic growth of FFTH. She has every confidence in the continued success of FFTH with its volunteers. She was very impressed by the efficient organisations of FFTH’s local distribution centres manned by our Volunteers. She threw a challenge to FFTH to take on a bigger role to its current great roles in the community level. With escalations of prices in the world economy, more challenging times could be ahead.
It was a time to recognise the great work done by the volunteers and Mrs. Tan was invited to present the awards to the Volunteers and supporters.
Very quickly, the day came to an end with with happy faces leaving the place. And the museum was once again quiet. (^^)
All the activities today were only possible through careful planning, working within the organising team as well as with the National Museum staff. It was sheer hard work putting up the props and decorations and even doing dry runs to make sure that the 8 Treasures Chest Hunt would be run smoothly. All these are possible thanks to to Carol, Sarizan and FFTH Office, and numerous volunteers from SMU and ITE, and many more. It was like volunteers within the volunteers for a volunteer event. Confused? (^^) To these wonderful people, a big Terima Kasih!
To those of you who have attended, I am sure you have had a great time. To those who missed, well, there’s always the next time.
Exclusive dining vouchers, Food hampers and Gold Medals to be won! 
