JUGGLING schoolwork and co-curricular activities, four youths aged 16 to 22 managed to raise $100,000 for The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund between May and September this year.

Working under the joint community initiative Citibank-YMCA Youth For Causes, the team, as well as 99 others, was provided with a seed fund of $1,600 to come up with a community project for a non-profit organisation of their choice.

Calling themselves Inspire' 09, the four students rallied 1,200 volunteers from 20 different schools to raise money through three arts concerts, street sales of customised teddy bears and sticky notepads, and a peer tutoring programme.

Fuelled by the belief that 'students should help students', team leader Edwin Tan, 22, a recent graduate from an American university, said: 'I realised that no matter how small a part I play, every dollar raised counts towards improving the quality of life for the beneficiaries.'

Despite being stationed in the United States, Mr Tan overcame the distance barrier by communicating through e-mail, instant messaging and Internet phone calls with teammates Bernice Boo, 17, a first-year student from Hwa Chong Institution (College), and Yvonne Chan and Leung Yuan Yuh, both 16, from Nanyang Girls' High School.

The group has participated in Youth For Causes since 2004, and has been contributing to the pocket money fund since 2005, raising more than $300,000 for the fund to date.

As the single team to have raised the highest amount of money, Inspire' 09 received the Special Recognition Award (Team) at a prize-giving ceremony by Citibank and YMCA on Nov 21. Mr Tan also received the Special Recognition Award (Individual). The 100 participating teams of the initiative raised a total of $672,525 for 53 non-profit organisations this year.

EUNICE NG