Jordan Er is a school prefect, a gold medallist in badminton doubles and basketball at the inter-school Play Inclusive games, and an aspiring chef who cooks meals for his family.

You would never guess the 16-year-old was once shy with his limited social and academic skills holding him back from group activities. He used to only know how to travel to and from school.

Today, he is beaming with confidence. Not only is he able to travel around Singapore independently, he is also able to communicate well with others.

Diagnosed with Intellectual Disability and Autism at a young age, Jordan has been a student at MINDS Woodlands Gardens School since he was 10 years old.

Under MINDS' specialised vocational programmes, he learned about the basics of food preparation, developed customer service skills and earned the WSQ Basic Food Hygiene certification that qualifies him for a range of jobs in the food and beverage (F&B) sector.

"I want to work in the F&B industry when I graduate," says Jordan.

Donating to meaningful causes

MINDS Woodlands Gardens School is one of four MINDS schools across Singapore that equip young people like Jordan with the knowledge and skills they need to live independently in the community.

These special education schools have been able to continuously deliver their work because of government grants, donations and funding through agencies such as Community Chest.

"For the past four decades, Community Chest has been empowering individuals to lead dignified and fulfilling lives, despite the challenges they face,” says Mr Jack Lim, managing director of Community Chest.

When Community Chest first started in 1983, emphasis was placed on fundraising for 19 social service agencies (SSA) and supporting social service users.

Over the years, Community Chest's goals have evolved as needs have grown in scale and complexity. Its mission today is to enable members of the public, along with like-minded stakeholders from both the public and private sector to uplift the lives of communities in need amongst us, thus making Singapore a more caring and inclusive society.

As the philanthropy and engagement arm of the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), the national coordinating body for SSAs, Community Chest is the gateway to the social service sector. It is well-placed to direct resources from the community towards groups with the greatest needs with its access to information and insights on evolving needs as well as demographic trends and issues that have emerged as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

By using that data, Community Chest is able to support over 200 critical social service programmes that empower not only young people like Jordan who have special needs, but also to youth-at-risk, adults with disabilities, persons with mental health conditions, and families and seniors in need of assistance.

Funds are allocated on criteria guided by the need to fill service gaps and sustain existing critical services. SSAs that receive funds from Community Chest must demonstrate programme indicators and outcomes to ensure quality of service provided. In these ways, donors can be assured of the impact of their contributions.

"With evolving social service needs, SSAs now need to provide mental well-being and emotional support, advocate for social inclusion and enhance the quality of life of groups who require help," explains Mr Lim.

Sustainable philanthropy practices

Over the years, annual fund-raising initiatives like SHARE and new initiatives like Change for Charity have driven public and corporate donations that provide a sustainable source of funds to support the social service needs in the community.

"We are committed to champion the potential of our service users and want to encourage more corporate and community partners to adopt sustainable philanthropy practices – to give more regularly and holistically,” says Mr Lim.

SHARE is Community Chest’s regular giving programme that encourages the mindset of small but sustained giving. This initiative started in 1983 and today, through the collective giving of over 2,000 companies and 250,000 individual donors, SHARE contributes approximately 25 per cent of the annual funds raised by Community Chest.

The Change for Charity initiative allows corporate partners to better match their corporate social responsibility aspirations to social service needs. It works by enabling partnerships with organisations to incorporate a giving mechanism into their business models so their customers can donate easily as they go about their daily lives.

Businesses can opt to provide a donation option on their subscription-based services, donate a percentage of revenue from their sales, facilitate the conversion of points or rewards into cash donations, or encourage small and spontaneous acts of giving at the point of purchase through a round-up mechanism or by providing an option to donate.

Since the inception of Change for Charity, over 200 businesses have come onboard, including companies like AXS, Q&M Dental and Millennium Hotels and Resorts. There are now more than 1,400 touchpoints where customers of participating businesses can donate to Community Chest easily. By increasing opportunities for spontaneous giving at various touchpoints, Community Chest hopes to instill a culture of giving in all aspects of living.

Donations from SHARE and Change for Charity will be channelled to SSAs like MINDS to keep its programmes running effectively in order to continue to empower individuals such as Jordan to lead an independent life.

As social services needs become more complex, partnerships that adopt sustainable philanthropy practices will become more important in the years ahead.

"Even in times of economic uncertainty, like during the Covid-19 period for example, we are heartened that corporate and community partners continued to rally around us to support our cause," says a spokesperson from MINDS.

For Jordan and other beneficiaries of SSAs supported by Community Chest, ensuring a sustained stream of public donations is critical. When he graduates from MINDS Woodlands Gardens School in two years, he may continue to be supported as an adult with special needs by other programmes such as Hi-Job!, MINDS’ job placement and job support programme which also receives Community Chest funds.

"No contribution is too small, and every act of giving makes a difference. Every person, regardless of means, can play a part in giving to the community and strengthening our social compact," says Mr Lim.

Visit this website to join the SHARE programme and give hope today.