Community Caring for Culture

Good news!

We were able to add a second session for the FOM Singapore Heritage Tile Tidy on Saturday 8 May in Bukit Brown Cemetery.

The first session is 8:30am-10:00am and the second session is 10:30am - 12:00pm.

Register here for the waitlist. We will notify you if space becomes available.

Learn more about the Singapore Heritage Tile Project here.

Exclusively for FOM members and friends participating in FOM Members Care events! 

Choice of Red or White, Unisex or Women's fitted.

High quality and only $13 each (slightly more for Unisex sizes 2X and above.)

Size subject to availability.

Delivery made to FOM Members Care events. Order deadline & payment due for the 8 May Heritage Tile Tidy: 24 April 2021

For more product description, sizes and ordering information, email us at FOMMembersCare@gmail.com

Be a part of a real heritage traditon! In Singapore, there is only one surviving dragon kiln - Thow Kwang Dragon Kiln, recognized in 2020 by the National Heritage Board as a Steward of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Owned by the Tan family since 1965, they've been keeping the fire alive since then. This is your chance to join in the fun of firing a real dragon kiln during one of their 2021 scheduled firings. Details to follow.

Please note firings have been suspended until we can safely gather again. In the meantime, learn more about Thow Kwang Dragon Kiln here.

By that I mean we have confirmed the dragonflies and damselflies we surveyed on Saturday 6 March, updated our data sheets, and uploaded the information onto the NParks data base.

With the data collected from survey transects from the various parks around Singapore during the designated survey periods, NParks can start piecing together information about where our dragonflies and damselflies are found and in what numbers. This information will contribute towards better park management and conservation measures. Thank you to FOM member Sim Chong Teck for suggesting this fun activity!

Results from the 2020 survey can be found in PDF form below. We will post 2021's survey results when they are available from NParks.

Thank you to everyone who voted for their favorite photograph in the Spring Equiox Photography Contest by "liking" it on Facebook. The "Fan Favorite" is Vince Kasten's photograph of a Common Amber Wing (female) and a Common Scarlet (male). "Best in Show" was awarded to Jo Wright for her Yellowbar Flutterer (male), both taken during the FOM NParks Dragonfly Watch @ GBTB on 6 March 2021.

All entered photographs can be found in the Spring Equinox Photography Contest photo album on the FOM Members Care! public Facebook page.

Haze-Free Foodstand is a PM Haze campaign that promotes the use of sustainable or 'haze-free' palm oil.

Palm oil is used in 90% of eateries in Singapore and it is the most efficient crop in the world. But very few use certified palm oil that is cultivated using sustainable farming methods that preserve the environment and can say with certainty that they do not contribute to the haze.

Your food choice is your voice. Join with PM Haze and take a stand with sustainable palm oil, www.pmhaze.org/foodstand

Download the PDF below with a list of Singapore's Haze-Free Foodstands.

Looking for a way to empower fragile communtiies during these trying times? The organization Safe Water for Every Child has identified a need amongst their constituency, the indigenous Karen people on the Thai-Burma border region - improving English language skills. And they've come up with a creative way to address it - virtual tutoring via simple social media tools. If you are interested in using your post-CB time to engage in simple tutoring for young adults wanting to improve their English language skills, please register here.

For more information on Safe Water for Every Child's efforts to provide access to clean drinking water among at-risk communities, check out their Facebook page.

Ten Feet Tall has developed an exciting new partnership with the US not-for-profit Soles4Souls which means they can now collect ANY SHOES in good condition (adults’ and children’s).  

In terms of short-term solutions, not only will the shoes continue to help prevent disease but they will also allow children to attend schools and receive an education, and provide a path to employment for many who cannot afford a pair of shoes. 

From a longer-term perspective, pre-loved shoes will be sold to entrepreneurs in developing countries like Haiti, Honduras, Sierra Leone and the Philippines to start roadside shoe shops or market stalls.  These micro-enterprises generate sustainable employment and income for local communities; a powerful way to lift individuals and their families out of poverty.

Ultimately, donating something which would otherwise have been thrown in the bin also helps to reduce landfill.  Through their work with Souls 4 Souls, Ten Feet Tall can help keep shoes out of landfills and help realise the power of a pair of shoes to thousands of people all over the world.

Shoe Collection during Circuit-breaker

Clear out your cupboards and let’s make lots more happy feet! During circuit breaker you can donate your shoes directly to Soles4Souls.

To arrange your donation please contact them directly on:

Email: saks@soles4souls.org 

Mobile (calls): 8922-9874

Mobile (Whatsapp): 8504-7909

ItsRainingRaincoats is collecting old laptops, handphones (in working condition please), cameras and shavers to bring about greater convenience to the lives of our migrant worker brothers.. They welcome new items too.

Please WhatsApp any of the numbers below:

Michelle 9689 1535

Kiran 9023 2930

Project Vidya is a giving project sponsored by the social enterprise Good Karma.

Help recycle Ewaste & Promote Education among the Needy! Laptops, desktops, tablets, and phones can donated and will be refurbished to give to needy families.

To participate, contact: http://www.facebook.com/goodkarmawise

Call: 8613 4970 for more information.

COVID-19 is turning our lives upside down, and some people may feel stressed and anxious. Here is some advice from gov.sg on how you can cope:

Tips for Battling Stress and Anxiety during COVID-19

94 FOM Members and Friends walked 641 KM in the FOM Walk for Rice 2020 on 5 December 2020 in the Singapore Botanic Gardens and On Their Own!

With the Fair Price partnership, this translates to 2137 Bowls of White Rice, 2137 Bowls of Brown Rice, and 2137 Bowls of Oatmeal for the Needy.

Way to Go FOM!!!

Watch the video here.

For individual photos from the video, see the FOM Walk for Rice 2020 album on our FOM Members Care! Facebook group

For accumulated results from 2020 FairPrice Walk for Rice @ South East (as of 1 Dec 2020), download the numbers found below taken from the Jan-Apr 2021 Contact South East magazine.

The 21st of March is the day the United Nations proclaimed in 2012 as the International Day of Forests (IDF).

Doing our part to commemorate the day in 2019 and recognize the importance of forests, volunteers from FOM Members Care and the People's Movement to Stop Haze (PM Haze) went out to historic Tiong Bahru to investigate how food establishments in Singapore can help to prevent transboundary haze.

Volunteers took necessary precautions amidst the COVID19 outbreak and embarked on a food journey to survey cooking oil use amongst food establishments in the Tiong Bahru food precinct. Twenty-one restaurants were surveyed to determine the oil they use and the reasoning behind their choices. This investigative activity will help with sustainable palm oil advocacy and achieve our goal to make Singapore and our region haze-free.

For more information, download the Final Report in PDF form below.

FOM members walked 1087 kilometers for the FOM Walk for Rice on 23 November 2019 in East Coast Park and on URA/FOM Chinatown Heritage Trails. With the Fair Price partnership this translates to 

10,870 Bowls of Rice and 5,435 Bowls of Oatmeal for the needy.

Way to Go FOM!!!

View video of the event here.

FOM Members Care Events and Volunteer Opportunities:

1. Should meaningfully contribute to our mission: support for Singapore’s heritage, local health & human services, and/or Singapore’s environmental contribution to a healthy planet.

2. Ideally, should be partnered with a Singapore-registered charity. (Events in many cases introduce the charity to a new audience. Therefore, it should represent the charity in such a way that it will encourage continued volunteer support.)

3. Should not include a registration fee nor a mandatory financial contribution to participate.

4. Should promote FOM community bonding.

5. Should be inclusive (ideally held on weekends or in the evening or in conjunction with an FOM event, and should not require advanced training.)

6. Should be FUN!