Opinion

Collaborative giving: How it creates social change

Opinion

Home Resources Opinion Collaborative giving: How it creates social change

Opinion

Collaborative giving: How it creates social change

John Doe

Ubuntu– it’s an ancient and beautiful concept from South Africa often used today to convey how a community is the building block of society. In South Africa, it simply means: “I am, because of you.”

Today, with technology and the lean towards strategic, outcome-focused giving, the spirit of ubuntu endures in the form of collaborative giving. Giving together is rapidly gaining traction as people recognise the complexity of social issues and the need for many helping hands.

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Group of elderly sitting around a round table

Family of Wisdom – Caring for persons with dementia and their caregivers

Three young men playing soccer on a field, displaying teamwork, agility, and passion for the sport.

Changi Foundation – Helping youths to realise their dreams

Collaborative giving can take different forms, but it simply describes individuals coming together to pool their time, treasure or talent towards creating social change. Each model of collaborative giving differs with regards to the level of collaboration and involvement partners exert to achieve a certain outcome.

A spectrum of giving models
Online giving platforms and group funding opportunities empower a wide spectrum of donors to easily contribute to a cause, without requiring further engagement. Giving circles offer members a platform to get more involved, where members not only pool resources but meet to learn about social issues for more informed decision-making.

On the other end of the spectrum is collective impact – a specific model of collaboration that offers the greatest potential for social impact when harnessed well. Here, major actors from different sectors commit to a specific agenda for solving a particular social issue. Collective impact initiatives are distinct from other forms of partnerships because they share a centralised infrastructure, a common agenda and shared system of measurement, and continuous communication amongst partners.

Empowering collective giving
At the Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS), we count it as our mission to enable donors to learn and tap on these different models of collective giving.

In 2018, the Singapore Youth Impact Collective became the first local initiative to adopt the collective impact model for tackling a social issue. Several multi-sector partners – with CFS as the backbone organisation – are working together to help disadvantaged youth transit more successfully to work-life. The collective was formed when its members participated in Colabs, a philanthropic initiative by CFS and the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre intended to deepen understanding and drive collaboration towards addressing community needs.

Over the years, we have also grown our Community Impact Funds which support under-served causes and are open to givers from all walks of life. While collaboration may be the way forward for larger scale change, we believe fundamentally in the strength of giving as a community, for the community.

By putting the opportunity for social change back into our own hands, we hope to nurture the spirit of ubuntu, of interconnectedness and shared humanity – and we sincerely hope you pass the flame on too.

Joyce Teo
Deputy CEO
Community Foundation of Singapore

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John Doe

The competition was organised by City Harvest Community Services Association and received support from FUN! Fund, a Community Impact Fund jointly established by the Community Foundation of Singapore and the Agency for Integrated Care, with the aim of addressing social isolation among the elderly.

Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information & Ministry of National Development Mr Tan Kiat How attended the event. He encouraged the elderly to stay physically and mentally well, as well as urging them to participate in community activities and enjoy their golden years together.

Learn more about FUN! Fund at https://www.cf.org.sg/fun-fund/.

The programme provides the children with a non-threatening platform to connect with peers and have positive conversations. In addition, it exposes them to different people who can assist to broaden their perspectives.
L.S., a volunteer with the Reading Odyssey programme @ Spooner Road

中心“常胜将军”胡锦盛：比赛限时反应要快

现年92岁的胡锦盛是最年长的参赛者。自2017年退休后，他几乎每天都到活跃乐龄中心报到，从此爱上了玩拉密，每次可玩上三个小时，在中心是“常胜将军”。

Related Topics For You: COLLECTIVES, DONOR STORIES, INCLUSIVITY & INTEGRATION, OPINION, SINGAPORE YOUTH IMPACT COLLABORATIVE, YOUTH

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Opinion

5 Critical gaps in caring for vulnerable seniors in Singapore

John Doe

Singapore is fast reaching superaged status. Life expectancy is going up while the birth rate is heading south. By 2030 – not many years from where we are today – one in four Singaporeans will be 65 years or older. More worryingly, a fifth of that cohort will be over 80 (Population in Brief 2021).

Ageing well and quality of life are huge concerns for our elderly. The biggest challenges centre on health: physical frailty or disability, sensory impairment such as hearing loss, or chronic conditions such as dementia or diabetes. However, ageing is not just a matter of biophysical health. It is also about bolstering psychological, emotional and community support.

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Mental wellness issues, such as depression and loneliness, are a real threat to the older demographic. On top of this, many older Singaporeans worry about financial security, due to escalating care costs, inadequate retirement income and limited earning opportunities.

Many people prefer to age at home but that too has its challenges. In this article, we highlight the critical gaps in caring for vulnerable seniors and what can be done to support them so that ageing can be enabling, empowering and meaningful.

#1 Funding rising healthcare needs

Singapore’s healthcare expenses could jump tenfold between 2016 and 2030 to over $66 billion¹. Family is typically the first line of support but families are getting smaller and relationships may be estranged. Income caps also mean not everyone qualifies for government aid.

Even when fees are subsidized, low-income seniors may struggle with costs. Women, in particular, face more financial insecurity as they tend to have interrupted employment or be in low-wage or unpaid care work. Women also tend to outlive men and are more likely to be single, widowed or divorced in old age.

The burden lands on welfare organisations to meet the shortfall. However, causes that help the elderly don’t attract as much funding as say, education, which in Singapore receives the lion’s share of donations: in 2019, they accounted for 52.9% of total receipts of $20.8 billion (Commissioner of Charities 2020).

#2 Access to home care and assisted living

Letting people age at home or in the community and delaying institutional care is a universal goal. But as the number of seniors with mobility issues or age-related ailments increases, demand for home nursing, home therapy, meal deliveries, assistive devices and home safety and modification services (to prevent falls) will rise. There will also be a much bigger role for centre-based eldercare, such as day care, and initiatives for assisted living.

#3 Depression and suicide

Aside from physical ill health, many seniors grapple with loneliness, loss of loved ones or dependence on others. The number of elderly living alone doubled to 63,800 in 2020 from a decade ago and is set to hit 83,000 by 2030 (Singapore Department of Statistics).

According to the Samaritans of Singapore, the number of people aged 60 and above who took their own lives reached a high at 154 deaths in 2020. That’s a 26% increase from the year before and is the highest elderly suicide death rate since 1991². There is an urgent need to support charities that connect with seniors, organise social outings or wellness activities for them, offer intergenerational bonding or assist beneficiaries with their healthcare needs such as medical appointments and screenings.

#4 Dementia support

Dementia is our nation’s most prevalent neurodegenerative disease today, affecting one in 10 seniors. By 2030, the number of dementia patients is set to reach 92,000 – a doubling from 2015 (Dementia in the Asia Pacific Region). Dementia additionally imposes a huge burden on caregivers, many of whom are ageing themselves. We need more funding to support early diagnosis and intervention, community dementia care services such as exercise and cognitive activities as well as training and support for caregivers.

#5 End of life care

Discussions about death or end of life remain taboo. There is insufficient advance care planning as well as a lack of healthcare workers and expertise in the palliative care system. Better awareness and improved options for inpatient, home or day care hospice services are needed.

How CFS helps you do more with your giving

If you would like to help seniors who have fallen through the cracks or would like to make ageing more empowering and inclusive, we at CFS can align your giving goals with the needs of this community. We are a cause-neutral organisation that supports grantmaking to a wide range of charitable areas in Singapore. Of the 400-plus charities we evaluate and make grants to, close to 30% work with seniors. We partner with charities that focus on clearly identified problem areas or social gaps that are under-supported. Charities must also demonstrate measurable outcomes and good stewardship of funds.

A simple and cost-effective way to contribute to a variety of causes in Singapore is by setting up a Donor-Advised Fund (DAF). A DAF can be set up by an individual, a beneficiary of a will, a trust, or a family office. CFS will handle all fund administration and leverage our unparalleled insight into Singapore’s charitable landscape to provide philanthropy advice that ensures your giving is targeted, accountable and impactful. CFS strives to ensure that every grant that goes out creates positive change.

As a donor, you will save on legal expenses and enjoy upfront tax deductions at the prevailing rate on eligible donations. Donors will also receive regular statements tracking incoming donations to the DAF and outgoing disbursements to charities. CFS has an established track record when it comes to setting up DAFs and our DAF payout rates outperformed the entire US DAF industry by 12% and their community foundations by 2 times.

If you would like to begin your giving journey with CFS, get in touch with us.

This article was written by Sunita Sue Leng, a former financial analyst and journalist, who believes that the written word can be a force for good. She hopes to someday write something worth plagiarising.

¹ https://www.asiaone.com/health/elderly-health-costs-rise-tenfold-2030-report

² https://www.sos.org.sg/pressroom/singapore-reported-452-suicide-deaths-in-2020-number-of-elderly-suicide-deaths-highest-recorded-since-1991

Related Topics For You: COLLECTIVES, DONOR STORIES, INCLUSIVITY & INTEGRATION, OPINION, SINGAPORE YOUTH IMPACT COLLABORATIVE, YOUTH

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News

CEO Catherine Loh goes on MONEY FM 89.3 to speak about the Sayang Sayang Fund with Michelle Martin

John Doe

Michelle: Let’s start with CFS and the work that it does. How does it support charities and why did the Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS) start the Sayang Sayang Fund?

Catherine: The Community Foundation of Singapore is also a charity. We were founded in 2008, and our main objective is to inspire philanthropy in Singapore. We do that by helping donors achieve a greater impact with their giving in communities through charitable funds. Donors can establish their own funds or if they wish, they could support one of the Community Impact Funds that we’ve started up.

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Bright moon illuminating serene city park.

The Funding Network (TFN)

The Sayang Sayang Fund is one of such Community Impact Funds. It was set up in response to the needs that arose from the COVID 19 pandemic. With our understanding of the needs on the ground, our network of community partners, government agencies, and charity partners, we were able to quickly see what the needs out there were and who needed help.

We thought that by setting up this Fund, it would be an effective way of garnering financial support from those who want to give and disburse it quickly to those in need. That’s why we started it.

Michelle: I understand the Fund aims to help healthcare workers on the frontlines and the vulnerable, and that the Sayang Sayang Fund has pledged some quarter of a million dollars in taxi vouchers to frontline staff of healthcare institutions. How close is the Fund to meeting that goal?

Catherine: I’m happy to say that thanks to the generosity of our donors that we have actually disbursed over $400,000 of taxi and transport vouchers to 129 public hospitals, polyclinics and community healthcare providers. For that I have to thank ComfortDelGro, Grab and Gojek for partnering with us. And I must say that when we started the Fund, our first objective was the welfare of the healthcare workers on the frontline supporting us.

It is only right that we provide them with some love and care, sayang them a bit; that’s how we started this Fund. That was the first project we were looking to do. But over time, when we raised the money, we reached out to the charities through grants calls to send over their funding requests to us, we found that there were lots of needs. In the first round of grants calls we received almost three million dollars in requests for funding, and that is why we decided to continue with the Fund to raise more money.

Michelle: Where are the urgent needs now Catherine, and how is CFS helping to plug these gaps?

Catherine: With the circuit breaker measures, the loss of work and everybody having to stay at home, I would say that almost everyone in Singapore is affected. So one of the very urgent needs that we are trying to address is really how to support the students that have to study from home, or ‘home based learning’.

Through our Recess@Home programme, we are very grateful that we have the partnership support of the Ministry of Education to quickly reach out to thousands of children who might need financial support. Because these students do get subsidies or free food when they are in school, now these students cannot go to school. We want to provide them with some financial support so at least there is some assurance that they do get their proper meals while they study at home. So that is one need.

We realise too that there are seniors that may be sick and are living alone at home and not getting their usual medical care and support. We would also love to set up an emergency fund for those community nurses or even volunteers who are still allowed to do house visits to provide these vulnerable seniors with any form of support that they might need. We understand that there are lots of groups out there that are already providing food and basic necessities. Community nurses could supply them with medicines, medical support, essentials or anything they might need while they are staying at home on their own.

Even young students from families that might need them to take on a part-time job to supplement the family income are no longer able to do so. We could provide them with financial support so they can focus on their studies and not drop out of school because of the worries of not being able to provide for their family. That is one thing that we would like to do as well. Of course, we also have a lot of foreign guests and workers who are falling sick and how can we help them.

Last but not least, back to our healthcare workers again. With the number of cases that they have to take care of, I think it is very important that they stay physically and mentally healthy so that stress doesn’t get to them. We do wish to be able to continue to support these workers with transport vouchers or even funding so their organisations can charter, say buses to send them home quickly after their long work shift.

Michelle: Given the number and the sheer variety of needs out there, how is the Fund approaching giving? I understand in your initial phase, CFS was seeking donations of a million and above. Right now is pretty much any help welcome?

Catherine: We do have a target of three million, and as we speak there are more needs surfacing, so I do think the Fund will continue to stay open as long as there are needs out there that need support. We do have a team of grant-makers out there to assess the situation.

We don’t work alone; we work with our partners like government agencies, NCSS (National Council of Social Service) and AIC (Agency of Integrated Care). We have our whole network of charity partners and we have our other funders who are active and even volunteer groups. We work with all these groups to gather all this information to see where and how the Sayang Sayang Fund can help.

Michelle: Is there a minimum of a million dollars to be able to donate?

Catherine: No, any amount is welcome. I must say that Singaporeans in general have been very generous because last week when many of us received the $600 of the Solidarity payment, many people have donated online in support of Sayang Sayang and also the other charities that happen to be fund-raising.

Michelle: Singaporeans are so generous, so lovely to hear that. Can you share a little bit of your estimate of how much you’re going to need to meet the evolving emergency needs you anticipate for the next couple of weeks?

Catherine: I do hope we can raise another one to two million dollars so that we can actually provide longer term targeted support. I think this pandemic is not going to go away by early June. The economy will only be slowly cranking up after that, so there will still be people who need support one way or the other.

Listen to the full interview here: https://omny.fm/shows/money-fm-893/influence-lending-a-helping-hand-during-covid-19

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John Doe

Learn more about FUN! Fund at https://www.cf.org.sg/fun-fund/.

The programme provides the children with a non-threatening platform to connect with peers and have positive conversations. In addition, it exposes them to different people who can assist to broaden their perspectives.
L.S., a volunteer with the Reading Odyssey programme @ Spooner Road

中心“常胜将军”胡锦盛：比赛限时反应要快

Related Topics For You: COLLECTIVES, DONOR STORIES, INCLUSIVITY & INTEGRATION, OPINION, SINGAPORE YOUTH IMPACT COLLABORATIVE, YOUTH

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Events

CFS Donor Learning Trip Series: Empowering ageing well at Yong-en Care Centre

John Doe

This initiative is part of CFS’s Donor Learning Trips, a series of engagement opportunities that enable donors to personally connect with charities and gain insights into how they support communities in need.

Several seniors were playing a game. Seated in pairs, they were passing a large ball around. The challenge? Don’t drop the ball! There was laughter and cheers as the ball wobbled from one pair to another. This is one of many therapeutic activities at Dementia Day Care, a keystone service by registered charity Yong-en Care Centre.

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Four women standing together in a room with a table, engaged in a conversation and displaying a sense of camaraderie.

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Visit by Moscow-based non-profit organisations

Yong-en Care Centre’s Dementia Day Care is a lifeline for 31 seniors – all with moderate to advanced dementia – and their overwhelmed caregivers. The programme is funded by the generous donors of CFS.

In May 2023, 11 donors from 7 donor-advised funds (DAFs) took the time to join our first Donor Learning Trip this year, to Yong-en Care Centre, to meet with the charity and discover how it cares for the vulnerable elderly. Ageing Well is one of CFS’s five focal areas for grantmaking, where we curate programmes that enable our senior generation to remain active and purposeful for a better quality of life in their golden years.

Yong-en Care Centre began 27 years ago serving the destitute elderly in Chinatown. It has since expanded its outreach to the Chin Swee, Outram and Bukit Merah areas. Its services have also gone beyond food security and befriending to a full suite of support for low-income families, single mothers, home nursing care, dementia, and active ageing. It is an under-the-radar charity that is quietly and steadily making an outsized impact.

During the visit, donors learnt how music therapy is being embedded into dementia care, as well as the support and workshops offered to caregivers, many of whom are also old. The Dementia Day Care runs daily activities that engage the beneficiaries’ cognitive functions and improve their motor skills, including the pass-the-ball game witnessed by our donors. Such multi-sensory activities are specially curated to help persons with dementia manage their condition.

Donors also received updates on Home Care, another programme that receives grants from CFS donors. Yong-en Care Centre is one of the 24 home care service providers in Singapore and its nurses visit homebound seniors to provide personalised medical care.

Yong-en Care Centre is rapidly expanding its dementia care services and introducing more active ageing programmes. It is also collaborating with other community care providers to set up an integrated services hub for seniors and their caregivers at Chinatown Point. To accomplish these initiatives, the non–profit relies on government grants and public donations. It does not use commercial fundraisers.

Through CFS, Yong-en Care Centre has managed to grow its donor base. “CFS connects us with donors who are truly aligned with our mission,” says Ms. Griselda Ong, director of Elderly Services at Yong-en Care Centre. In 2022, almost a third of funding (32.8%) for home care and 27.5% of funding for dementia day care came from CFS donors . “This support is significant as these critical services help the vulnerable age in place,” says Griselda.

“I have always been interested in supporting elder care,” says June Chia, a donor who set up a donor-advised fund (DAF) with CFS. “But there are many charities doing such work that I do not know of.” Through CFS, she learnt about Yong-en Care Centre.

June is inspired by Yong-en Care Centre’s impact on marginalised communities and its commitment to continuous progress. “I feel that my money is being well-utilised,” she shares. June appreciates CFS’s meticulous vetting of charities and our dedication to groundwork. Giving through a donor-advised fund (DAF) is also hassle-free, as CFS handles all the administrative work and provides regular updates on her fund.

I have always been interested in supporting elder care. But there are many charities doing such work that I do not know of. Through CFS, I learnt about Yong-en Care Centre and having seen first-hand what they are doing, I feel that my money is being well-utilised.

John Doe

For Yong-en Care Centre, meeting donors face-to-face was a valuable opportunity to deepen their understanding of its unique care model and to engage with them on any questions they may have, says Griselda. In addition, it is also an opportunity to thank CFS donors who have been supporting the charity and build a lasting relationship with them.

CFS assists charities and their underprivileged communities by connecting them with donors who are seeking to support causes and crucial needs that resonate with them deeply.

To find out more about the causes we support, please visit www.cf.org.sg/what-we-support/.

Learn more about FUN! Fund at https://www.cf.org.sg/fun-fund/.

The programme provides the children with a non-threatening platform to connect with peers and have positive conversations. In addition, it exposes them to different people who can assist to broaden their perspectives.
L.S., a volunteer with the Reading Odyssey programme @ Spooner Road

中心“常胜将军”胡锦盛：比赛限时反应要快

Related Topics For You: COLLECTIVES, DONOR STORIES, INCLUSIVITY & INTEGRATION, OPINION, SINGAPORE YOUTH IMPACT COLLABORATIVE, YOUTH

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Events

Donor Learning Trip – St Joseph’s Home’s Inspirational Inter-Generation Programme

August 7, 2024

At CFS, we work closely with over 400 well-governed charities to link donors to programmes that achieve meaningful impact. With our deep experience, we understand the importance of improving lives through community initiatives. St Joseph’s Home (SJH) is a good example of this.

About St Joseph’s Home (SJH)

SJH is a not-for-profit organisation set up by the Catholic Welfare Services in 1978 to provide shelter, care and love for the aged and destitute, regardless of race or religion.

Since then, SJH has innovated to pioneer unique models of care that meet the community’s evolving needs. This includes the hydrotherapy, night respite care for persons with dementia and the co-located Infant and Childcare Centre (ICC).

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Set up during the covid-19 pandemic, Sayang Sayang Fund raised $9.7m over three years, supporting over 400,000 lives
应疫情设立 Sayang Sayang基金三年筹970万元惠及40万人

SJH’s beautiful premise is situated at the heart of the Jurong Innovation District. It has wheelchair-accessible playgrounds, walkways and community spaces such as Café Verona and Funhouse to encourage chance interactions. Spaces are also configurable to accommodate structured programmes that require more privacy and comfort.

An Intergenerational Care Community

In August 2017, SJH pioneered Singapore’s first intergenerational community with an Infant and Childcare Centre (ICC) co-located in a nursing home.

Infants as young as two months old to children up to age six get daily opportunities lasting 45 to 90 minutes to interact with nursing home residents. Children and residents engage in activities such as shared newspaper reading, puzzles, LEGO building, singing and storytelling.

These interactions form part of the children’s curriculum, where they learn about culture, and pick up motor and literacy skills. They also form part of the resident’s daily care, which is made possible only because of the close collaboration between the ICC and the clinical team of SJH.

Our donors were recently invited to visit St Joseph’s Home and witnessed their recently-launched intergenerational art therapy programme. Joy was evident on the faces of both residents and children as they waved to one another.

Gladys and Nathan (children on the right) learning about the dragon boat festival with Mdm Quek* (resident on the left)

Intergenerational Programmes as a Therapeutic Intervention

With all the buzz around intergenerational programmes (IGPs), here’s what sets SJH apart.

Every programme has a therapeutic outcome and St Joseph’s Home Infant and Childcare Centre teachers work closely with SJH’s clinical team to develop IGPs that:

Resonate with both generations
Intentionally facilitate conversations and relationship-building
Have therapeutic outcomes such as improve mood and increased social wellbeing

Our visit coincided with the fifth of eight sessions conducted by an Occupational Therapy Assistant. Residents and children were collaborating on a calligraphy painting.

Mdm Tan*, one of the participants who had been hesitant to join social activities, is observed laughing and making eye contact with Estelle, the spritely five-years-old that she’s paired with.

Estelle (left) sharing a conversation with Mdm Tan* (right). She has learned to move closer to Mdm Tan as the resident is hard of hearing.

Another resident, Mdm Wee*, has shown remarkable improvement, eating better and faster on days when she meets the children.

It’s inspiring to hear about Mdm Wee’s progress. She used to take two hours for lunch, often breathless and discouraged, preferring to stay in her bedroom. Now, after just a few sessions, she’s more motivated, energetic, and engaged, even asking about the children. She can now finish her meal in half an hour

Imelda Anthony, Principal of St Joseph’s Home Infant & Childcare Centre

The donors of CFS witnessed the energy within the group and comfortable interactions. These took hours to foster, and cannot be justly put in words.

Developing such results is an art. It calls for a careful integration of the medical and psychosocial needs of the residents, their unique interests and the developmental stage and disposition of the child that they’re paired with.

Teachers need to be equipped with an understanding of the residents and constantly communicate with the therapist before and throughout the IGP to ensure that the therapeutic outcomes are met.

Intergenerational Programmes as Education

“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” – Aristotle

Since its inception in 2017, the teachers at St Joseph’s Home Infant and Childcare Centre have focused on investing in the character of the children. Empathy, kindness, and respect are not just taught but also demonstrated.

Children observe the staff and teachers interacting with residents, learning to respectfully gain the attention of those who may be weak or frail. They also practise handling wheelchairs and being considerate in their movements and volume around residents.

During the IGP, children will progressively pick up the residents’ names, interests, or areas in which they might need help with. For example, children might help residents by repeating instructions closer to their ears or uncapping the tools that require more fine motor skills.

Intergenerational Programmes as an Innovative Care Model

As pioneers in integrating the preschool curriculum with elderly-inclusive activities, SJH has learned and experimented along the way, all while remaining committed to their vision of providing person-centred, dignified care.

Their experience has since inspired other organisations. Looking ahead, SJH envisions the intergenerational programme as an integrated part of person-centred, holistic care for elderly residents. They continue to experiment with various programme types and structures, monitoring their impact and collaborating with research partners.

How You Can Help

St Joseph’s seeks $150,000 annually to run the programme, which involves childcare teachers, music, art, and occupational therapists that serve 20 children and 40 to 60 elderly residents. To find out how to become a CFS donor, click here.

*Names changed to protect confidentiality.