Mid-Autumn Festival Celebrations with Lions Befrienders Seniors - September '12

On the 29th of September 2012, the Leo Club of Singapore Metropolitan organized Mid-Autumn Festival Celebrations for a group of 40 seniors, held at the Lions Befrienders Seniors Activity Centre in Ang Mo Kio.

The event started at 1:00pm and as the seniors walked in, there was a mix of anticipation and nervousness. We had all put in lots of effort into the planning and preparations  and hoped that the seniors would be able to enjoy themselves and leave with good memories.

Seniors showing off their vocal talents, serenading everyone present.

To start things off, we began by serving a delicious lunch, sponsored by our Club. Following that, we began our celebration segment proper. The first segment was the Open Mic segment, where seniors were encouraged to come forward to perform their favourite songs and oldies. The seniors showcased that age definitely did not have any impact on their ability to sound great, leaving many of us Leos impressed!

Mid-Autumn Quiz Time!!!

"Uncle did you say the right answer?"

Volunteers and seniors trying as hard as they can to form the biggest "moon".

The second segment of the events was "Games Time!". The first game played was "Quiz Time!". The quiz consisted first of the "Guess which song!" segment, where seniors were asked to guess a song from their generation, hummed aloud by a Leo who had never heard the song before. The next part was to guess a series of questions involving the history of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Lastly, each table was asked to send up a pair making-up of a senior and a volunteer to form the largest "moon" using only their hands. The seniors were extremely enthusiastic and the atmosphere became more lively as the event progressed.

It was our club's first ever Mid-Autumn celebration with the elderly and we were glad that the elderly enjoyed the impromptu karaoke sessions, had fun playing the games plus 猜灯谜，as well as interacting with us!! Most of us celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival by playing with lanterns and eating mooncakes with family and friends, but this will be one of my extraordinary memories of bringing joy and companionship to the elderly during this festive season. They may not need our physical assistance, but emotional support could mean a lot to them. It was heart-warming to see them left with smiles on their faces, which in turn, made us smile too!:)

- Leo Secretary Angelin

Eric and Jannice can consider careers as back-up dancers.

The event gradually drew to a close with some more closing impromptu performances from the seniors themselves.

However, as with all good things, the event had to conclude and with smiles and arms laden with the bags of Mid-Autumn goodies and mooncakes given by us, the seniors took their leave from the centre. Even though, we were worried that the seniors may not enjoy what we had planned for them, our worries were allayed by their smiles and warm handshakes in appreciation for our work, a truly heart-warming moment.

On behalf of the Leo Club of Singapore Metropolitan, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our generous sponsors (Home's Favourite, Unisoy and Indocafe) for supporting our event and helping to make it the success it was!

We would of course also like to thank Lions Befrienders for giving us the opportunity to work with their seniors, and last but not least we would like to thank the Lions and volunteers who came to support us!

Leos from Leo Club of Singapore Metropolitan and volunteers!

If you are interested in viewing more photos from this event, do visit our Album on Leo Club of Singapore Metropolitan's Facebook Page at the following links: Leo Club of Singapore Metropolitan Mid-Autumn Festival with LB seniors 

NUSS Groceries on Wheels - July' 12

On 21st July 2012, Leos from Leo Club of Singapore Metropolitan volunteered their time to deliver bags of donated groceries to the needy residents living in 1-room flats in the North-East region of Singapore, at the event organised by the NUS Society (NUSS).

Groceries on Wheels 2012 - organised by NUSS

A total of 2,400 grocery bags were delivered by 250 volunteers in various mode of transport – cars, coaches, lorries and carts. Items in the grocery bag include cooking oil, soya sauce, instant noodles, biscuits, soap and other necessities for the use of the needy and elderly households.

A small part of the 2400 grocery bags packed for the 1-room flats' residents in North-East region.

Leos and Lions of Singapore Metropolitan went in groups to deliver the grocery bags to the needy and elderly households, according to the assigned distribution list. At the same time, we had brief but meaningful chats with the residents, which helped us to better understand their conditions and socio-economic issues.

It was my first time participating in Groceries on Wheels and a morning well spent. It was more than just delivering the grocery bags to the needy residents. You should never underestimate your ability in bringing a smile to someone's face, especially the elderly living alone. Even a simple action such as talking to them can brighten up their day and make them feel that they are not all alone!

 - Leo Angelin

On behalf of Leo Club of Singapore Metropolitan, we would like to thank the following volunteers for taking their time out to join us for this meaningful event: Edwin, William, Jiaying, Lian Jie, Kimberly, HuiTing and Tze Hin. We hope that you have enjoyed the time spent with us and the needy residents in the North-East region. Thank you :)

Lions, Leos and volunteers - after completing the delivery.



If you are interested in viewing more photos from this event, do visit our Album on our Facebook Page at the following links: Gallery

SILRA Home Visit - June '12

On 24th June 2012, the Leo Club of Singapore Metropolitan and our volunteers visited the Singapore Leprosy Relief Association (SILRA) Home. Here is what Leo Jannice has to say about the visit! On 24th June 2012, the Leo Club of Singapore Metropolitan and our volunteers visited the Singapore Leprosy Relief Association (SILRA) Home. Here is what Leo Jannice has to say about the visit!

"It was a wonderful experience interacting with the friendly and fun-loving elderly! We brought food and delicious dumplings for them in celebration of Duanwu Festival (端午节) and played a simple game of pass-the-parcel. Special mention to Leo Tih Yong and Leo Yufei for singing the song solos, haha!

It was like an open-air karaoke party with the elderly and Leos singing and dancing under a nice and warm atmosphere. Chatting with the elderly was fun as we talked about anything under the sun like old friends. Overall, it was an enjoyable experience for me, the Leos and the elderly. And I look forward for the next visit. :)"

- Leo Jannice

The Leo Club of Singapore Metropolitan has been visiting SiLRA on a regular basis since 2006. The SILRA Home was founded in 1971. It is committed to improving life of ex-leprosy victims in Singapore through providing them with a home, basic care and love.