Dear Lorong Cat,

Your post on May 15^th titled “Singa quits: A reply from your taxpayer boss” gave us very good feedback on the state of kindness in Singapore today, and I would like to thank you for sharing.

That is all we were trying to achieve with this campaign, to get people like you to talk about where we are as a country and what we can do about it. I am particularly concerned about your observation that “we are now a nation where a win-at-all-costs mentality is dominant and even encouraged as The Only way for us to survive, it lowers the importance we may place on any human decency, courtesy, graciousness and thoughtfulness that does not directly lead to tangible achievements”.

I would argue that human decency, courtesy, graciousness and thoughtfulness is the only way we can survive as a society. Any community which builds on survival of the fittest will eventually die out, and it is only by working together that we have a shot in making it in this increasingly harsh world.

That’s not to say we can’t have a competitive streak. Your tennis analogy was apt, so allow me to draw another sporting analogy.

Since Singapore is such a big fan of the English Premier League, let us look towards that as an example. When two football teams are on the field, they are combative, sometimes even to the point of losing their temper in a bid to win the match.

Yet, more often than not, when the match is over, no matter who wins, players from both teams will shake hands and share a drink in the lounge after the match. While there are the occasional times when a player goes too far and crosses the line, and such is the slippery slope a competitive nature puts us on, by and large, the players exhibit professional courtesy to one another.

Are we, as a people, not able to embrace the same values despite our competitive environment? Are the two values impossible to negotiate amicably? Are we not able to compete graciously and in the process learn from our competitors to become better friends?  Do we need to treat competitors  as enemies ? We don’t believe so and we do hope that the people of this nation can see that too.

Singa, the cartoon lion, is gone. In going, we hope that he will awaken the Singa in each one of us.

Thank you once again.

Dr William Wan
General Secretary
Singapore Kindness Movement

Dear Justina,

Thank you for your reflective post about our campaign and the state of kindness in Singapore today.

Just to clarify, we didn’t say it was a publicity stunt. It is unfortunate the media called it such. Singa is gone, and in the upcoming Kindness Day SG on May 31st, you will not see Singa at a Singapore Kindness Movement initiative for the first time since Singa became SKM’s mascot.

Our intention was to invite people such as yourself to talk about where we are as a country and what we can do about it, which you have eloquently done. We do hope you continue to encourage and inspire kindness in your readers. It is our opinion that Singapore today needs all of us to find the Singa in us, and that is the message we hope will resonate with people.

Thank you once again.

Dr William Wan
General Secretary
Singapore Kindness Movement

On 30^th March 2013, Sharon and 42 other children got their wishes granted at the Children’s Wishing Well 13^th Gift Disbursement. Held at the Jurong Bird Park, the children were full of smiles as they all received their wishes. It was a fruitful experience for all students, parents, teachers, donors and volunteers alike.

The Children’s Wishing Well is the first volunteer-run, online donation portal that allows donors to choose specific children they wish to donate to. Wishing Well helps fulfill its beneficiaries’ wishes ranging from food, transport, medical and home improvements to school needs by connecting them to interested donors. Every three months, donors are invited to present their gifts directly to the beneficiaries, ensuring full transparency and accountability.

Wishing Well’s efforts would not be complete without its donors’ acts of kindness. Every dollar counts as Wishing Well does not impose a minimum donation amount. Only with the continued support and awareness from the general public can Wishing Well continue to assist more beneficiaries.

Childhood is carefree? Not for all. Find out more about Wishing Well and its beneficiaries at http://www.wishingwell.org.sg/. Sponsor a child today and join in the next disbursement on 29 June 2013.

Like The Children’s Wishing Well on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Childrens-Wishing-Well-Student-Advisory-Center/191551777545908

Submitted by The Children’s Wishing Well

Got a Kindness story to share?
Email stories@kindness.sg to have them published on our website.

SINGA the Lion is venturing into cyberspace as the Singapore Kindness Movement takes its campaign to the online arena.

The organisation plans to hire a full-time member of staff to conduct research on how people converse using social media.

And in another first, it is setting up a Kindness Day SG on May 31 – the last day of the school term. The aim is to involve children, who may not be able to take part in the existing World Kindness Day on Nov 13.

Dr William Wan, the general secretary of the movement, in an interview with The Straits Times, said he had two main concerns about people acting ungraciously on social media.

These are: “the innocent behaviour of netizens who carelessly post comments…without verifying the accuracy”; and “the minority, who are really angry and use the Internet to vent without listening to reason.”

Last month, the findings of the annual Graciousness Index study showed that Singaporeans are generally more willing to speak out on social media but are split on whether they should extend gracious behaviour to cyberspace.

Dr Wan said the new staff member will observe how people converse on the Internet. “We want to understand how we can effectively play a role in encouraging graciousness online,” he said.

But he added that the employee will not “spy” on sites and online conversations. Dr Wan said he hopes to see a “critical mass” of people who will promote kindness in cyberspace by posting comments about graciousness, for example.

The Media Literacy Council is also helping the movement – whose mascot is Singa the Lion – to promote graciousness in cyberspace.

It has called for proposals from students on ways to encourage young people to “have the courage to stand up for the right behaviour online”.

Those whose proposals are approved will receive up to $1,000 to start their projects through the movement’s Seed Kindness Fund.

Kindness Day SG – also slated to be an annual event – will involve students of different ages in primary and secondary schools.

By the end of this month, they will be given materials such as activity sheets to spur them to show kindness during the holidays.

“Schools will be involved actively, consciously, in an intentional manner to do acts of kindness,” said Dr Wan. “We would like kindness and graciousness, and all the values associated with them, to get to our kids first, while they are still young.”

During World Kindness Day in November, fewer students are involved – either due to exams or because their schools close early.

Dr Wan hopes more young people will be able to take part in the new event on the last day of Term Two, later this month, when the organisation will hold a celebration for the public at The Central in Clarke Quay at 7pm.

Promoting graciousness ground-up, not top-down

UNDER Dr William Wan’s leadership, the Singapore Kindness Movement has developed new ways of promoting graciousness.

The general secretary, 65, who joined the organisation in 2011, was reappointed for another year last month. Under his watch, it has become less “campaign-oriented” and more of a “facilitator” which supports ground-up initiatives, he told The Straits Times. “The days when the top-down approach worked are long past… Today, people want to be reasoned into doing or inspired to do things, not told to do so.”

He cited examples of how the movement – which started in 1997 – has linked students with mentors to work on projects.

“If we can find good examples of gracious acts and show why these make life better for people, then it’d be easier for them to want to be gracious.”

He said this was one of the reasons he stayed “optimistic” even though the latest Graciousness Index – based on a survey of over 1,000 people – hit a five-year low when the results came out last month.

Before joining the movement, Dr Wan was involved in charity work. About 10 years ago, he shaved his head to raise around $20,000 for a teenager with cancer. “I believe kindness will
be practised more often through the power of one, and that will cumulatively create social pressure and result in the culture of graciousness I dream about.”

By PRISCILLA GOY

Source: The Straits Times Home © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Reproduced with permission.

In collaboration with partners, educational institutions, charity organisations and members of the public, a simple celebratory event will be held on 31st May along the iconic Singapore River at Clarke Quay.

In this episode, we talk to one of our partners, Shatec, who will be serving their specially-created kindness cocktails on Kindness Day SG. We talk about the inspiration behind these drinks and find out how you can make your own kindness concoction!

Established in 1983 by Singapore Hotel Association to equip Singapore with a skilled tourism workforce, Shatec Institutes offers both full-time and customised industry-relevant programmes for aspiring professionals in the exciting hospitality industry.
Shatec’s culture for being a caring organisation with a supportive environment that encourages feedback, sharing, and acceptance for diversity resonates strongly with SKM’s kindness message.

Want to have a taste of this yummy kindness concoction? Just follow these simple steps at home or join us at Kindness Day SG, as we celebrate a nation of kindness in Singapore.

Tropical Kindness Cocktail by Stella Tan
30ml Lemon Vodka
60ml Lime juice
10ml Green apple syrup
15ml Kiwi puree
20ml Mango juice
10ml Mango syrup

Build and Shake
Strain into Champagne flute
Garnish with slice of Orange.

Blue Daisy Mocktail by Abigail Foo
40ml Lime juice
30ml Orange juice
15ml Lychee syrup
10ml Blue Curacao syrup

Shake and strain into Wine glass
Garnish with slice of Orange
Top with Ginger ale.

The study, commissioned by the Singapore Kindness Movement, surveyed 1,200 individuals on their experience and perception of kindness and graciousness in the past year. Respondents reported that they performed and experienced fewer acts of kindness and graciousness in 2012, as compared to the same timeframe in 2011.

To some extent, the significant fall was not too surprising, particularly in the context of social tensions that have arisen in Singapore in recent times. After all, with the national consciousness revolving around livelihood matters and other socio-political issues, kindness and graciousness are less prominently discussed. As a result, less people may be prioritizing kindness, and this may have translated into less gracious acts going around.

However, there were some silver linings to be observed. Interestingly, perceptions of overall graciousness did not reflect the sharp drop in the experience trends of the survey. A slight dip of 0.4 points to an average of 5.8 this year showed that many still perceived Singapore to be a kind country and desire for our society to be a more gracious one.

As a people, we yearn for a more gracious environment to live in, yet not enough are making the effort to practise graciousness in simple everyday circumstances. This is a disconnect that can only be gradually resolved when more of us begin to make choices that reflect our aspirations for a gracious Singapore.

The findings pose a challenge not only to SKM, its partners and other like-minded ground-up kindness initiatives, but more so for all of us who share this little red dot. In the final analysis, we – and the values and behaviours we choose – will determine our societal norms and identity.

What will it take for the nation to believe and engage themselves in the cause for kindness and graciousness? Singa the Lion may well be running out of answers…

You can also pen a kindness message or a word of thanks on the origami paper and give it to someone whom you appreciate. We hope to see you there!