Article about a poll done on local university undergraduates concerning the prevalence of youth volunteerism.

1. news Monday July 6, 2009 TODAY
Singapore roUnDUp
6
singapore, indonesia
conduct Joint Minex exercise set meal at
The Singapore and Indonesian navies are conducting
their annual mine-countermeasure exercise, code-
named Joint MINEX, off the eastern coast of Batam
w
NeChicken
Haven $ .90
and Bintan, Indonesia, and in the Singapore Strait. Weekdays till 5pm
(excluding Public Holidays)
The annual exercise between the Republic of
Singapore Navy (RSN) and the Indonesian Navy • Soup of the Day
(TNI-AL) is the twelfth in the Joint MINEX series. • Main Course
(Personal Pan Pizza,
Then Commander of the RSN’s Maritime Security Pasta or Baked Rice)
Task Force, Rear-Admiral Tan Wee Beng, and TNI-AL’s • A glass of Soft Drink
or Coffee/Tea
Commander, Western Fleet Sea Security Group, First- from left: Mervin seetoh, Wong Jeng yih, Justin yuen,
Admiral Sugeng Darmawan, had officiated at the toh Wai hong, Joel teo and don soh. treVor tan For dine-in only. Additional $1
opening ceremony in Batam, Indonesia, last Monday. for city stores.
Two RSN mine-countermeasure vessels — the RSS third place for s’pore gaMers
Kallang and RSS Punggol; one TNI-AL mine-counter- Singapore and Malaysia tied for third place after
measure vessel — the KRI Pulau Rengat; and a TNI-AL garnering a silver and a bronze in the World Cyber
minesweeper, KRI Pulau Rangsang, are participating Games 2009 Asian Championships. Vietnam
in the exercise which involves joint operations against returned home as champions with two golds out of
simulated mine threats. The exercise ends tomorrow. the three available. treVor tan
youth Volunteers
nus undergraduate VolunteerisM and social giVing surVey
A social dimension
• 3 in 10 undergraduates volunteered at least once in the past 12 months
• 4 in 10 have volunteered before (excluding compulsory
Community Involvement Programme)
• 6 in 10 were aware of the various volunteering opportunities in NUS
• Nearly half felt community service was best left to personal interest,
rather than made a compulsory part of university curriculum undergraduates will take volunteer but there is an initial inertia due to
• Slightly over half (51.0 per cent) would consider working in the non-profit sector
• More than 9 in 10 are open to volunteering after graduation
part if more friends join in unfamiliarity, which can be overcome if they
had the support of friends and family”.
The findings alos showed that three in
lin yanqin
yanqin@mediacorp.com.sg 10 NUS undergraduates currently volunteer
— a rate that is almost double the national
MORE of Singapore’s youth would volun- average of 16.9 per cent.
teer, if their friends did so as well. As for the top three factors that made
A survey by the National University of volunteering unsatisfying, they include a
Singapore’s NUS Volunteer Network and lack of organisation in the activities, inad-
the Centre for Social Entrepreneurship and equate training, and feeling of boredom and
Philanthropy found that more than seven loss of interest in their volunteer work.
in 10 of the 3,143 undergraduates surveyed And while four in 10 supported the
would take part in volunteering opportuni- Community Involvement Programme in
ties in NUS if more friends took part too. schools, a similar number (40.1 per cent)
Most volunteers also usually volunteer also felt the activities students engage in
with friends, or with fellow volunteers they lacked the essence of community service.
meet through the activity. The inaugural survey was conducted
According to the survey, the “findings in May, and included Singapore citizens,
reveal the social dimension of volunteer- Permanent Residents and foreign students
ing and the important role that it plays in — except those who were here on exchange
volunteerism. Many undergraduates want to programmes.