Trees of the World 2012!

Operation Smile Singapore is very proud to be invited once again to Trees of the World organised by the Singapore Botanic Gardens! The NEC'13 brought their materials down to the Singapore Botanic Gardens and started decorating their Christmas tree!

NEC'13 with their Christmas tree!

Our beautiful Christmas tree at night!

In 2011, Trees of the World saw the participation of embassies, schools, societies, NGOs and corporate partners who came together to decorate and light up over 200 trees, which event transformed the Gardens into a magical wonderland. The event was a visual feast for all participants and visitors. 

In 2012, Trees of the World was officially launched on 30th November, and the 200 beautiful Christmas trees will be on display till 6th January 2013. Do visit the Tanglin Core of the Gardens to see these trees before they are replanted after the event!

Do visit our Christmas tree and Join us in changing lives one SMILE :) at a time! 

Say Cheez!! - Operation Smile concert!

On the 3rd of August 2012, Operation Smile Singapore Student Chapter @ River Valley organised a fundraising concert ‘Say Cheez!’ at Boon Lay Community Centre. The event was graced by Mr Lawrence Wong, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Education & Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts.  

It was a meaningful and fulfilling experience for the audience, performers and organising committee alike. It was the first time for many of the organising committee members to put together such a large scale event and the performers also made time to come down for rehearsals after school to practice for their performance. The thought of being able to raise funds to help these children receive medical treatment to give them a new lease of life spurred us on through difficulties.  

Everyone present on Friday night definitely enjoyed themselves and was treated to the spectacular performances prepared by their peers despite their busy work schedules. Performances ranging from singing, dancing to even diabolo and beat-boxing!  The Silent Sirens, Amber, Glenvicia,Yunqi and Heather’s band, Okaycan, Nicole and Shao Hao engaged the audiences through their beautiful voices. The D.lab Crew and J-ream liven the atmosphere with their dance. The performance of diabolo was an eye opener for many and kept the audience in awe. One of our organising committee member, Tze Chong, even beat-boxed and got the audience to join in along with him. 

We would like to thank the following groups of people, without which Say Cheez! would not have been such a huge success. Our utmost gratitude goes to: Bridge Learning, our sponsor for the event; the Boon Lay CC Youth Executive Committee for their help; Operation Smile Singapore Student Chapter Excos for offering help and advice; Raimie and Livia, our emcees for the night; Samuel and Michelle, our PA crew; Ashley, Brandon and Morgan, our backstage crew; and of course all our friends, parents and teachers for supporting us in one way or another.  

All the time and hardwork put in for the past few months were definitely worth it, and we are happy to know that all the funds raised will go a long way in helping the kids be able to ‘Say Cheez!’  

OSSSC@RV

Evolucion Operation Smile Concert at RI(JC)

On the 21st of April, Operation Smile Singapore Student Chapters @ Raffles Institution (JC) and Hwa Chong Institution co-organised a fund and awareness raising concert called Evolucion at RI(JC). It was a truly amazing night with Joel singing, Chris & band rocking away, Valesha & Rachel with their amazing voices, Isabelle and Remus with their Latin Dance, Catherine & Adeline with their refreshing voices and the Diabolo Duo with their one-of-a-kind talent. It was an honour to work together with such talented and passionate people.

Despite a few setbacks, we managed to pull through as one team for one cause. Knowing that we were of help to the children with cleft lips/palates in one way or another, we persevered to successfully conclude the concert.

Finally, we would like to thank Mr. Justyn Olby, the national exco, the Student Chapter @ HCI, members of the audience and finally the performers for their hardwork and support.


-Catherine
President
OSSSC @ RI(JC)

Op Smile volunteers @ Youth Got Heart

Youth Got Heart is an annual event organized by the Raffles Interact Club of Raffles Institution (Junior College), aimed at exposing youths to community service opportunities available and therefore serving as a platform for them to translate personal passions into action by forming partnerships with VWOs. Each year, VWOs from across the country gather at YGH, helping to spread the spirit of volunteerism through the sharing of ideas and personal experiences with the youths. This year's YGH took place on 10 March 2012 at the National Library, and featured approximately 50 VWOs and student-initiated projects. Operation Smile Singapore was one of the VWOs featured and has reached out to almost 100 interested youths, bringing them in to our cause!

Here's a reflection from Student Chapter @ RI:

Although the Operation Smile Singapore booth at YGH this year was manned only by two people, Catherine and myself, the results have certainly been a pleasant surprise and exceeded our expectations. Though it was tiring manning the booth for close to 10 hours and interacting with the hundreds of youths as well as other members of public, it has certainly concretized our commitment to the cause. Being committed to the cause is not simply a matter of doing things in your own capacity, or within your own group(s) - being committed is also about drawing other people in to follow your footsteps so that they may carry on contributing to the cause and that what you achieve may be sustained in the future. This is why we feel that spreading the spirit of volunteerism, particularly for Operation Smile Singapore was so important: to find the individuals who will eventually carry on our work. We certainly hope we have achieved that!

-Kevin

Vice President

OSSSC@RI