By: Mr Lim Boon Heng, Minister for Prime Minister's Office
At 7.25 pm at Grassroots'Club
Dr Philbert Chin, President of RSVP,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good evening,
RSVP has come a long way since 1998 when it was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong. Over the years, with good leadership and strong members' support, RSVP has launched a total of eight community service programmes. The first two core programmes - Mentoring and Cyberguide - are still well received. Other initiatives including the Mentally Disadvantaged Outreach Programme and Changi Senior Ambassador Programme have produced positive results.
Through these programmes, RSVP's volunteers have served our community in many ways. This includes children from disadvantaged families, the mentally ill, less-IT literate seniors, and even visitors at Changi Airport.
Even as you have given your time and energy to these worthy causes, I believe you have also been enriched by these experiences. I commend all of you for your volunteering spirit and hope that you will continue to give of yourselves to society.
As RSVP celebrates its 10th Anniversary, it is useful to pause and reflect - not only on the achievements that it has garnered over the years - but also where RSVP should go in the next ten years.
Please allow me to share some thoughts on this subject.
To set the stage, our population is ageing rapidly. Today, there are 300,000 residents who are 65 and above. In another decade, another 300,000 will be added to the ranks.
Looking beyond these numbers, we can also expect a growing diversity of seniors. There will be many more well-educated baby boomers, many of whom will still be working. There will also still be many older seniors who are vulnerable and need care and support. We will have more 70 year-old marathoners. We will also have more similarly-aged seniors using wheelchairs. There will be more elderly singles and elderly living alone.
What does this mean for RSVP?
In my mind, RSVP will have a larger potential pool of volunteers, who have the talent, energy and time to give to others. There will also be more needs in the community, not least from other seniors. Volunteers help to bridge the gaps in society, and bring people together. Thus, RSVP's role as a volunteer organization for seniors must grow in importance.
I am pleased to note that RSVP has more than 1,200 members, a twelve-fold increase from a decade ago. Can RSVP increase its membership roll by another twelve-fold within another decade? This will be more challenging, but not impossible. I leave this to you to decide, but it can be RSVP's Vision 2020!
The challenges of starting a new organization and growing a 10-year old organization are different. A larger membership would require even better volunteer management, sustainable programmes, and strong partnerships with like-minded organisations.
Please let me elaborate on these three areas.
Firstly, on volunteer management. There is much more, not just RSVP, that we can do to attract, manage and retain volunteers in Singapore. Based on the latest data, 14% of Singaporeans aged 55 to 64 indicated that they had volunteered. The proportion is double in the US, at nearly 30%. I suspect that volunteers in the US and other developed countries also serve more regularly.
There is thus a wide pool of potential volunteers that RSVP can attract. But RSVP will need to multiply its volunteer channels, and when volunteers come in, to manage and develop them well, so that they remain as volunteers. I am glad to know that there are about 250 members serving RSVP for more than 5 years and 40 members who are with RSVP since its inception 10 years ago. I hope that RSVP can attract even more new members and keep them till 2020.
One volunteer model that has been widely lauded is called ''Boston Cares''. Leveraging on volunteer team leaders, the model encourages volunteers to volunteer at their own time, with a wide array of activities to choose from. Last year, 16,000 people volunteered 49,000 hours of their time in the Greater Boston Area in the United States. Perhaps this is a model that RSVP could study, to draw in fresh volunteers.
Secondly, on sustainable programmes. As we enter a period of slow economic growth, it becomes ever more important that our programmes are run on cost recovery basis, as far as possible. Indeed, I observe that RSVP has started to develop such a model in some programmes. RSVP's Proguide is a very good example, leveraging on the members' wealth of experience to provide consultancy service for a fee. I understand that Project Cyberguide also charges some fees.
Apart from collecting income, reducing costs is another way of developing sustainable programmes. As more experienced members develop skills and expertise in certain areas, they can take on other roles to train others and provide leadership. This reduces the need to engage commercial providers.
Finally, on strong partnerships. Partnerships are valuable, because they allow parties to leverage on others' strengths, widen their outreach, and allow each party to play their role in the wider ecosystem. I believe RSVP appreciates this concept, since it is working with agencies such as HPB, IMH, CAAS, IDA and the schools.
Over the last few months, Mr Heng Chee How, Minister of State in the Prime Ministers' Office, has been studying how to promote physical activity among older people. His conclusion was that the knowledge, infrastructure and resources were generally available. What was missing was a coordinated multi-stakeholder effort to effect sustainable behaviour change among people. Each agency did their own thing, sometimes overlapping and sometimes missing out key elements from their programmes. PA, HPB, CDCs, MCYS, SSC are currently working together to promote briskwalking.
As our population becomes increasingly diverse, a multi-stakeholder partnership approach will serve our community better. Before launching new programmes, it would be useful to engage relevant partners, study the needs on the ground and consider how RSVP can best play its role in the larger ecosystem. I encourage RSVP to develop closer bonds and dialogue with organizations like the Council for Third Age and the Peoples' Association, which is running the Wellness Programme.
Conclusion
Tonight, we celebrate RSVP's 10th Anniversary also to recognise our volunteers for their contributions and long service. I look forward to seeing RSVP attain new heights in the next ten years.
My heartiest congratulations to RSVP Singapore, and I wish all of you an enjoyable evening.
Thank you!
MCYS SPEECH NO: 59/2008
DATE OF ISSUE: 17/10/2008