Did you miss Shine Night 2011? If you did, you have just missed one of the most exhilarating events of the year!
The annual extravaganza, once again, successfully brought out the best of our student talents through their artistic expressions in drama, music and dance. The guest-of-honour was none other than our Executive Director, Venerable Shi Pu En, who enjoyed the energetic performances throughout the evening.
Words would probably not suffice to describe the fun we had that day, let our pictures do the talking!
Acknowledgements
Allswell Trading Pte Ltd
ITE College East
KYDZ International LLP
Lee Foundation
MoovSports Pte Ltd
Ngai Heng Book Binder Pte Ltd
NTUC FairPrice Foundation
ONI Global Pte Ltd
SMJ Furnishings (S) Pte Ltd
Tan Aik Koon
Tan Aik Sin
Winter Time
YHS (Singapore) Pte Ltd
Yip's Cookies and more
Huo You Cook's Association - Metta Charity Banquet 2011
Video played in the banquet:
After an adrenaline-pumping day of major preparations, we managed to pull off another successful banquet this year. With the fervent support of donors, in which many of whom were regulars, this event raised over $150,000 in total.
Metta School's teachers and students can now look forward to an annexe to be constructed by August 2012, as the piling and ground works have commenced in June this year.
The extension will be five-storey tall, with a surface area of over 4000m², enhanced facilities and modernised teaching resources. Additional amenities will include 20 classrooms and the various facilities for purposes of occupational therapy, counselling, vocational courses and co-curriculum activities.
Besides improving the educational experience for our existing students, the school will also be adding another 200 places starting from 2013. We will be adopting a single-session curriculum to accommodate the additional student enrollment.
Supporting this infrastructure upgrading scheme is the Ministry of Education, which is defraying 95% of our total expenses. This extensive project would have cost Metta School over $7 million.
Prior to the commencement of piling works, our Executive Director Venerable Shi Pu En performed a blessing ceremony at the site on 8 July to kick start the construction on an auspicious note.
Metta School has recently renewed its partnership with Mandarin Orchard Hotel and ITE College East. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and a Letter of Agreement were signed on 18 August and 5 September respectively.
Through the help of the Special Education Branch under Ministry of Education, and Singapore National Employers Federation, Metta School was linked up with the hotel. A two- year contract was eventually inked to provide our students with on-job training opportunities for their vocational curriculum.
Continuing our long-time relationship with ITE College East, we were once again thankful to receive their unyielding support. Like previous years, we would continue to use their venue to host this year's Shine Night and tap on their resources and manpower to plan activities for our students.
Generous Givings From Wan Boo Sow Charity Fund Ltd
Metta Welfare Association would like to thank our regular donor of five years, Wan Boo Sow Charity Fund Ltd, for its unwavering support to our three centres.
Since 2006, this charity, set up by the children of the late Mr Wan Boo Sow and his wife, the late Mdm Annie Tan, has been regularly supporting our Hospice Care, Rehabilitation Centre for the Elderly and Preschool. The contributions the Wan Boo Sow Charity Fund Ltd has made up to date includes cash, donation in kind and the immeasurable care and joy brought to our beneficiaries.
In 2006, a $40,000 cash donation was made while in 2008, a Volkswagen caddy van was given to us to facilitate the transportation of our nurses. In 2009, a lunch treat was organised for our elderly clients to commemorate the birth anniversary of the late Mr Wan. Subsequently, lunch treats for our seniors were organised without fail in remembrance of the late Mr and Mrs Wan during their commemorative anniversaries. In June this year, the charity made another generous donation of $15,000 to the Metta Preschool.
Arts@Metta has officially commenced business in Suntec City Mall on 19 July 2011!
This in-house label provides equal access to enriching artistic endeavours. The launch of this flagship store aims to equip special needs youths with life skills that promote integration, independence and employment.
Under the support of Community Chest, Arts@Metta managed to secure the unit, along with an attached vestibule that is ideal for conducting batik painting workshops and art demonstrations, rent-free for six months.
Having collaborated with our title sponsors, Keppel Offshore & Marine and Keppel Integrated Engineering, for more than a decade, the Metta Charity Golf event maintained its success once again. Bringing together a high headcount of over 240 golfers this year, we managed to raise more than $230,000 in total.
We missed Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Finance and Minister for Manpower, this time round due to his busy schedule. Nonetheless, we had the honour to invite Mr Lui Tuck Yew, Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, to our post- golf tournament dinner for the very first time at the newly renovated Raffles Country Club on 22 July 2011.
After two stirring speeches by our Chairman of the Metta Organising Committee, Mr KK Teoh, and Minister Lui respectively, it marked the start of the dinner feast. While enjoying the dinner, our attendees were bowled over by the exceptional rendition of Michael Bolton's "Go the Distance", put up by one of our Metta School's student, Jozie Keok, who has a flair in singing. Encouraged by the loud cheers from the audience, Jozie was in high spirits that night.
Nearing the end of the dinner banquet, it was time to announce the tournament results all golfers had been looking forward to. Our big winner this time was Mr Chua Huai Chai, IT head for Siltronic Singapore Pte Ltd, who bagged the winning trophies for both the Overall Championship and the Men's Division.
XL Supports Arts@Metta In Its Global Day of Giving
Pottery Session:
Cheque Presentation:
For the third year running, XL Insurance appointed Metta as the beneficiary for its Global Day of Giving. Carried out in tandem with XL Group's Global Day of Giving, this social project is dedicated to supporting the communities in which XL companies operate.
Arts@Metta was fortunate to be the recipient of its goodwill this year. Providing equal access to enriching artistic endeavours, it aims to equip special needs youths with life skills that promote integration, independence and employment.
The collaboration which took place on 16 May saw 11 youth members from Arts@Metta guiding 18 staff volunteers in batik painting and pottery making. Besides showcasing their talents in these visual arts, the interactive session allowed the youths to build up their social skills and confidence.
For the volunteers who tried their hands on these unique art forms for the first time, it was an enriching and prolific session as they collectively crafted 26 pottery cups and seven paintings within half a day.
Deserving mention among them was Mr Kevin Rajah who raised $1,500 through his "sacrificial act" prior to the Day of Giving. Having gallantly shaved off his moustache of more than 20 years in support of his colleagues' fundraising idea, he garnered from them $750 which was matched dollar for dollar by XL Insurance.
The cheque donation was presented to Metta by XL's Regional Manager Asia, Mr Andrew Vigar, who commended Arts@Metta and its youth members in his speech: "I think we all know from our experiences how difficult it is to do these (arts and crafts). Thank you so much for sharing with us what you have learnt."
"I believe that we are all a little anxious about what to do next after leaving school and it's great that Metta has such a facility for the graduates to come back and do something so worthwhile for the community."
Metta's medical arm, comprising of Metta Day Rehabilitation Centre and Metta Hospice Care, had organised yet another successful blood donation drive. Like the preceding years, the event was held at Changi Simei Community Club on 10 July 2011.
The donation drive was initially interrupted by an afternoon shower, but certainly did not rain on the event's parade. It was fortunate to receive immense responses from the public – a whopping 151 registered donors – not forgetting support from the Singapore Red Cross and Changi Simei Community Emergency and Engagement Committee.
Needless to say, we were honoured to have Ms Jessica Tan, MP for East Coast GRC & Advisor to East Coast GRC GROs to grace our event as the Guest-of-Honour. We would also like to thank our special guests, Metta's President Ven Shi Fa Zhao BBM, Metta's Deputy Executive Director Mr Ee Tiang Hwee and Chairman of Changi Simei CCC Mr Koh Tong Seng BBM, for taking time to attend the event to show their support. Concluding the event, this life saving act raised 103 units, exceeding last year's results.
To show our appreciation to the participants, all donors were given certificates to acknowledge their contributions. A mini bazaar featuring some retail booths were also set up to energise the atmosphere, infusing the event with some shopping zest.
There is no better way to celebrate youth day than allowing students to showcase their talents through putting up performances in school. The first ever Talent Time was organised as a large part of youth day's celebrations in Metta School on 1 July 2011 at the multi-purpose school hall.
Three winners were selected to receive the "Metta Idol" trophies for their outstanding performances. They were Mohamed Fadhil of A10-2, with his exceptional portrait drawing, Kevin Ong of V1-3, with his melodious self-composed song accompanied by his guitar playing and Heng Sheng of V1-6, with his fine piano playing skills. The performances generally covered the areas of visual arts, music, dance and cookery.
A Metta student commented, "I feel so proud of my performance. It was fun and amazing, we should have this every year!"
There was no loser that day. Every class also received special prizes for their efforts in putting up creative performances.
Metta Welfare Association organised the second charity run on June 4, 2011 (Saturday) at East Coast Park, Angsana Green. We garnered support of kind participants from all walks of life to partake in the healthy activity while raising funds for the organisation's operational costs. In addition, we also received well responses from several corporate groups which sent their employees to take part in the event. The organisations include Singapore Pools, Trafigura Pte Ltd, FedEx Trade Networks Transport & Brokerage (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (Singapore) and Agency for Integrated Care.
To cater to participants of various ages and physical capacities, there were two categories of races; a 5km (non-competitive) run and a 10km (competitive) run. Fifteen minutes before the 10km run, runners were all getting ready; warming up their limbs at the start point.
We had the honour to have Mr Lee Yi Shyan, Minister of State, Minister of Trade and Industry and for the Ministry of National Development, and Venerable Shi Fa Zhao, President of Metta Welfare Association, kick-start the 10km run with a loud bang.
Almost immediately after gun starting the 10km race, our guest-of-honour, Mr Lee, led the 5km non-competitive runners in the race. Rising up to the occasion, Venerable Shi Jie Hui sportingly joined the 5km run with the others.
Riding on the charity run was a group of over 70 students from ITE College West. These students volunteered to walk on their bare soles to raise funds for our alumni, particularly to support their visual artworks developed under the Arts@Metta label. The "Bare your sole" walkathon is a charity event endorsed by the community initiative, Citi-YMCA Youth for Causes. Launched by Citi and YMCA Singapore, the programme promotes the execution of sustainable social entrepreneurship ideas and business models that benefit and support Voluntary Welfare Organisations of their choice.
To enliven the event, a mini carnival was set up where there was a series of stage performances, various food stalls, games and retail booths for the runners to come back to and even the general public. The crowd gradually dispersed by 11.30am, spelling the conclusion of the event.
Metta School celebrated its 10th birthday in a form of a Family Day cum Carnival on 30 April 2011. All Metta students, graduates, volunteers and staff were invited to celebrate this joyous occasion with their families and friends.
Gracing the event was Venerable Shi Pu En, who officiated the event with a speech addressing the significance of the occasion. While congratulating the school for achieving its 10th anniversary milestone, he added cheerfully that the good weather was an act of Buddha's blessings.
Alike our yearly carnival held at the headquarters, this was a fun extravaganza providing carnival-goers with a myriad of games, performances and food to indulge in. Some children were jumping on the giant inflatables, some having a good time at the assortment of game stalls, while others watching the stage performances intently. Foodies were flooding the food stalls that were serving an irresistible fanfare of kebab, vegetarian hotdogs and samosa, ice-cream and popcorn.
Additionally, there were booths for face-painting, application of temporary tattoo stickers and the classic balloon sculpturing. Performers on stilts were scattered around the event compound to give out lollipops to toddlers, pleasantly surprising them. Everyone was having a fabulous time.
The highlight of the day was the "Treasure Hunt", which garnered a fair bit of interest, especially from those who came with their families. Groups of "treasure-hunters" were seen combing every inch of the school compound zealously to search for the "treasures" with their given clues.
There was a wacky photo booth set up in the Gamelan room for those who wanted to take a family portrait for keepsake at this fun get-together. A handful of Metta staff spontaneously put on fancy costumes playing a diverse group of characters like Medusa, Croco Doll and Indiana Jones, to model for the booth.
CCC Kei Shun School, one of the special schools in Hong Kong, came to Metta School on 19 April 2011 for an overseas learning trip. Prior to their visit, the staff of Metta School have already established rapport with their teaching staff, also through a learning exchange programme conducted last year.
Gracing the event was Venerable Shi Pu En, who officiated the event with a speech addressing the significance of the occasion. While congratulating the school for achieving its 10th anniversary milestone, he added cheerfully that the good weather was an act of Buddha's blessings.
Alike our yearly carnival held at the headquarters, this was a fun extravaganza providing carnival-goers with a myriad of games, performances and food to indulge in. Some children were jumping on the giant inflatables, some having a good time at the assortment of game stalls, while others watching the stage performances intently. Foodies were flooding the food stalls that were serving an irresistible fanfare of kebab, vegetarian hotdogs and samosa, ice-cream and popcorn.
Additionally, there were booths for face-painting, application of temporary tattoo stickers and the classic balloon sculpturing. Performers on stilts were scattered around the event compound to give out lollipops to toddlers, pleasantly surprising them. Everyone was having a fabulous time.
The highlight of the day was the "Treasure Hunt", which garnered a fair bit of interest, especially from those who came with their families. Groups of "treasure-hunters" were seen combing every inch of the school compound zealously to search for the "treasures" with their given clues.
There was a wacky photo booth set up in the Gamelan room for those who wanted to take a family portrait for keepsake at this fun get-together. A handful of Metta staff spontaneously put on fancy costumes playing a diverse group of characters like Medusa, Croco Doll and Indiana Jones, to model for the booth.
Metta Charity Walk cum Family Carnival (14th anniversary)
A CARNIVAL WITH A DIFFERENCE - Free Shopping and Dining for the Disadvantaged
Close to 500 underprivileged children and elders indulged in a complimentary shopping-cum-gastronomic spree at the Metta Charity Walk-cum-Family Carnival on March 20, 2011. Courtesy of Standard Chartered, Keppel FELS and Marina Bay Sands, their participation saw them joining some 5,000 carnival goers in enjoying an omnibus of treats purveyed by over 100 food, trade and game stalls.
The majority of the beneficiaries were needy students with mild intellectual disability and/or autism spectrum disorders from the Metta School – a special education school founded by the Metta Welfare Association (Metta), whose aim is to promote community outreach in a fun and boisterous manner through the carnival. The Standard Chartered Bank, in particular, invited 167 beneficiaries from five welfare organisations including MINDSville Children's Wing and Bright Hill Evergreen Home. Besides sponsoring their cash coupons and walkathon participation in the event, the bank garnered more than 350 staff volunteers for the event.
Lee Boon Huat, Standard Chartered's regional chief operating officer for Singapore and Southeast Asia, said, "This carnival is a great opportunity for us to do something meaningful. This is in fact the biggest voluntary sign-up by our staff for this year."
The volunteers were not the only ones teeming with enthusiasm. Some 500 participants, led by guest-of-honour Jessica Tan, MP for East Coast GRC, embarked on the three-kilometre Metta Charity Walk in high spirits, setting off a rousing start to the event. At the carnival grounds, there was something for everyone. The kids had their fill of Uncle Ringo's games and inflatables, while foodies tucked into delicious treats and shopaholics bagged home nifty bargains. Stage attractions included Bollywood and flamenco dance items, rock band performances and drum works. Surpassing its target of $100,000, the event raised close to $135,000 at curtain call.
