For everyone at SPD, volunteers have a special place in our hearts. Many sacrifice precious time and effort to lend us a helping hand – from taking people with disabilities at our centre out and about to experience community living and befriending those at SPD or at their homes, to organising social and recreational activities and supporting SPD in areas such as administrative work and fundraising.

Last year, more than 5,500 volunteers comprising students, individuals and employees of corporate partners did just that. This translated to over 7,300 volunteer sessions or close to 22,000 volunteer hours given in service to SPD. A volunteer since he was a polytechnic student in 2004, 29-year-old Kenneth Li has been a dedicated befriender and a constant source of support to a pair of twins with disabilities. He says of his 10 years with SPD, “I am doing my best as a volunteer with SPD. I am proud of and always hold this dearly to my heart. I hope my contributions can continue to help the beneficiaries move forward. I will continue to volunteer with SPD actively.”

In appreciation of their dedication and commitment to our cause, we invited our volunteers to a movie screening of Legend of Hercules and a tea reception at The Cathay Cineplex on 18 January.

“Many of our volunteers never fail to respond to our appeal for support, and for that, we are very grateful,” said Ms Helen Tay, senior manager for Fundraising & Volunteer Management, SPD.