Name our Newsletter, and win an iPod Shuffle

Yes, this is a public contest!

It doesn’t matter if you’re a Trybe volunteer, student, educator, taxi driver or you don’t even know who or what Trybe is -
EVERYONE gets a chance to win an iPod Shuffle by sending us the perfect name for our newsletter.
This newsletter will be sent out quarterly to school partners, donors and Trybe volunteers, to let them know about Trybe events, highlights, volunteer features, insights and lots more. Thus, we’re looking for a name that lasts us forever.

Judges will pick the name that best represents the spirit of our newsletter, so we hope you know what we’re about before you even begin!

Contest Details:
1. Email us a cool newsletter name to contactus@trybe.org! You can send in as many names as you want.
2. Your email Subject must be entitled "NEWSLETTER CONTEST: (Your Name)"
3. In the email, give us the following details:
Name:
Date of Birth:
NRIC Number:
Contact No:
Mailing address:
What do you do?
How’d you hear about this contest?
List of cool names for our newsletter?

4. Closing date for submission of entries: 18 June 2007, midnight.
5. Restrictions: Singapore Residents can only participate.
6. Prize: Apple iPod Shuffle (Silver).
7. The winner will be notified via email within a week after the closing date.
8. The winning name (and creator of the name) will be posted on our blog site after being notified.

That’s about it! So get those creative juices flowing, and we hope to see you on our blog as the ultimate winner and new iPod shuffle owner!

Fun at Clementi Town - Service Learning Workshop

It was one of the most fun and enjoyable service learning workshop I had with Clementi Town Sec Sch. The students were enthusiastic, fun-loving and laughed most of the times.

They persevered under the heavy rain, they kept their spirit high and shared with one another their valuable experiences. 3 CHEERS for CTSS!!

Posted in behalf of Jovita

Thank you Trybe!

[View this post]

I was reflecting on my journey with Trybe for the past years last night, and my heart was filled with much gratitude and thanksgiving.

Thought I will drop a note to you faithful sowers in Trybe to give thanks. =)

In all i do see that i have grown personally (not just in age, haha) through the training and opportunities Trybe has given me.
A first essential outcome of these was enabling me to understand myself more.
Secondly, it definitely empowered me to give to others, in ways beyond my expectation and imagination.

You need to understand how powerful this empowerment has been for me. I grew up as a shy and probably self-conscious kid, never daring to put my hand up in class to speak out. My family was very protective over me, and it turned out to 'discourage' me from stepping out of myself many times.

Interestingly I just recalled that I joined Trybe when, for the first time in my life, I dared to step out for myself beyond my comfort zone. I did not have an easy time with my parents then. Thank God for having you guys in my life to support and strengthen me at that time.

Thank you too for trusting me enough with your resources and releasing me to deliver the message of Trybe to the youth - both in You can do it! and Life Coaching. (Do you ever wonder what i teach the students??? Haha).

I think I gained much more for myself than what the students always said they got. One most important learning here is the part of being conscious and watchful of my every action and word, if not I can be teaching others the wrong things. As an imperfect person, one of the things I have been intently learning for myself, is to always speak to build and not break others.

Until now, I am still marvelling at the relationships that I have built with many students through Trybe over the years. Students who attended the You can Do it! programmes years ago still come to me now for advice and friendship even though we may not have met up, for years too.

I hope that my life can be an example to many, Thank you for letting me discover and trusting me that I can be a positive example to others!



Posted in behalf of Mirabel
(Life Coach/Volunteer)

10 Ways to Volunteer in Singapore

[View this post]

Have you ever thought about volunteering your time to a local charity or community organisation?

There are many different reasons for you to start volunteering:
- To help others
- To learn about an activity or organisation that interests you
- To beat boredom
(if you find yourself sitting around the house feeling totally bored, volunteering in an activity you enjoy can be a great way to change things)
- To gain perspective on life
(there is no better way to understand your blessings than to help people in need)

Your reasons for volunteering are as unique as you are, but no matter what your reasons are, you know you can get a lot out of volunteering.

One of the hardest parts of volunteering can be finding a volunteering opportunity that fits your personality and interests. The following list will give you some ideas and will show you many different possibilities. Have a read and give it some thought. Then take action by signing up for the volunteering opportunity suitable for you.

1. Art Programmes
Arts for All of Us
Art Outreach Singapore

2. Helping Others Learn to Read
Project Read
Student Care Services

3. Hospitals
Friends of SGH
KK Women's and Children Hospital
National University Hospital
Institute of Mental Health

4. Libraries
Friends of the Library

5. Senior Citizens Centres

6. Animal Welfare
Action for Singapore Dogs
House Rabbits Society of Singapore
Cat Welfare Society

7. Humanitarian Organisations
The Singapore Red Cross
The Salvation Army
Habitat for Humanity Singapore

8. Doing Your Bit for the Environment
Wild Singapore
The Green Volunteers Network
National Environment Agency

8. Website Creation

9. Persons with Special Needs
Riding for Disabled Association
Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS)
MINDS Youth Group (MYG)
Special Olympics Singapore

10. Youth Programmes
Children-At-Risk Empowerment Association
WOW! A Youth Service
Students Care Service

Every effort counts
Start with me: my impact, my habits.
If I can't change myself, how can I expect others to change?

Note: This is a repost from NVPC website CIP Central.

Hua Yi Sec... You Can Do It!

It was good to see old friends and student participants. thank you Mr Lee Han Hwa for giving us the opportunity to conduct this programme again. and of course my beloved volunteer thank you for your time and enthusiasm to be with the students. :)

Posted in behalf of Dy

Happy Birthday Mrs Lee

By your kindness and your caring we surely have been blessed.
May all you've given others, In your unselfish way,
Come back to you a hundredfold on this, your special day!
From Trybe we wish you Happy Birthday Mrs Lee!

Staff Meeting on 11th April 2007

Today we had another staff meeting. I had been busy all day and was really in quite a bit of a less than pleasant mood, just generally being really focused at doing the things that I had to finish. So when Jasmine called Raffy and I to join the rest of the team in the training room, I was mentally bracing myself for a discussion or update of what was going on with our projects but nothing would have prepared me for what was to happen.

I entered the room and noticed that everyone had already been seated. There were eleven chairs for eleven of us, each with a tray of water and a small white towel next to the tray. I took my seat and Rachel told us what she was intending to do. She told us that she wanted to symbolically demonstrate the act of service by washing each of our feet. She said that it would likely feel strange and some of us might be uncomfortable but that it’s okay. While we didn’t protest, I did find it hard to describe how awkward and humbled I felt while watching her quietly wash first my friends’ feet, and then mine.

She told us that this was her way of serving us and reminding us that we too have to humble ourselves to serve others, especially if our team is to take the work of Trybe into other nations. She told us that her wish for us was that we would all individually walk into our personal destinies and achieve everything that we were meant to in this life. That we would do what it takes to make the decisions to see that that would happen even us we continued to work in Trybe.

2 things that I got at today’s 4.30pm staff meeting:

1. An image of serving that will likely be forever etched in my mind, by someone who is not only a shining example of leadership but a living reminder of what humility and putting others first looks like in real life (as opposed to reading about it in a book or seeing it in a movie)

2. That as much as I thought I was noble and magnanimous in choosing to work at Trybe (instead of pursuing a different career), it was really the other way around. I was in fact privileged to be allowing to participate in something as special as what we are trying to achieve. (I’m saying this not because I believe that any other persons endeavors are any less significant but that I really do appreciate this time of my life).

Everything ended in about 40 min. A few of us shared our thoughts and then we proceeded to clean up, forming a line to send the trays of water into the adjoining washroom. It really wasn’t a long meeting, probably one of the shortest we’ve ever had. But it is certainly one of the most important and significant ones we’ll ever have.

Sergeant E's Favorite Quotes

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
- Martin Luther King Jr

"I have a dream." - Martin Luther King Jr

"I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost more than 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life... and that is why I succeed."
- Michael Jordan

Yati's Life Coaching Journey

Hmm..how have I changed throughout the whole life coaching journey?? Well, A LOT. Initially I felt kind of pessimistic about my life coaches. I mean, when i looked at them, all i saw were two very young looking people who are supposed to know more about life than me... but hey they are so young. I expected them to fail me but over time, i realised how first impressions can be rather wrong.

Anyway, right from the beginning, my life coaches have really been helping me a lot, together with the topics taught. When I look at myself and other peers of my age, I
realise we are all growing older day by day and the challenges we face are not getting any easier. It really helps a lot when I know that I have two young adults who had been through, not long ago, what I am going through, and are able to help me come to terms with them.

One obvious change I noticed in my life is how I really try to forgive people now. I am not perfect; everyone makes mistakes. I used to have the mindset that if I made a mistake, I should be given another chance. But when others came asking the same out of me, i told them they were out of their mind.

Through the topic on "forgiveness", both Mirabel and Belinda taught me that forgiving someone does not necessarily mean that we are on the losing end but, on the other hand, shows how big our heart is.

At first, I still found it rather hard to forgive, especially someone whom I had disliked for a very long time. BUT I tried and that was what really mattered because I gained a friend in the end! And I felt as if a burden had been lifted off my shoulders. Thanks to my life coaches for making me see that by forgiving, I can win and know my heart is big.

I am pretty sure there are a lot of you out there with big hearts too!

Through life coaching, I also learnt not to give up when the going gets tough. I now believe in working hard to achieve what I set out to do. But most of all, life coaching has helped me
grow and strive to be a better person.

Therefore I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mirabel and Belinda for always believing in me for my dreams no matter how silly they may sound. I know there were times when I was rude or insensitive. Thanks for not reprimanding me in front of everyone. It makes me feel respected like an adult. Thanks for all the useful advice that you guys gave me and for still being here for me even after our last life coaching session.

I know that many of you would think that your life coaches are the best but well, I am sure, to my group and me, our life coaches are the best there can ever be.

Noryati
16 yr old, Choa Chu Kang Sec

Interested to find out more about being a life coach or coachee? Email us at lifecoaching@trybe.org

River Boat Ride - MOE Amazing Race 2007

Chwee Kueh, Roti Prata, river cruise, foot massage, lovers' skit, poems and songs... These are a few of the favourite things that bonded our chinese friends and local undergrads in just 7 hours on 10 Mar 07. The race, which saw about 80 student battle their wits to travel to a matrix of attractions in Singapore, was part of the exciting Singapore-China exchange programme arranged by MOE and organised by Trybe. We just wanna say, you guys are the one of the sportiest bunch we've ever met!Good job, guys and gals!

Watch the video below...

Paya Lebar Methodist Girls School

Thanks girls for making our visit a memorable one! Much love and we'll hopefully see you next time.

Trybe Extreme MakeOver

No matter who you are or what you do, the way you dress and present yourself has a major impact on your success.