Want to clear your 80 community service hours or serve the community? Here’s how!
Confused and lost due to the wide range of CCAs available in SMU? Don’t stress, we’ve got you covered! Sports and arts are nothing out of the ordinary when we’re talking about co-curricular activities (CCAs) offered in schools.
What about CCAs that allow you to clear your compulsory 80 community service hours through short- and long-term projects? Read on for a list of clubs that will not only give you your community service credit but also contribute to your personal growth in your SMU journey.
BP MENTORING
SMU BP Mentoring aims to aid underprivileged primary and secondary students in their personal and academic development through weekly tutoring and mentoring sessions. These sessions are spread over the year, even during the summer, ensuring that your commitment is steady and stable.
If you’re ready to give beyond, follow @smubpmentoring on Instagram to find out more about how to start your mentoring journey and help empower local youths to become autonomous leaders!
CARETALYST
SMU Caretalyst aims to educate, encourage, and empower future leaders to make a difference, with two main community service projects — Project Illuminate and Project Ai.
Project Illuminate focuses on providing academic and moral support to underprivileged children through weekly remedial sessions and interactions via sports, science, and art during the school semesters. Meanwhile, Project Ai aims to empower Persons With Intellectual Disability (PWIDs) with various skill sets through our weekly activities and at the same time, raise public awareness on special needs. This project happens over the summer break.
Follow @smucaretalyst on Instagram to find out more and join Caretalyst to make a difference in the underprivileged children and special needs community!
SMU EMBER
SMU Ember is a community service club that aspires to rekindle the passion in both volunteers and beneficiaries alike. The club strongly believes in growing together to become charitable people who will make a meaningful and sustainable impact on society and offers projects twice a month to help convert all members, (and yes, that includes you!) into passionate volunteers through purposeful and heartfelt work. If this resonates with you, there are 2 projects that you can join!
Project Genworks seeks to provide seniors with a decent home to live in. Volunteers will be equipped with knowledge of cleaning, befriending, and learning from our precious pioneers throughout their participation. Project Support Our Pioneers is aimed at reconnecting isolated seniors with their community through befriending and interactions.
Burning fervently to make a difference? Turn your dreams into a reality at SMU Ember, where each member burns as one, igniting and lifting those in need! Follow @smuember on Instagram or Telegram.
RED CROSS
Red Cross is an avenue in which the spirit of volunteerism runs in everyone’s blood and touches the hearts of those around. The club firmly believes in the spirit of giving, depicted through all of these various projects.
Project Meals on Wheels aims to deliver meals directly to the doorstep of the frail and home-bound elderly. There will also be an Internal Blood Donation which is Red Cross’s bi-annual project that takes place in both semesters.On the other hand, there’s Project AC/DC which seeks to impart first aid skills and knowledge to either the elderly (AC) or the children (DC), and even offers unique reflective sessions throughout.
Join Red Cross to have a meaningful experience and make a positive impact on society! Follow @smuredcross on Instagram or Telegram to join the Red Cross family!
ROTARACT
Rotaract Club is a youth development club that emphasizes service over self, as well as achieving fellowship through community service, professional development and club service.
In Rotaract, you have abundant opportunities to learn and develop as an individual through 4 community service projects which caters to a wide range of beneficiaries, from underprivileged children to the elderly. Additionally, you can even gain leadership skills by joining the organising committee in these projects.
Rotaract hopes to provide you with ample chances to build fellowship. So, what are you waiting for? Follow @smurac on Instagram and join Rotaract now!
UNI-Y
Uni-Y aims to develop and empower youths to be servant leaders by serving children and the community with special needs, while promoting mental wellness to impact local and international committees.
The club has 3 community service projects namely:
1. Y Craft It: Interact with primary school children and inspire them through arts and crafts
2. Y Food of Love: Engage our special needs clients through baking and interaction sessions
3. Y Tutor: Journeying with youths aged 13-21 in their academics through providing them with tuition
Uni-Y also promote mental wellness through a bi-annual encouragement drive (#shareyoursmile) and holistic enrichment activities (Welcome Tea, LAMP & Y-Cono)! Do join the club if you’re interested in doing local and overseas community projects and follow @uniysmu on Instagram or Telegram!
Still haven’t found your true calling? Don’t fret! Not everything is about the 80 CS hours, do check out these clubs below that promote social causes which is another form of contribution to the community as well!
PAW
SMU PAW is a group of animal lovers who are all about promoting the well-being of all animals — which includes helping pet owners take great care of their pets, as well as promoting adoption, and eliminating the stigma surrounding shelter animals.
Apart from hosting events to achieve our mission and vision, SMU PAW’s key event is to provides various avenues for our members to give back to the animal welfare community through our year-long Shelter Programme. This includes aiding our partnered shelters in their day-to-day operations. Apart from this, you can also support our club at our signature annual events, such as SMU PAW Animal Day, Howl-o-ween, Helping Hands, and Chill with Cats! SMU PAW’s signature event, Animal Day, is also widely popular across SMU, promoting love for animals.
So what are you waiting for? If you love animals and want to connect with like-minded people who love animals, join SMU PAW and be the voice for the voiceless ❤ Do follow @smupaw on Instagram or Telegram!
VERTS
Interested in saving the environment and pushing towards a cleaner and sustainable planet?
Verts is SMU’s official environmental sustainability club that empowers individuals to do their part for the environment through exciting events and sustainable practices. These include attending eco-friendly workshops, exchanging recyclables to get sustainable products, and even enjoying a free vegan picnic to bond with other members.
If making an impact or a little difference to the environment and community is what calls out to you, what are you waiting for? Follow @smuverts on Instagram or @VERTSsmu on Telegram.
SMU WOMEN'S CONNECTION (SWC)
SMU Women’s Connection strives to bring like-minded, aspiring people together for networking and enriching social interactions, to positively impact the community and spread awareness regarding women empowerment.
The signature event and highlight of SWC is International Women’s Day event. In this event, there will be documentary screening, sharing by female entrepreneurs and an IWD booth where students and SMU staff can write wishes for gender equality. SWC’s specialty is that events revolve around a termly theme. Some highlights are our Sexual Harassment week series which consisted of a street play showcasing the stigmas associated with sexual harassment. Another popular event was the Sexual Harassment dialogue where students discussed their views and shared their stories.
If you are passionate about spreading awareness and making a difference regarding women empowerment issues and love supporting a cause, do join SWC and follow us @smuwomensconnection on Instagram!
From baking to the environment, you can pursue your passion AND clear your CS hours at the same time with this wide variety of choices in SICS! Do follow @smu_sics on Instagram or Telegram to find out more about our student run constituent body that manages 23 co-curricular clubs in SMU! Alternatively, if you can’t wait to join any of the above AMAZING clubs, do remember to sign up during Vivace to express your interest or visit us at smu-sics.com to get further contact details on all the above mentioned clubs! We are looking forward to seeing you be part of our SICS family!