The Gardens' Grapevine

The Monthly Newsletter of Lions Club of Singapore Serangoon Gardens

May 1997 Issue

(For Internal Circulation Only)

Dear Members,

Our Club needs your help.

Please act quickly. There’s no time to lose!

Call Lion Frank Goh NOW!

And tell him you’ve got an Advertisement for our

8^th Annual Awards Presentation & Fellowship Night

Commemorative Magazine.

Get an ad for your Club!

Thanks!!

Inside...

Page

2 Coming events --- Lions Family & Sports Day; Lions Befrienders Association AGM; and more.

3 On the CDCs

4 Happenings in May --- Joint dinner meeting with LC Jurong.

4 Short Notes --- Lions Flag Day; Annual Awards Presentation; on new Member Steven Yeong.

5,6 Feature --- Talk on "Change & Challenges in Lionism".

The Gardensí Grapevine - May 1997 Page 2

Coming Events

1 June 9.00a.m. Lions Family & Sports Day.

St. Gabriel’s Secondary School,

Serangoon Ave 1. All Members.

Cheer our Tug-of-war team and our rep for the

100m veterans’ sprint.

7 June 2.00p.m. 3^rd AGM of Lions Befrienders Service

Association.

Block 130 Bukit Merah View. All Members. Please turn up to help secure quorum for this important meeting.

12 June 7.00p.m. BOD Meeting and General Membersí

Meeting. Frank Goh’s new residence at Block 124 Jurong East St 13 #04-15 Ivory Hts. Tel 6650021. All members are welcome.

Other Events Coming Your Way

12 June 7.00p.m. Joint Installation Ceremony & Dinner of LC North and Eunos.

Grand Plaza Hotel, Coleman Street. Cost:$50.

23 June 6.30p.m. Talk on ìRole & Responsibility of

Lions Club Past Presidents

By Lion Eric Ng.

ACE Daikin Auditorium. Pay $6 at the door.

10 July 7.30p.m. Award Presentation & Fellowship Night.

Happiness Room, Hotel Plaza, Beach Road.This is THE BIG Highlight of our Club's Lionistic year. So, members, please do make it a point to attend.

___________________________________________

The Gardensí Grapevine - May 1997 Page 3

On 23rd May 1997, the NCSS organised a dialogue session with Mr Chan Soo Sen,, Parliamentary Secretary Prime Minister’s Office and MCD, for its affiliate-Voluntary Welfare Organisations. The subject was Community Development Councils (CDCs). The article below summarises notes handed out by NCSS and People’s Association, and reports on some of the points raised during the dialogue session.

CDC to help raise funds and mobilise local self-help

Gotong Royong

Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong introduced the concept of CDC in his May Day Rally speech on 19 August 1996. He said that the CDC was aimed at enhancing social cohesion and increasing bonding. "The more able and successful should help the less able and the less well-off, as they used to do (gotong royong) and were respected for doing. The community, especially those who receive help, will naturally respect the successful who look after them instead of resenting their success."

The CDCs will focus on mega projects which cut across constituency boundaries or cannot be done by any single constituency alone. They will complement community, voluntary and charitable organisations and help them on any projects which promote community bonding. The initial target groups will be the old, the young, the poor, and the disabled. They will initially administer the Rent and Utilities Assistance Scheme, Public Assistance Scheme, Medifund, and Small Families Improvement Scheme. They will also initiate, plan and manage community development programmes such as day care centres for the young and old, before and after school care, community libraries, study loans, mutual help and health and fitness programmes for senior citizens.

Structure

The CDCs are established by People’s Association. The CDC Chairman and members are appointed by the Chairman or Deputy Chairman of PA. When the CDC Chairman is also a Town Council Chairman, the PA Board may designate him as "Mayor". There will be only two mayors among the CDCs for the time being. They are Dr Ow Chin Hock for Tanjong Pagar CDC (comprising Tanjong Pagar and West Coast GRCs), and Mr Eugene Yap for Marine Parade CDC (comprising Marine Parade, East Coast and MacPherson GRCs). The Ang Mo Kio CDC will include Ang Mo Kio and Cheng San GRCs. Hougang and Potong Pasir will form their own CDCs.

Each CDC has not more than 50 members. They include Advisors to the PA grassroots organisations in the CDC district and other successful Singaporeans appointed by PA. The CDC members will serve a three-year term. They may be re-appointed.

The Marine Parade and Tanjong Pagar CDCs have set up 42 service counters at community centres/clubs and town council offices. Residents can sign up for the CDC programmes and schemes at the service counters, which are open from 9.00a.m. to 6.00p.m. Mondays to Fridays and from 9.00a.m. to 1.00p.m. on Saturdays. These counters are supported by the PA Operations Room where cases are referred and monitored. They may also refer cases to relevant agencies for problems not under the CDC’s purview. Regular helpers at these service counters are called "CDC assistants" and receive payment of $5 per hour to cover transport and basic expenses.

Funding

The CDCs are given an annual grant of $1 per resident in the CDC district for its programmes. They may raise funds. Every $1 raised by the CDC for approved projects will be matched with a $3 grant from the government, $4 if the contribution is through GIRO. The operating expenses of the CDCs are funded by Government through the PA.

How VWOs can work with CDCs

CDCs can work with VWOs on joint fund-raising projects, joint recruitment of volunteers; and mobilising of local resources. It is up to the VWOs to approach the CDCs and propose ways to work together. With CDCs’ grassroots network, the VWOs can reach out to more clients who need their services. The VWOs can also have better access to local resources (e.g. food donations and transport arrangements), fund-raising network as well as potential volunteers. CDCs can help identify who is in need; help raise funds, help liaise with government departments through its mayors and MP’s.

To tap CDCs’ funds, the VWO will need to put its funds for a specific project into an account to be operated jointly with the CDC. The account will be audited to ensure that the funds are released for the use intended.

With close collaboration, CDCs and VWOs can serve the needy more effectively, with more money and more volunteers, and with more warmth.

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Happenings in May SHORT NOTES

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FEATURE

We bring you a synopsis of a talk delivered by VDG Lion Dr Winston Koh on "Change and Challenges in Lionism" at ACE Daikin Auditorium on 28^th April 1997. This was the tenth in the series of Lions Membership Development Talks.

Unite And Face The Challenges of Change

In order for Lions Clubs to do well in future, we should consider the challenges facing the Lions movement in Singapore, and make the changes which are necessary to remain useful and relevant to the community we serve. We should review and improve club procedures and projects to keep up with changes in our environment. The objective of the talk is to stimulate thought on the issues being discussed.

Significant Changes in the Past

Over the years, there were two major changes in the Lions movement in Singapore. One was the creation of the Sub Districts of 308 A and B in 1983. This came as a result of growth and the increase in the number of Lions Clubs.

The other major change was the admission 5-6 year ago of lady-members into Lions Clubs through a change in the Lions Constitution. As a result, Lioness Clubs converted to Lions Clubs, so that now there is only one Lioness Club left in MD 308. This resulted in an increase in the membership size of Lions Clubs, and is for the better.

At the recent MD 308 Convention, another major change took place - the redistricting of 308A and B. The result will be a doubling of the number of sub-districts next year.

External Factors

Looking at the broader perspective, there are many external factors which will change the Lions movement in Singapore. The entrenchment of meritocracy and the growth in affluence have created a gap between the haves and the have-nots. Will this gap widen in future, and will it lead to indifference among the young towards the less fortunate? With family and business commitments, will the attitude of people towards service, change? How can we entice people, particularly successful ones, to join Lions Clubs? Will their desire for material success lead to a lack of social responsibility? How will all this affect us in Lions Clubs?

Another factor which may affect us is the prevalent "kiasu" syndrome among Singaporeans. This will shape the type of members we get in our clubs.

With the current emphasis on regionalisation, people need to travel more frequently. This will invariably lead to more members being "at large". Thus, membership recruitment and retention may well be adversely affected.

The fund-raising environment is also changing. With more and more charitable organisations in Singapore seeking funds, our share of the charity dollar may get smaller. To the credit of our members and our leadership, we are still able to raise enough money for our needs.

The aging population in Singapore is another factor which will impact on our movement. Currently, only 9% of our population is "elderly". In 30 years’ time, this ratio will rise to 28%. There will therefore be greater need for care services for the elderly. Lions Clubs in Singapore have responded very well to this challenge, in the form of the Lions Befrienders Association and the Lions Home for the Elders. We should continue to do well in this area of service to our community.

How to Stay Relevant

For Lions Clubs to stay relevant to our society and to our members, we should continue to seek ways to meet the needs of those we are serving. Although the number of clubs and total membership have been increasing, the size per club has remained fairly constant at around 25-35 each. Our capability depends on the resources of our clubs - manpower, money. Because clubs are limited in membership, at club level we need to maximize the use of these limited resources. The difficult part is how to use these resources effectively and wisely, so that club activities are cost effective. Therefore, club officers need to be well-trained, and systems and procedures need to be efficient. To stay relevant to our society, we need to keep our policies up-to-date. We need to place the right emphasis on the types of activities which give the most impact or benefit the most people.

Economies of Scale

One way is to network with other community organisations, to join hands with others to achieve better results. Clubs should make collective or joint efforts to achieve common objectives. There will then be economies of scale as the cost per club will be lesser. There will also be value added in that fellowship among different clubs will be enhanced.

The Gardens’ Grapevine - May 1997 Page 6

he number of functions. Cut out those which may not really be useful. The time spent, the high cost of the meals, may not all be necessary. Make use of the hall in the Bedok Home for meetings and gatherings.

Reach out to the public for funds. Don’t tax your own members or other clubs for money. The cost of being a Lion is rising. To participate actively, a member has to pay not only the club and district dues, he has to pay for dinner invitations from other clubs.

During the new DG’s term of office, instructions will be issued to clubs: decorum and dignity there must always be in Lions meetings, but dinner meetings need not be expensive and grand affairs, even if the DG is invited.

Membership

The big challenge is to recruit and retain members. We have probably been trying too hard. Our clubs are doing too many things, being too enthusiastic, to the point of taxing members too much. It is necessary to have a little more balance, a little more fun, so that at club level, where resources are limited, things are easy on members. In many clubs, only ten to fifteen members can be counted on to do the work. It is enough to do one major service activity and one major fund-raising project in a year. Joint activities and projects should be encouraged. Presidents should talk to their BOD’s, and the DG himself will also talk to his Cabinet officers, to make Lionism enjoyable.

Responding to a question, VDG said that while he was in favour of getting more members, it was also important to screen people being invited to become members, so that we could secure "quality" members who could contribute positively to our movement. But what was a "quality" member? he asked. It would not be possible to know unless the member came on board and was tried out. There was always something good in each and every member; it was up to the club leadership to tap his worth.

Competition Rules

Over the years, competition for DG’s awards had grown intense. Some clubs take the pursuit of these awards quite seriously. The weakness of the present system is that it encourages clubs to limit themselves to doing only those projects which score high points. We should not make the mistake of using the awards as motivating factors. The awards should not be the driving force behind the club’s activities and projects, otherwise the original purpose of having the awards is defeated.

The line between an Excellent Award and an Outstanding Award is a thin one. It has been difficult to decide which Award to present to which club. The new DG will be willing to take the challenge to make the rules simpler. All it takes for a club to win an Award will be for it to fulfill the basic requirements of its charter. In addition, special awards will be given for innovative projects.

Mission Statement

The mission of the new DG is to unite all the Lions Clubs to meet challenges with dedication and motivation, to get members to serve with excellence so that we can progress from one year to another. The main task for 1997/98 will be to assist in ensuring the smooth transition to the new structure of MD 308. The good things our clubs are doing are the best form of publicity for Lionism. It is therefore a matter of time before membership growth picks up again, and the number of clubs increases.

With unity of purpose, then more can be done.

- The End -