Passionate SITizens Step in to Lead Ground-up Initiatives
Supporting the community through initiatives such as Project CBK, #BYOBClean, #StayFitAtHome Challenge and more, they are making an impact amid the outbreak even as they shape their COVID-19 narratives
Project CBK
Project CBK (Circuit Breaker Kooks) provides eateries with much-needed manpower, and currently comprises 24 regular volunteers – 22 of whom are SITizens from the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), Singapore – and about 10 ad-hoc helpers. The volunteer initiative was launched by Joel Tan, a final-year undergraduate from the Food Business Management (Culinary Arts) programme and Dylan Ong, owner of The Masses Restaurant.
Joel was initially offered an internship under celebrity chef Dominique Crenn in San Francisco, but it was retracted due to the pandemic. However, that did not deter him from coming forward with his know-how to lend a helping hand and gaining experience in the process. "As someone involved in the food and beverage industry, I felt useless not being able to do a single thing for the industry I loved being in as well as grew up with. I wanted to help in some ways or another," Joel said.
World Gourmet Summit Honours Healthcare Heroes at Sengkang General Hospital
SITizens from CIA also joined 20 other food and beverage establishments in preparing lunch for 1,100 staff at Sengkang General Hospital. The activity was part of World Gourmet Summit's initiative to thank healthcare heroes for their fight against COVID-19.
Year 1 student Carlson Teo shared that it was a great experience being able to contribute to the initiative. "This experience made me realise that chefs can also contribute meaningfully to the community during this pandemic. I am extremely honoured to be able to help out."
Who Needs My Help? – An Interactive Guide to Charities and Organisations
Deanna Montalbo and Hariz Azmi from the Glasgow School of Art (GSA) recognised the importance of reaching out to people in need of extra support. They created “Who Needs My Help?”, a comprehensive interactive guide that provides easy reference to charities and organisations that accept donations to help Singaporeans in need, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The COVID-19 situation has taken a toll on everyone. While I was looking up ways to contribute to those in need, I was heartened to see the many channels available. Hariz and I decided to compile them into this handy guide. We hope it'll benefit our fellow Singaporeans and encourage everyone to keep reaching out to those in need, in whatever small ways we can," said Deanna.
#BYOBclean Hand Sanitiser Distribution and #StayFitAtHome Challenge
Students at SIT have also been readily coming forward to contribute to activities organised by SIT, such as the #BYOBclean Hand Sanitiser Distribution and #StayFitAtHome Challenge.
Between 23 March and 3 April 2020, 42 SITizens assisted SIT staff in an initiative by Temasek Foundation to distribute free zero-alcohol hand sanitisers to the public. Each student committed to a roster of five-hour shifts at IMM in the initiative
To encourage fellow SITizens to stay healthy during Circuit Breaker, 35 varsity leaders from various sports and programmes contributed to the #StayFitAtHome Challenge in the form of Instagram videos. These videos featured SITizens demonstrating fitness tips – from lunges to push-ups and squats – to encourage their peers to keep fit at home. The videos have since encouraged more than 150 students to create their own fitness videos.