Balancing act: Safety and humility
SingEx Venues senior manager, Yvonne Chen, reflects on her volunteer experience at the Community Care Facility atSingapore EXPO & MAX Atria.
Yvonne Chen, Senior Manager, SingEx Venues
There are three volunteer roles to sign up for at the Community Care Facility (CCF) at Singapore EXPO & MAX Atria, namely: Safe distancing ambassador; safe entry ambassador; and kitchen assistant.
I’ve performed all three roles since the start of the volunteer programme. As the safe distancing and safe entry ambassador roles are front facing, volunteers have to demonstrate tact and humility balanced with authority. As for the kitchen assistant role, volunteers are required to attend training and receive the certification of ‘Food and Beverage Safety and Hygiene Policies and Procedures Course’ before we can start helping around the kitchen.
The CCF at Singapore EXPO & MAX Atria is made up of several key stakeholders from a range of private and public agencies. For me, volunteering has been a truly humbling experience: I am able to witness how dedicated and focused everyone working on-site and on the ground is. For example, I’ve seen the Integrated Health Information Systems team deep in discussion and healthcare professionals all plugged into meetings on their mobile devices while having their meals at the resting areas. I constantly see teams from Resorts World Sentosa, the managing agent of the facility, moving logistics from point to point.
I’ve also seen posters carrying words of encouragement and gratitude from members of the public plastered on the walls. These serve as lovely and warm reminders that everyone working at the CCF is respected and appreciated.
All volunteers perform their duties within safe parameters. With that, whenever I see healthcare workers or support crew donning their PPE, preparing to enter the halls to attend to patients’ needs, my heart is filled with gratitude and I always say a little prayer.
My volunteer work at the kitchen also shed light on the extent to which a bento box is underrated. There is so much hard work invested before a hot meal can be served to a staff member at the CCF. From meal planning, procurement of ingredients, preparation, cooking, quality control, conveyor line packing to delivery: All these steps have strict protocols and food safety considerations. After day one of my volunteer duty in the kitchen, I shared with some of the SingEx colleagues that I will never ever look at a bento meal and go, “oh well, just another meal”.
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Serving a larger purpose
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We must support each other’s success as one ‘infected event’ can destroy all our efforts. Look out for your brothers and sisters and keep each other in check. That’s the only way we can do our part while the medical world is doing theirs.
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I am certain that after the dust settles and the volunteer services cease, I will hold on to these observations and augment the way I perform my role within the organisation.
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