2021-22 has been a year of new possibilities. Thanks to the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions and collective perseverance, the Foundation was able to hold a few noteworthy events.
Our first major event after the ease of restrictions is the inaugural joint fundraising concert with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. It was a celebration of World Peace and Understanding together with my fellow Rotarians. I would like to give my sincere thanks to our donors for their generous contributions, and to the organising committee and staff who worked tirelessly to make this possible. Following the great success of our first partnership, I am looking forward to more collaborations with SSO in the upcoming years.
Secondly, the FRCS Eldercare and Caregivers Centre (ECC) had a successful grand opening on 25 June 2022, and the occasion was graced by Guest-of-Honour Mayor Low Yen Ling. My heartfelt appreciation to Mr Yeo Chuen Eng (Chairman, ECC) for spearheading this much-needed effort to benefit the elderly and caregivers, and Mr Daryl Toh (Centre Manager, ECC) for curating and driving the programmes for the members. I want to express my sincere gratitude to all of the donors who contributed to this Centre; Without you, we would not have been able to bring this project to fruition.
Lastly, the Marketing and Communications committee did an outstanding job creating a new corporate website for FRCS. The website is intended to be user-friendly and accessible, with an emphasis on providing information that is relevant and appealing to current and potential donors. This is an important step in our marketing strategy to build awareness of our work in the community. I am grateful to the committee and staff for their efforts in creating this valuable resource for FRCS.
We were able to achieve these milestones thanks to all our donors, members, staff, volunteers, Singapore Rotarians, and everyone who contributed to the growth of FRCS. Once again, thank you all for the fantastic year and I am looking forward to everyone’s continued support in the upcoming year.
Celebrating 30 years of Community Impact
Incorporated in 1993, we proudly mark our 30th year anniversary at the Foundation of Rotary Clubs Singapore (FRCS). Through the years, FRCS has championed a wide range of community outreach programmes that help improve the well-being of individuals and families in Singapore. I am immensely proud to share with you our key milestones and major events for the year 2022/2023.
25 Years of Heartfelt Service with FRCS FSC
Commemorating FRCS Family Service Centre’s (FRCS FSC) 25th year since its formation, the Centre held an Open House & Community Day at their West Coast Branch in March 2023. This significant milestone serves as a testament to our dedication in extending our reach and impact within the community. We established our Clementi Family Service Centre in 1997, which was the organisation’s first long-term project in which drew wholehearted support from all Rotary Clubs across Singapore. It marked a significant step forward and solidified our commitment to fostering positive change.
Embarking on Purposeful Ageing with FRCS ECC
We are also delighted to celebrate FRCS Eldercare and Caregivers Centre’s (FRCS ECC) 1st Anniversary in June 2023. At FRCS ECC, our focus lies on promoting active ageing by offering an extensive selection of exercise sessions, programs, and support services to promote healthy lifestyles. In addition, we also emphasise the importance of social connections to enhance overall well-being. Rotary Clubs are actively involved in organising workshops and knowledge-sharing sessions at the centre, fostering an environment that promotes learning and growth.
The Centre encourages seniors to pursue their hobbies and provides them with spaces to engage in interest group activities such as Art or Chinese Calligraphy. I had the privilege of attending one of their Chinese Calligraphy sessions and even participated firsthand. The sense of community among these seniors as they support one another truly touched my heart.
Committed to Progress
FRCS acknowledges the rapidly growing ageing population and much needed support for caregivers in Singapore. Multifaceted challenges arise alongside this demographic shift, notably social isolation, which holds a prominent place on our agenda. While online platforms are beneficial, we recognise that offline interactions and personal connections are equally important. As Singapore enters its new normal, we are committed to expanding physical programs, engagement opportunities, and resources to address these challenges and provide the necessary support to all seniors.
We are transitioning FRCS ECC into an Active Ageing Centre (AAC), recognizing how AACs play a pivotal role in strengthening communities. We remain open to change and learning about their needs, with the aim to empower every senior toward a healthy, purposeful lifestyle. Together, we’re shaping a future where every individual can age in an inclusive, supportive environment with dignity.
Solidifying our Partnerships
We collaborated once again with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra for our second joint fundraising effort. This year, we had the pleasure of welcoming the wonderful SSO team to the FRCS Eldercare & Caregivers Centre. I am glad to have been able to personally introduce our centre and present the donation cheque to our valued partner. Subsequently, we will be attending the 40th Patron of the Arts Award Ceremony for our contributions toward the Singapore Symphony Group.
Ms Low Yen Ling, Mayor of the South West District, presented a Partners’ Appreciation Award in May 2023 to the FRCS Eldercare & Caregivers Centre for its contributions in community services to the residents at Bukit Gombak.
Our Tech-Powered Shift
Since 2021, FRCS has embarked on a comprehensive journey of digital transformation. We have successfully digitised our internal processes and provided extensive user training to our staff to ensure smooth adoption of the new workflows. From the second quarter of 2023, we are now in the final stages of implementing advanced systems for Donation, Event, Volunteer, and Membership management. This transition marks a significant leap towards enhanced efficiency and connectivity in all aspects of our operations.
I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to our donors, members, staff, volunteers, Singapore Rotarians, and everyone involved in the growth of FRCS. The accomplishments are attributable to your unwavering commitment and support. I look forward to your continued contributions as we strive to achieve even greater things together.
– Chew Ghim Bok JP, BBM(L)
Chairman FRCS
Fundraising Committee Chairman
FRCS Active Ageing Centre (AAC) Committee Chairman
FRCS Family Service Centre (FSC) Committee Chairman
Director
Public Relations & Communications Chairman
Community Outreach Chairman
Grant Management Chairman
Club Engagement Chairman
Youth Committee Chairman
FRCS House Committee Chairman
Honorary Treasurer
Special Projects Committee Chairman
Fellowship Committee Chairman
Marketing & Communications Chairman
Youth Comm Alt Director
FRCS House Committee Alt Director
Fundraising Comm Alt Director
As a key to change, Foundation of Rotary Clubs (Singapore) Ltd (FRCS) is opening doors to new possibilities for our beneficiaries.
Member of:
Mr Chew Ghim Bok, PBM, is the Director of Skyven Group, a venture capital company. He has more than 24 years of experience working with charity organisations. An active past District Governor of District 3310, he has led a team together with STPB to secure Singapore as the host country for the 2024 Rotary International Convention. Besides Rotary, he is an active volunteer and serves as Chairman of Bukit Gombak CCC. He was appointed Justice of Peace and serves in the main committee of the National Council of Problem Gambling.
Janice Goh has been in banking and retail distribution. She comes with over 20 years of experience in voluntary work. This experience covers the social service agencies, Boards and government related committees. She held leadership positions in social service agencies and is currently a member of the Advisory Panel of an agency which empowers older women to live and age well. She actively participates in community work as well in mapping out strategic goals. In Rotary, she was the President of the Rotary Club of Suntec City, serving a two year term. During this period, she was the Organising Chairman of the 2023 District Conference held in Phuket.
Dr Gong is a practicing General Surgeon at Gleneagles Hospital and a member of the Liver Transplant Team with the Asian American Liver Centre. He has more than 30 years of experience working with charities and is a charter member of Rotary Club of Changi.
Mr Yeo is a Director with The Standard Chartered Private Bank. He is currently serving as a Council Member of Singapore Cancer Society and Society for the Aged Sick, with more than 16 years of experience working with charities. He is a member of Rotary Club of Singapore West.
Bou Leong is a Past President of the Rotary Club of Singapore West where he is a member since September 1994.
He has held several District appointments in the past, including the offices of District Membership Chair, District Secretary, Assistant Governor and Director of Rotary International District 3310 Bhd.
He has served at FRCS in the Strategic Planning and Eldercare & Caregivers Centre Project committees.
More recently, Bou Leong was FRCS Executive Director from June 2022 to July 2024. He brings with him over 35 years of commercial experience in Sales and Business Development leadership in the Healthcare and Life Sciences Industry covering the Asia Pacific region.
Ms Elsie Chua has been a Rotarian at the Rotary Club of Pandan Valley since 2010 and is currently a District Chair for Public Image at Rotary International. She held leadership roles from small, medium to large corporations prior to her retirement as the Chief Marketing Officer at Singapore Press Holdings.
Elsie brings with her over 35 years of business, marketing and brand management experience. She led numerous change management projects to transform organizations and people to be future ready in the digital economy, setting up new systems for customer relationship management, operations, e-learning and front end web services.
Ms Henny Goh has been a Rotarian for over 27 years and has taken on numerous projects. Being a part of FRCS has enabled her to take up new challenges to help our community. In her book, ‘A Life Compass for Success’, she shares her inspired experiences with youths. She is currently serving as an honorary member of Society of Starfish Singapore (SSS), a beneficiary of FRCS. SSS provides out-of-school youths a second chance to pursue their education under the Project Starfish programme.
Mr Jimmy Ooi is a travel management consultant. He has been with the Rotary family since 1976 as an Interactor, Rotaractor and Rotarian. He has over 40 years of experience working with charities and has helped develop several regional charities for humanitarian aid. Currently he is also the International Service Chair of Rotary International District 3310, Management Committee member of the Rotary Eldercare & Caregivers’ Centre, Chairman of the Rotary Cotton On Youth Fund, General Secretary of Rotary Intercountry Committees ASEAN and Past President of Rotary Club of Singapore. In his vocation, he serves as Executive Committee member of the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore.
Vicky Soo has been a practicing lawyer in Malaysia for 19 years. She is now a Consultant with M/s K.S.Pang & Co (Advocates & Solicitors) in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. She had been an active Rotarian since 2012 and she is the Past President for Rotary E-Club of 3310. She has been the Vice-President for several years. She is the Chairman for Rotary My Wish (on-going Project) for six years.
Mr Engle is the Head of Academies and Clubs in Sport Singapore. He was a team coach for the US Olympic and Paralympic athletics team and has decades of experience working with youths. He is the Past President of the Rotary Club of Singapore North.
Mr Ng is the business owner of Emtech Wellness International. He has over 20 years of experience working with charities and has been a Rotary Club member for 22 years. He is a Past Assistant Governor of Rotary international District 3310 and is currently serving as Immediate Past President of Rotary Club of Bugis Junction.
Ms See has over 14 years of experience in the finance industry. She ran an accounting and corporate secretarial firm for 10 years. Prior to that, she had 8 years of experience in the service sector. She is a member of the Rotary Club of Singapore.
Mr Chew is the Founder of Astrans (S) Pte Ltd. He is serving as a member of Disaster Aids International and has over 25 years of experience working with charities. He is a member of the Rotary Club of E-Club of 3310.
Mr Cheong has been an active member of the Rotary Club Of Changi since 2015 and was President of the club for RY 2019-20. He is currently a level 2 major donor and a benefactor of the endowment fund of Rotary international.
Mr Heinrich Grafe has been an active Member of the Rotary Club of Marina City since 1998. Prior to this, he was a Member of the Rotary Club in Guam (USA) from 1985 – 1987. He has been in the Hospitality Industry all his life. His last posting was in Singapore as General Manager of the Conrad Centennial Hotel from April 1998 until February 2020, with three years of secondment to the Conrad Hotel in Tokyo.
PP Jeffrey CHAN Wah Teck, SC, joined the Rotary Club of Raffles City in 1990. He read law in the University of Singapore on a President’s Scholarship graduating in 1973 as the Gold Medallist of his class.
He subsequently obtained his LL.M from Harvard University, and completed his Advanced Management Programme at Wharton Business School. He was for 46 years with Singapore Legal Service where he held a wide range of appointments. He retired in 2018 and is presently an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Law of the National University of Singapore as well as the Senior Director of TSMP Law Corporation. His present legal practice covers a wide range of matters including arbitration, commercial law, company law and criminal law.
He is a Senior Mediator of the Singapore Mediation Centre as well as a Fellow of both the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators as well as the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators. He has held many different positions in his Rotary Club as well as in the District and is presently the Hon. Legal Counsel to the Federation of Rotary Clubs (Singapore).
Mr Louis Lim graduated from the University of London with LLB (Hons) in 1996 and was admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of Singapore in 1998. He was awarded the Public Service Medal (PBM) in August 2006 by the President of the Republic of Singapore President S. R. Nathan, and the Public Service Star (BBM) in August 2019 by the President of the Republic of Singapore President Halimah Yacob. He has been a member of the Rotary Club of Singapore since 2011 and is the President of the club for the year 2021/2022.
Mr Ronald Wong graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Commerce and is an accountant by profession. He is a Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA), and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ). He is also a Certified Practicing Accountant with CPA Australia. Ronald is a partner with Ernst & Young and he leads the Singapore Financial Accounting Advisory Services (FAAS) team.
Mr Lee Guoxing graduated with a Bachelor of Social Work from Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) in 2011. Guoxing joined the social service sector in 2006 from a young Youth Worker and now specializing in Disability sectors since 2016. He is also part of the Family Violent Workgroup under the Ministry of Social and Family Development (Adult Protection Service) in Woodland Marsiling Region for two years (2020 – 2022).
Guoxing was an Interactor (1999), Rotaractor (2003), and now a Rotarian with Rotary Club of Marina City in 2016. He has held several positions as an Interactor and Rotaractor. He is currently holding a position as a Youth Service Chair since 2019 till date. He was Deputy Rotaract Chair (RY 2019/2020 and RY 2020/2021). Also, He held a position as an Alternate Director under the youth committee in the Foundation of Rotary Clubs Singapore.
Chew Phak Heng is the founder of PH Chew Consultancy Pte Ltd and MD of PH Chew (M&E) Renovation Pte Ltd and PH Chew (M&E) Renovation Sdn Bhd. The Group is dealing with industrial planning and building of factory facilities since 1984. He has more than 18 years of experience working with volunteer organizations and Charities. He served on the FRCS Board for 6 years He is a member of the Rotary Club of Garden City, and current President of JTC Alumni, Board Member of The Chinese High School Ltd, Treasurer of Hwa Chong Seniors Club, Council Member of Hwa Chong Alumni Association.
Dr YAP Lip Kee has been a Rotarian for 23 years, served on the Board of Directors of FRCS for 10 years and Chairman of the Fund Raising Committee for 3 years. He has been active in Disaster Relief and International Service for both Club and District. He is Rotary International District 3310 ‘s District Governor Nominee Designate ie. District Governor 2024 /25.
