Red Cross Youth Club Singapore’s first inclusive club for youth with and without intellectual disability, launched by Health Minister

Singapore, 8 July 2016 – Minister for Health and Grassroots Advisor to Choa ChuKang GRO Mr Gan Kim Yong today launched the Singapore Red Cross (SRC) Youth Club (RCY Club) in the 1Association for Persons with Special Needs (APSN) Delta Senior School. This marks SRC’s foray into the development of youth with special needs to be humanitarian leaders of the future. Over 300 people gathered to witness a symbolic ceremony marking the enrolment of 15 pioneer youth members aged 17 to 19 to the RCY Club.

“I am heartened by the collaboration amongst Singapore Red Cross, Association of Persons with Special Needs (APSN) and Special Olympics Asia Pacific to launch Singapore’s first inclusive club for youth with and without intellectual disabilities at Delta Senior School. This initiative is an epitome of social inclusiveness and cohesiveness,” said Guest of Honour and former Red Cross Youth Cadet, Minister Gan Kim Yong, who witnessed the badge pinning and presentation of membership cards.

“We have worked tirelessly to launch this Club. We believe that it will extend the joy of serving humanity to everyone, everywhere. Today, we are creating opportunities for youth with and without intellectual disabilities to work and grow together in humanitarian service, as volunteers and leaders. I hope that the youth will seize the various opportunities made available get their creative juices flowing and catalyse groundup initiatives to build a more inclusive, caring and resilient Singapore,” shared Singapore Red Cross Secretary General Mr Benjamin William in his speech.

Going forward, SRC and APSN Delta Senior School will equip RCY Club Members with First Aid and First Responder skills, by adapting the Basic First Aid curriculum for students with intellectual disabilities.

“The setup of Singapore’s first Red Cross Youth Club at APSN Delta Senior School (DSS) will allow our students with Mild Intellectual Disability (MID) to learn essential First Aid and First Responder skills which they can apply in their daily lives. At the same time, it also helps to strengthen our school measures and our students’ involvement towards emergency preparedness. By participating in the Club’s activities together with youth who are without intellectual disability, our DSS students will build greater confidence to serve the community as dignified and contributing individuals. This initiative also reinforces the school spirit among our students, of “I can, I want and I will’.” shared APSN Delta Senior School Principal Madam Aslinah Bte Ahmad.

In the next six months, Red Cross Youth @ Delta Senior School will work alongside other Red Cross Youth members from Singapore and beyond, to plan and organise three unified activities for youth with and without intellectual disabilities in Singapore, as part of its community outreach programme. These activities will be centred on recreation/sports and community service/outreach.

These unified activities are conceptualised and funded by Special Olympics Asia Pacific through a $10,000 grant, to bring together people with and without intellectual disabilities for shared experiences.

“Promoting inclusiveness lies at the heart of all that we do at Special Olympics Asia Pacific. We have been at the forefront of efforts to transform lives, shift public perceptions and change behaviours towards people with intellectual disabilities across the region for the past decade through various sports and community engagement initiatives. We believe in building a truly inclusive society through mindful activities and shared experiences between people with and without intellectual disabilities to foster greater understanding and acceptance. Our aim is to build a ‘unified’ generation of caring citizens who will become advocates for an inclusive society where everyone has equal opportunities to maximise his or her potential. We want to change society by
changing attitudes and behaviours,” said Ms Angelina Ong, Board member, Special Olympics Asia Pacific.

To empower the youth to better serve the needs of the community, Singapore Red Cross has over the years expanded the Red Cross Youth footprint from the uniformed group CCA in mainstream primary and secondary schools, to chapters in tertiary institutions. In recent years, RCY has expanded into international schools, and into districts (RCY@Northeast) as clubs. The establishment of the RCY Club in Delta School is another significant step towards building a truly inclusive Red Cross Youth Movement in Singapore.

About Red Cross Youth
The Singapore Red Cross Youth (RCY) is part of the largest humanitarian network in the world - the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. It was first established as the Junior Red Cross in 1952, and now has a membership of 5,000, across the uniformed groups in primary and secondary schools, as well as clubs in postsecondary institutions and communities.

In primary and secondary schools, the RCY is a cocurricular activity (CCA) that integrates character-building, leadership, essential life saving skills and blood donation knowledge, local community service and overseas humanitarian projects in its curriculum, with the Red Cross ethos and service to humanity as a core focus. It remains the only cocurricular activity (CCA) to offer youth volunteers a seamless transition as they progress from student life into adulthood.

At the community level, Red Cross Youth Club provides a sustainable platform for our youth to serve the vulnerable; and engage in Community Service, Blood Donation and Donor Recruitment, and Disaster Management and Support locally, and globally.

About Association of Persons with Special Needs (APSN)
Since 1976, The Association for Persons with Special Needs (APSN) is a voluntary welfare organization providing special education for persons with mild intellectual disability (IQ 50 – 70) through a holistic approach in the development of academic, vocational and social skills. The Association provides dedicated and specialised educational pathways aged 7 years to 21 years. The Centre for Adults provides continued vocational training and preparation for open employment age 17 years old all the way to adulthood.

APSN runs four special education schools namely APSN Chaoyang School (APSN CYS), APSN Katong School (APSN KS), APSN Tanglin School (APSN TS), APSN Delta Senior School (APSN DSS) as well as a Student Care Centre (APSN SCC) and a Centre for Adults (APSN CFA).

About Special Olympics
Special Olympics is a global movement that unleashes the human spirit through the transformative power and joy of sports, every day around the world. We empower people with intellectual disabilities to become accepted and valued members of their communities, which leads to a more respectful and inclusive society for all. Using sports as the catalyst and programming around health and education, Special Olympics is fighting inactivity, injustice and intolerance. Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the Special Olympics movement has grown to more than 4.4 million athletes in 170 countries.

The Asia Pacific region is headquartered in Singapore, to oversee the operations of the Special Olympics Movement in 26 countries from Afghanistan to the Pacific Islands excluding China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Mongolia and South Korea (these six countries make up the Special Olympics East Asia region). Special Olympics Asia Pacific is the largest region (out of seven) in the world, serving more than 1.4 million people with intellectual disabilities. The region offers 28 Olympic-type sporting activities and in addition, Special Olympics initiatives in Healthy Athletes®, Unified Sports®, Young Athletes™, and Athlete Leadership.