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Where to Sign Up for Volunteer Work in Singapore
Singapore boasts numerous activities to fill your time, but most come with a price tag. However, there’s one activity that won’t cost you a dime—volunteer work.
Paying it forward by dedicating your time and energy after school, work, or play can be incredibly fulfilling. Volunteer opportunities across Singapore’s numerous charities can range from tutoring to spending a day playing with special needs children.
If you’re looking for more ways you can pay it forward and contribute your time to help vulnerable children, adults, and elders, look up these top charities for volunteer work in Singapore. Most don’t require past charity work experience, just a willingness to serve!
Habitat For Humanity
Address: 56 Lor 23 Geylang, #05-00 Century Technology Building, Singapore 388381
Contact Details: +6567447326
Operating Hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
If you have knowledge about construction or are willing to pick up some tools, you might be interested in volunteering for Habitat For Humanity’s Project HomeWorks. Even if you don’t, that’s fine because there are other ways you can help them!
Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit, works to provide proper housing for vulnerable families in the Asia-Pacific region. In Singapore, they aim to rebuild and transform homes through Project HomeWorks.
Additionally, you can volunteer for Blockwalk, a monthly initiative to clean up Singapore’s streets and neighbourhoods every last Saturday. Successful engagement with Habitat For Humanity may even lead to opportunities to lead your own projects!
| Tip: Habitat For Humanity allows patrons and volunteers to start their own fundraisers to help raise funds for current and upcoming projects. You can learn more about how to start a fundraiser with Habitat For Humanity here. |
The T Project
Address: 7 Race Course Ln, #03-01, Singapore 218734
Contact Details: +6581817584
Operating Hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
The T Project is Singapore’s first and sole social service organisation that focuses on supporting the transgender community by providing rent-free housing for vulnerable transgender people.
Founders June and Alicia Chua saw the need for more inclusive social services in the country, thus, creating The T Project to alleviate the sentiment of neglect and rejection that’s commonly felt among transgenders in Singapore.
Many of their volunteer opportunities centre around administration, marketing, counselling, and research. Upon acceptance, volunteers can actively contribute by organising talks, workshops, and housing drives utilising their respective expertise.
| Tip: If you wish to learn more about what The T Project does for the community, you can visit the Trans History Museum at the Alicia Community Centre. The museum is small but contains highly informative documents and information about the transgender community in Singapore. A quick visit to the museum may open your eyes to how many transgender people The T Project has helped over the years. |
ItsRainingRaincoats
Address: 470 Upper Paya Lebar Rd, Singapore 534235
Contact Details: +6581018187
Operating Hours: Monday to Sunday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
ItsRainingRaincoats, a charity in Singapore, aims to enhance the welfare of migrant workers. Despite its name, the organisation’s focus extends beyond raincoats; it serves as a metaphor for the protection and support offered to vulnerable migrant workers.
Volunteers can help out with distributing gifts, hygiene and first-aid kits, engage with potential stakeholders and sponsors for future projects, and collect donations or host a donation drive with the charity.
Students, corporate workers, and even tourists can help out the charity’s multiple projects, both physically and virtually. Essentially, any time you can spare and help you can extend is greatly appreciated, even as simple as spreading the word!
| Tip: ItsRainingRaincoats is constantly on the lookout for volunteers who can speak and understand Tamil or Hindi fluently. This is because most of the migrant workers they support are Indian. However, migrant workers from other countries are also provided for. So, if you know how to speak more than one language (especially languages in Southeast Asia), don’t forget to include that in your application form! |
Aidha
Address: 748A North Bridge Road (Admin Office), 1 Rochester Park, Level 3, Rochester Commons, Singapore 139212 (Sunday Campus)
Contact Details: +6597894041
Operating Hours: Monday to Friday, 10:00a m to 5:00 pm, Sunday, 11:00 am to 4:00 pm
Do you like numbers and have a deep understanding of finance, business, and technology? Your expertise, small or big, would make you a great fit to volunteer for Aidha, a charity that promotes financial literacy and education in Singapore.
The charity’s main beneficiaries are migrant domestic workers and low-income women. The volunteers provide basic to intermediate financial education and resources to help these vulnerable people get the jumpstart they need to build economic independence.
Engaging with Aidha, whether through tutoring, contributing laptops and course materials, or providing guidance on financial literacy, offers a valuable opportunity to support and empower vulnerable women and migrant workers for generations to come.
| Tip: Aidha encourages volunteers to tap households that hire migrant domestic workers to enrol their helpers. If you know someone or are currently employing a helper, you can learn more about the financial classes and enrol them on this page. |
Willing Hearts
Address: 1 Lor J Telok Kurau, Singapore 425792
Contact Details: +6564765822
Operating Hours: Monday to Sunday, 5:00 am to 5:00 pm
Willing Hearts has been serving free hot and hearty meals to the poor, vulnerable, disabled, and elderly since 2005. The charity’s soup kitchen runs daily, 365 days a year, preparing, cooking, and packing over 11,000 meals islandwide.
Volunteer work mainly involves working the pots and pans, cutting vegetables and meat, and packing all the cooked food. There are 50 slots per shift in the early morning (5:00 am to 9:00 am), late morning (9:00 am to 1:00 pm), and afternoon (1:00 pm to 5:00 pm).
Other volunteer work you can sign up for are the driving and delivering of food to beneficiaries across Singapore and cleaning up the kitchen. You can sign up for as many shifts as you want, as they’re open even on public holidays!
| Tip: Willing Hearts grants Values in Action and Community Involvement Programme hours for volunteers enlisted in either programme. You can scan the QR codes on their volunteer portal and undergo an end-of-day screening for verification and documentation. After it’s been granted, you get your hours of community service! |
Action for AIDS
Address: 9 Kelantan Ln, Singapore 208628
Contact Details: +6562540212
Operating Hours: Tuesday and Wednesday, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, Saturday, 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm
For centuries, the global challenges of AIDS and HIV have persisted. Action for AIDS strives to address both the stigma associated with these diseases and the increasing number of cases worldwide.
The charity’s main goals are to stop the stigma around the diseases and put an end to the transmission. Their volunteer work mainly involves on-ground or online activities such as helping out at screening centres, distributing free screening tests, and talks.
As a volunteer, you can also help by reaching out to key sponsors, stakeholders, and beneficiaries via brochure distribution and online marketing. You can also support beneficiaries during support group sessions and counselling hours!
| Tip: Aside from volunteering, you can also donate to Action for AIDS directly via their website here. Note that you’ll need to provide your identification numbers for a tax reduction, so be ready with them when you donate! |
Superhero Me
Contact Details: hello@superherome.sg
Many children dream of becoming a superhero one day. If you were one of those kids, Superhero Me gives you the chance to become a superhero for special needs children through arts and crafts!
Superhero Me has been championing disability inclusion and diversity for special needs children since 2014. The charity targets disabled or special needs infants, toddlers, and elementary students from low-income neighbourhoods around Singapore.
Join Superhero Me and spend a day supporting children’s social and emotional needs through activities like painting, colouring, or origami. Plus, all volunteers receive specialised training before taking on projects on their own!
| Tip: Superhero Me is run by a small team who all have full-time jobs outside of charity work. That means inquiries and sign-ups for volunteer work may have a five-day turnaround time. If you are planning to volunteer during your summer break or over the course of a few weeks, it’s best to send Superhero Me an application or inquiry at least a week or two in advance! |
Lions Befrienders
Address: 130 Bukit Merah View, #01-358, Singapore 150130
Contact Details: +6563758600
Operating Hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
Lions Befrienders is a social service agency created by the Lions Club of Singapore, an international service organisation dedicated to providing supporting causes for diabetes awareness, international relations, climate change, and disabilities.
Lions Befrienders focuses on providing safe and proper care for elderly Singaporeans. Volunteering with the agency involves helping seniors get social and health support via the Acting Ageing Centre.
As a volunteer, you get to befriend and support isolated seniors. Activities include helping them with medical appointments, accompanying them to group activities, and reaching out to those with limited mobility or severe diseases.
| Tip: Lions Club of Singapore is a members-only organisation, but you don’t need to sign up to be a member just to volunteer at Lions Befrienders. However, non-members and first-time volunteers must attend the agency’s Orientation Training held at the Active Ageing Centre. |
Daughters of Tomorrow
Address: 21 Bedok North Street 1, #03-01 Common Ground Civic Centre, Singapore 469659
Operating Hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
Daughters of Tomorrow is committed to empowering women and ensuring access to quality education, with a focus on creating improved work opportunities for women in Singapore.
One way their volunteers support the charity’s beneficiaries is by signing up to become a childminder or babysitter for single working mothers through the Daughters of Tomorrow’s Women in Action: Community Childminding Network.
Volunteers are assigned to beneficiary mothers with kids ranging from toddlers to elementary school age. As a childminder or babysitter, you’ll be caring for and watching over the kids only during work hours!
| Tip: If you don’t have experience as a babysitter or never cared for children in the past, you can still sign up and volunteer as an online support or befriender for single mothers. You’ll essentially be working with adult women in this category! You can sign up for their available volunteer positions here. |
Metta Welfare Association
Address: 32 Simei Street 1, Singapore 529950
Contact Details: +6565804688
Operating Hours: Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 5:30 pm
The Metta Welfare Association administers social service programs across various sectors in Singapore. They work in partnership with organisations, and private donors to offer aid and assistance to marginalised communities.
Two popular programmes of Metta Welfare are the Children Care and Special Education programmes. As a volunteer, you get to assist special needs children with their homework, play with them during their free time, and even tutor them.
Other programs you can volunteer your services for are the Metta Day Rehabilitation Centre for the Elderly, Metta Home for the Disabled, and the Metta Hospice Care. You don’t need a medical background to take part in them, by the way!
| Tip: Aside from volunteering at Metta Welfare, encourage your friends and family to drop by the centre when the students have cooking and baking classes. The centre often shares the cooked or baked food to visitors after class! |
Transient Workers Count Too
Address: 180B Bencoolen St, #09-01 The Bencoolen, Singapore 189648
Contact Details: +6562477001
Operating Hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
Another charity that’s focused on helping migrant workers in Transient Workers Count Too. As the name suggests, the charity advocates for better working conditions, pay, and treatment of migrant workers in their professions.
Volunteers have to go through a series of training before they can handle a project, which often involves handling casework, communicating with affected migrant workers, researching current workplace issues, and hosting feeding programmes.
Since volunteers may handle delicate cases from time to time, Transient Workers Count Too uses a cloud-based volunteer management system to ensure that newbies get assigned a case they can handle, or be assisted by a senior volunteer or professional.
| Tip: Transient Workers Count Too has a strict minimum age requirement for volunteers. You need to be at least 21 years old to apply and sign up for volunteer work here. Also, once you have been accepted to join as a volunteer, you’re expected to commit to the organisation for at least three to four months. If you don’t, you’ll risk losing your position! |
Trash Hero
Support a cleaner environment and community growth by contributing to Trash Hero, a global movement focused on cleaning Singapore’s beaches and streets. The movement has a large volunteer network in Singapore and joining them is a piece of cake!
Simply follow Trash Hero’s social media for meet-up announcements, connect with other Trash Hero volunteers from the social media pages, and show up to the meeting point at the scheduled time and day.
All cleaning supplies will be provided for you to join in picking up trash and cleaning Singapore’s streets and shores. Additionally, you can sign up to help with Trash Hero’s school collaborations, educating students about waste reduction.
| Tip: You can purchase Trash Hero’s official merchandise like t-shirts on their website. All proceeds from the online store go to funding Trash Hero’s cleanups, such as buying more cleaning equipment and travel money for the volunteers. |
Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations
Address: 96 Waterloo St, Singapore 187967
Contact Details: +6568370611
Operating Hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, Saturday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Sunday, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
The Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations focuses on supporting vulnerable women by providing temporary housing and supporting women and children going through domestic or family violence.
A lot of their volunteer positions are skill-based and ad hoc, such as volunteering to create and manage the charity’s social media pages and website, tutoring beneficiaries, babysitting vulnerable children, and planning fundraising events.
A popular volunteer task at the Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations is running New2U, the charity’s thrift shop selling pre-loved and donated goods for fundraising. You don’t need sales experience to take part, but sales skills are highly appreciated!
| Tip: The Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations allows collaborations with corporations for corporate social responsibility activities and events like financial literacy workshops, holiday celebrations, and fundraising partnerships. Just email the charity at volunteer@scwo.org.sg if you wish to partner with them! |
Ronald McDonald House Charities
Address: 5 Lower Kent Ridge Rd, National University Hospital, Singapore 119074
Contact Details: +6567781934
Operating Hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
The Ronald McDonald House Charities aids vulnerable families in accessing essential medical care and housing resources for a fresh start. Their robust volunteer network offers opportunities for people to aid in several of their programmes in Singapore.
If you enjoy creating positive environments for sick children and families, you can volunteer at the Ronald McDonald Happy Wheels Cart programme and provide McDonald’s snacks and drinks during visits to the National University Hospital.
You can read stories, spend time playing and chatting with sick children, or even plan and host birthdays for those in the hospital. At RMHC, your assistance is welcome in various ways; just bring yourself, your time, and your full attention!
| Tip: You need to be at least 16 years of age to sign up as a volunteer at Ronald McDonald House Charities. Specific skill sets in cooking, teaching, languages, and home medical care are not required but highly appreciated! |
