There are many reasons why people choose to engage in volunteer work. For some, it is an opportunity to give back to society or it simply makes them feel good to help and support people in need. For others, it offers the chance to develop new skills or build on existing experience and knowledge. Whatever the reasons, volunteering enhances one’s self-worth and purpose in life through being able to offer aid, support, and assistance to others in the community.
Here at the Singapore Hospice Council (SHC), we welcome all who are willing to contribute their time, skills and talents to our community efforts. There are many avenues within our outreach programmes where you can volunteer and be involved in engaging and interacting with people to bring greater awareness about palliative care.
Volunteers who are new to or unfamiliar with the concept of palliative care are welcome to join us. We provide all volunteers with the necessary knowledge, training, and education so that you can help to share with the public and those around you important palliative care resources. Sign up for our Palliative Care 101 training course to find out more, or subscribe to the Singapore Hospice Council mailing list below for updates.
Peter’s Experience as a Palliative Care Volunteer
For most of us, the closest encounters we’ll have with death before our own passing is the loss of our loved ones. However, there are many who have had to confront their own mortality up close. One such individual is Peter Yeo – a former Straits Times journalist, PR practitioner, hospice volunteer, and now, terminally ill patient.
Peter first got involved in palliative care volunteering in Singapore in the 1990s. During the same time, he received his first terminal cancer diagnosis. He was then diagnosed with incurable Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) in 2010. Despite these daunting circumstances, Peter credits his time as a hospice volunteer with gifting him empathy and compassion for what lies ahead. Through working closely with hospice and palliative care patients, he got to understand what it means to prepare for a meaningful and peaceful death. As he writes, “Even if they kill me, I refuse to die.”, and he continues to live his life comfortably with what is yet to come.
Our Palliative Care Volunteers’ Views on End-of-life Care
Though many regard talking about end-of-life care as taboo, it’s important to plan well to leave well. In this article, Edi Wu, Jennifer Lim, and Tan Sze Wei share what inspired them to volunteer with Singapore Hospice Council and how they broached the topic of palliative care with their loved ones. As Sze Wei describes it, “Everyone has to experience dying and death. The question is whether we can make things easier for our loved ones and how do we prepare ourselves well for the end.”
Experiences like Peter’s, Edi’s, Jennifer’s, and Sze Wei’s are increasingly common, especially for those of us with ageing relatives. Everyone will have to face death in the end – and no one wishes to face it alone and unsure if they’ve made the right decisions in life. Volunteering with the Singapore Hospice Council gives you the opportunity to better understand the options available for end-of-life care, and spread awareness of these options to your family, friends, and community. As a palliative care volunteer, you can help ease their worries about death and dying, while empowering them with the resources and tools to make responsible decisions about their own end-of-life care.
Join the Singapore Hospice Council as a Volunteer
If you wish to sign up as a volunteer with the Singapore Hospice Council, please find the essential information you’ll need in the following forms:
The following roles (non-exhaustive) are available for volunteers:
- Photography
- Videography
- Writing / Editing publications
- Translating publications
- Event Ushering
- Designing collateral
- Event Advocators (Booth, Speaker, Trainer, Emcee)
- Goodie-bag packing
- Transporting collaterals to event site
- Consultancy
- Media Production
Whether you contribute as an individual or as part of a group or organisation, we are grateful for your contributions in any way, shape, or form. For enquiries, please call us at 6538 2231 or send an email to volunteer@singaporehospice.org.sg
