Under the guidance and support of TCTF, Project Cheer was organised this year by 12 teams of students from ACJC comprising over 180 volunteers. This year’s edition of the project has seen the students engage more than 600 beneficiaries from eight different organisations over the course of the March and June school holidays. The numerous, wide-ranging activities, organised wholly by the students themselves, included crop planting sessions, teaching the beneficiaries to prepare a number of traditional food dishes, teaching dialects such as Hokkien and Cantonese and several other traditional games.
For a multiplier impact, Project Cheer involved two core aspects: First, the JC students ran their first Project Cheer with a children’s charity. Second, later that same day, the students – together with the children from the children’s charities – brought Project Cheer to charities serving the aged. The teens became mentors, and demonstrated to the younger children how they too can make a difference in other people’s lives, and become a joy to others.
“It’s been amazing to be part of a project that brings both elderly and children together, in a single setting, and to have them interact and bond over a day’s activities.” As rightly highlighted by Zachary Wan from class 2SB4, the unique project was certainly an enjoyable and meaningful experience for both students and beneficiaries alike.