Forging a new frontier for a thriving groundup community.

In partnership with GIC, the SG Strong Fellowship aims to nurture a collaborative community of groundup leaders that is equipped, supported and connected.

2023 Fellowship Factsheet
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ABOUT
SG STRONG
FELLOWSHIP

– To nurture groundup leaders in their ability to identify sector gaps, build their confidence in being able to make a difference and strengthen their long-term commitment to the cause.

– To guide groundup leaders towards clarity of thought, leading to improved quality of community projects for long-term impact.

– To establish a well-connected and collaborative community of groundups.

The SG Strong Fellowship is a 12-month programme that aims to establish a network of leaders to forge a new frontier for a thriving groundup community.

– Targeted at experienced leaders of groundups who show readiness and willingness to develop into leaders of the groundup community.

– Up to 15 groundup leaders selected as Fellows.

– Each Fellow will be awarded up to $10,000 in flexible funding.

– Programme is designed to encourage collaboration amongst groundup leaders, and includes a 2D1N offsite and a number of community learning sessions.

MEET THE SG STRONG FELLOWS

Keerthana currently leads a nonprofit groundup initiative called GenLab Collective that provides a platform for individuals of all ages to share, learn and collaborate, with the aim of bridging generation gaps.

She has a keen interest in the social service sector, particularly around social service innovation, ageing research and mental health.

In her free time, Keerthana enjoys taking nature walks and travelling!

Huh Dam made his first solar-powered Mars rover at the age of 7, and went on to build a ton of cool robots to conquer world-class competitions.

He learned powerful skills that opened up opportunities to advance in life, but little did he know how privileged he was.

Now he believes in the potential that quality STEAM education can unleash in our generation to direct our future and fight back against the Moloch – from Meditations on Moloch.

With Stick ‘Em and TOM Global, he is using the next decade to build robust social enterprises that make life-changing experiences for youths accessible, regardless of their background or situation.

John is the co-director at Project Phoenix, a volunteer-led organisation that has hosted magic workshops for under-privileged youths since 2013.

Through magic, Project Phoenix aims to empower marginalised youth by building English proficiency, enhancing their communication and presentation skills as well as stimulating independent thinking and creative thinking. They organise workshops, excursions and gala shows to encourage students to step out of their comfort zone and bring joy to others.

John is also a second-year student at SMU, spending most of his time studying, keeping fit and fantasising about his next adventure in the mountains.

Wei Ching is curious about how we can build innovative solutions to improve the lives of disadvantaged communities.

Data Scientist in the day; Social Entrepreneur in the night. She champions community building, knowledge sharing and women empowerment.

In 2021, Wei Ching founded SELF (Sustaining Employability of Low-income women & Families), a groundup initiative dedicated to addressing inequalities faced by low-income women.

Their primary goal is to bridge opportunities and empower these women to sustain their employability while achieving progressive income growth. Wei Ching enjoys nature and is always up to some new adventure.

SayurStory is a groundup initiative that explores community-building with migrant domestic workers through nature-based connections — in Singapore and across Southeast Asia.

The community gathers for gardening and cooking activities, and creates spaces to reimagine our relationships with nature and one another.

Since founding SayurStory in 2020 (stumbling into the groundup space), Man Wei has journeyed with several members to explore co-ownership and leadership in the community.

She continues to practice community-building with SayurStory and communities in its orbit, and hopes to always expand her own and others’ understanding of “community”. Man Wei’s favourite time of the day is dawn.

Nigel is a passionate community builder. Since young, he’s been actively serving his communities, from giving free haircuts to schoolmates to serving in faith-based social groups.

Having graduated from Stanford when Steve Jobs gave the commencement speech, he understands the potential for tech to do good at scale, and has been leveraging tech to foster closer relationships, even during his time leading and serving the Cornell Alumni Club.

He’s devoted to reviving the kampung spirit in Singapore through Goodhood.sg, an app-enabled neighbourliness movement, which has organically grown to 75,000+ strong, with a vision to connect all households by 2025.

Elijah is a serial baker, drummer, and team builder. He’s been building a community called The Resonance Project (Reso) for the last few years, in the hope that Reso becomes a model for youth volunteerism and activation. 

Reso channels his love for building systems that unite and amplify the goodness in people. He wants to continue creating spaces that develop and accelerate the wider youth community to serve personally and build community. 

Elijah also runs a business specialising in luxury confectionery and corporate gifting. When not working on projects, he loves barbecuing with friends and picking up pro audio/lighting skills.

Florence is the co-founder of a groundup initiative, School of Ability & Recovery (SOAR).

Since 2018, the group has been actively co-producing mental health-related workshops, where persons in recovery, their caregivers and mental health professionals work in tandem to design and deliver the psycho-education workshops.

Since her brush with a mental health condition in 2013, Florence has been volunteering and working in the mental health community. She loves to bake, bringing joy to her friends and family one cupcake at a time.

Kyi Yeung wears different hats – as an instructor, an (informal) tour guide and data visualiser.

He is happiest when solving problems and giving backvmeaningfully, and is currently working on growing his involvement in community initiatives that deal with today’s pressing problems.

He started DatastorySG, which focuses on teaching data science to students through the medium of data storytelling, with the ambition of providing access to these skills as many as possible. In the future, he hopes that the groundup can expand to tackle other issues such as increasing financial literacy and digital inclusion.

Valerie is an ordinary working adult with a passion for snail mail, along with learning new things such as languages and skateboarding.

She kickstarted PenPals in the Community to bring people from different communities together through the magic of letter-writing.

Join her in embracing this tradition and forging connections that transcend boundaries!

With a heart divided between two meaningful pursuits, daylight sees Nicole making a difference in the non-profit sector, while moonlit hours are often devoted to championing the cause of those impacted by autoimmune conditions in her groundup initiative, Autoimmune Diseases Singapore.

Crafting lets her weave creativity, and travel is her passport to new experiences. The magic of theatre never fails to enthral Nicole, but her heart truly belongs to her two canine buddies, Peanut and Potato, with whom she shares cherished moments.

As an ex-offender himself, Andrew started Break the Cycle with his friends to marry both his mission to serve ex-offenders (and their families) with his passion for cycling.

As a groundup, they use the sport and its community to reintegrate ex-offenders, with the aim of contributing towards reducing the recidivism rate in Singapore.

Break the Cycle organises weekly group rides three times a week, and also collaborates with community partners in the aftercare sector to provide volunteering opportunities to give back, and to reach out to ex-offenders.

A strong believer in an inclusive society where persons with disabilities can contribute towards nurturing sustainable cities and communities, Aaron is currently serving happiness in every chew of food through a food kiosk at SMU called Kunyah Cafe while rebuilding lives of visually impaired individuals and persons with disability as chefs.

He finds social entrepreneurship challenging yet exciting and is always seeking out inspiration – you’ll never guess where he gets his best ideas from!

Sabrina is the co-founder & CEO of Calm Collective Asia, an organisation with the mission to normalise mental health conversations amongst professionals.

She is a mental health expert by experience, having achieved personal recovery and well-being through her journey with bipolar disorder.

Sabrina regularly hosts Calm Collective’s community talks and peer support circles. Prior to starting Calm Collective, Sabrina worked in the software industry, and was a professional DJ in the region’s top nightlife establishments.

Adibah has been volunteering for the past 16 years in various organisations.

An educator at heart, she believes in the unique strengths of each individual she interacts with. She finds comfort in deep conversations over long walks in the park or a cosy day reading books at home.

It is this faith in people and the love for quiet contemplation that started OpenBookSg. OpenBookSg aims to encourage mindfulness and presence of the heart in teenagers, using books and literature.

Programmes focus on developing social and cultural capital and in turn, empower teenagers to be more confident and empathetic individuals.

FREQUENTLY 
ASKED QUESTIONS

4 May 2023 to 15 June 2023

– Individuals that have founded and/or are currently leading at least 1 groundup project that has been consistently active for at least the last 2 years in the social, environmental, sports or arts sectors.

– A track record of actively journeying with vulnerable communities in Singapore.

– Applicants must be residing in Singapore and 18 years old and above.

– Is able to commit to all core activities under the Fellowship programme and participate in 2 supplementary activities.

Applicants will be evaluated based on their potential as a leader of the groundup space, a demonstrated understanding of the community they are involved in, and their track record running community initiatives.

Check out the full Fellowship factsheet here.

THE 2023 FELLOWSHIP CALL IS NOW CLOSED.