MINDSET News

September 2018

It's been a busy quarter at MINDSET, and all our Jardine Ambassadors continue to do their best to bring about change for Singapore's mental health community. We reveal our latest Jardine Ambassadors of the Quarter and are also in search for a new cohort of Jardine Ambassadors!

Paint the Colours of MINDSET

Thank you for the encouraging support for our inaugural Colours of MINDSET art competition and exhibition. Our exhibitions at Marina Bay Link Mall (16-20 July) and Our Tampines Hub (21 July) showcased artwork by 20 Persons-in-Recovery (“PIRs”) and 13 collaborative pieces jointly created by PIRs and Jardine employees during our signature Mini-MINDSET Days. At Our Tampines Hub, over 5,000 visited the exhibition and learnt more about mental health through the lens of PIRs and their artwork. The Awareness & Outreach team certainly hoped that through arts, it softened the approach and bridged the conversation about mental health.

Winning pieces of collaborative and individual categories, both by Mr Tan Choon Heng, a mental health person-in-recovery

Apart from PIRs, we also encouraged Jardine employees to submit their paintings for the “Jardine Best Artist” competition. We are happy to announce the winner and runner-up, Brenda Wong from Dairy Farm Singapore and Ponmani from Gammon respectively! They will each walk away with a cash prize of S$500 and S$250 respectively. Congratulations to both!

WINNER
Artist: Brenda Wong (DFSG)
On Harmony & Happiness

The first thing that came to mind when I saw the theme was to paint a picture of a forest with lush, beautiful blooms. While painting the piece, the greens helped to soothe my everyday stress. Reds and pink provided me with strength and energy as well as love and peace.

With all three colours combined, it reminds us that there are many beautiful reasons for us to stay happy always.

RUNNER-UP
Artist: Ponmani (Gammon)
On Happiness

Celebrating togetherness is a form of being happy and living in a multicultural Singapore, we have to embrace the racial diversity and live harmoniously as one united nation.

Helping Clients Return to Work

Job site visit to Mandarin Oriental, Singapore.
Mr Clement Tan, Learning & Development Director shares about working in the hotel with clients

Our Back to the Workforce team continued their relentless efforts to drive employment-related initiatives for clients.

This year, the team organised job site visits to Mandarin Oriental, Singapore and California Laundry, a business associate. Through such visits, we hope to help clients overcome their fears of returning to the workforce as they gain more insights into the working environment. The site visits also enable our voluntary welfare organisations (“VWOs”) partners to better understand and prepare clients for the requirements of the various jobs.

In addition, we held our annual HR Sharing Session on 3 August, where 10 representatives from eight Jardine business units shared their experience about client placements within their companies. It provided our HR partners with an avenue to discuss and share feedback, and for VWOs to help address any concerns arising.

We are happy to share that our Back to the Workforce efforts paid off with 27 client job placements secured to date. Of which, 17 placements are within Dairy Farm Singapore.

Support Our New
Social Enterprise Ideas

Always ready to test out new social enterprise initiatives, our Social Enterprise team never stops coming up with creative ideas.

Some of you may have noticed the new SE Corner at your office receptions. A pilot project, the SE Corner carries an array of products, from notebooks to name card holders, everyday office items. Operating on an ‘honesty box’ arrangement, buyers simply drop the appropriate amount into a secured money box. Do purchase an item or two when the SE Corner makes its way round to your office!

Social Enterprise team at Mandarin Oriental, Singapore's wedding show

The team also saw the opportunity for the sale of Wedding Favours. Partnering a local candy maker, Sticky, handmade MINDSET-branded candies are now available as wedding favours for couples getting married at Mandarin Oriental, Singapore. Proceeds from the sale will go to our partnering VWOs. A trial sale was also held at the recent Dairy Farm Family Day & Community Event where all 200 packs of candies were wiped up instantly!

Raising Funds for a Cause

Mark your calendars for The MINDSET Challenge & Carnival (“TMCC”) 2018, happening on Sunday, 28 October at Marina Bay Financial Centre, Tower 1 and The Lawn @ Marina Bay.

As we inch closer to the event, our Fund Raising team races against the clock to fulfil their 2018 target of S$365,000. All funds raised will go towards MINDSET Learning Hub, MINDSET’s flagship project in collaboration with the Singapore Association for Mental Health.

Apart from corporate donations and sponsorships, the team actively explores new ways to raise monies for our selected beneficiary. At the recent 7th Lunar Month Dinners at Cycle & Carriage Singapore, some S$48,000 was raised through a charity auction of clients’ artwork. The team also collaborated with Dairy Farm Singapore for “Futsal with a Heart”, where Singapore’s football legend, Fandi Ahmad’s autographed items were also up for auction, and close to S$4,000. Thank you for the generous donations!

A Day at the Museum

Every quarter, we organise the MINDSET Fun Day, a day out to give mental health clients and MINDSET representatives the opportunity to interact. It also provides caregivers with a rest day.

On 30 June, 38 clients and staff of the Institute of Mental Health visited the National Gallery Singapore, accompanied by 17 JAs and Steering Committee members & advisors. The group enjoyed a guided tour of the museum where they had the opportunity to appreciate the artwork on display. The tour also included a segment where interesting facts about the historical building (Singapore’s former Supreme Court) were shared.

During the tour, clients created their own artwork based on “Happiness” as a theme. They shared their inspiration with one another and why the pieces made them feel happy.

The day wrapped up with lunch at the Courtyard Café, over a scrumptious bento completed with ice-cream for dessert.

Jardine Ambassadors
of the Quarter

On top of their daily job responsibilities, our Jardine Ambassadors go beyond to fulfil their commitment to MINDSET. Congratulations to our two ‘JAs of the Quarter’!

Jake Kao
Back to the Workforce team
QPS Officer
(Schindler Lifts Singapore)

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted”, and that is Jake’s motto and encouragement for fellow and future JAs. Jake embarked on the JAs programme with the attitude to help mental health persons-in-recovery. His journey thus far has been rewarding as he worked towards getting clients back into the workforce alongside his supportive team mates. Jake can always be seen proactively supporting various MINDSET initiatives.

Jake (centre, back row) with fellow Back to the Workforce JAs

Jane Yap
Social Enterprise team
Senior Category Manager
(Guardian Health & Beauty)

Despite already having to juggle between work and being a mother for a four-year-old, Jane took up the challenge and joined the JAs programme. A firm believer that “nothing is impossible”, so long as one remains committed and manages time wisely, she spearheaded the Social Enterprise team’s wedding favours project. The trial sale at the recent Dairy Farm Family Day & Community Event saw all 200 packets of candies sold. Jane further shares that the support of her supervisor provided her the flexibility to manage both work and JA duties.

Jane (2nd from left) with fellow Social Enterprise JAs

We are Recruiting!

Are you a passionate individual who wants to contribute and give back to the society? Or simply want to support the mental health cause in Singapore? Join MINDSET as a Jardine Ambassador for the 2019 – 2020 cohort!

More information on recruitment will be shared by your HR department and internal circulars, so do look out for them. Alternatively, write to admin@mindset.com.sg to indicate your interest!

MINDSET Care Limited (MINDSET) is a registered charity of the Jardine Matheson Group. Since 2011, it has been contributing towards the mental health community in Singapore. MINDSET aims to raise awareness and funds as well as drive employment and social enterprise initiatives. Through MINDSET News, we hope to bring you the latest updates and happenings on MINDSET.