JOYFUL GIVERS:

THE STORY OF WILLING HEARTS

By Tony Tay
2017 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee

Presented at the 59th Ramon Magsaysay Awards Lecture Series

4 September 2017, Manila, Philippines

About Willing Hearts

A secular, non-affiliated charity, Willing Hearts is wholly run by

volunteers, apart from a handful of staff. It operates a soup
kitchen that prepares, cooks, and distributes about 6,000 daily
meals to over 40 locations island wide, 365 days a year.
Beneficiaries include the elderly, the disabled, low-income
families, children from single parent families or otherwise
poverty-stricken families, and migrant workers in Singapore.

Founded in 2003, Willing Hearts is a registered as a society with

the Ministry of Home Affairs since February 2005 and as a
charity with the Ministry of Ministry of Social and Family
Development since December 2008.

Copyright 2016 Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation

In addition, Willing Hearts extends the following services to its
beneficiaries:

Dental Care
Traditional Chinese Medicine Treatments
Optical Care
Legal Aid
Tuition Services for needy Primary school-going children
Bereavement Services

Vision

Improving the lives of the underprivileged and marginalized by

providing them with their daily bread and help them become
useful members of our society.

Mission

To provide daily meals and other support services to the

underprivileged, the needy, and other marginalized
members in Singapore
To provide assistance and guidance so they can rehabilitate
and reinstate themselves as useful members of society.

Copyright 2016 Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation

Our Values

Willing Hearts embraces R.E.S.P.E.C.T as its core value.

At the heart of our core values, we look towards respecting each

other donors, partners, supporters, volunteers, beneficiaries
alike.

Respect giving due regard for the feeling of others

Empathy to be understanding and to share the feelings of
another.
Sincerity being genuine
Patience being tolerant
Ethical being moral, upright, honest, righteous, virtuous, and
honourable.
Compassionate being kind
Teamwork being cooperative when working together in a
group

Philosophy

Willing Hearts has a simple philosophy when it comes to

volunteeringjust come with a warm smile, two helping hands,
an open and willing heart, and one simple question How can I
be of help today? That is all it takes to volunteer at Willing
Hearts!

Copyright 2016 Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation

Operations

The Soup Kitchen opens daily, 365 days a year inclusive of

Saturdays, Sundays, Public Holidays such as New Years Day,
Chinese New Year 1st and 2nd Day, Good Friday, Labour Day,
Vesak Day, Hari Raya Puasa, National Day, Hari Raya Haji,
Deepavali, and Christmas. It operates from 4.30 am to 3.30 pm
on most days.

The flurry of activities starts as soon as the doors to the kitchen

are open. Pots and pans are constantly clanging. Grills sizzle
while dishes for the day are prepared. Smells of freshly cooked
rice fills the air. Hands are busy scooping and packing meal
boxes. There is the sound of sloshing and splashing water while
cleaning and washing up. People are busy preparing ingredients,
like chopping of vegetables for the next day. This continues
through the day until the last task is completed and the kitchen
cleaned and ready for the next day.

A typical day at Willing Hearts could be broken down into the

following activities:

4:30am to 8:30am Cooking 40%, Packing 40%, Cleaning

10%
8:30am to 12:00pm Preparation 50%, Cooking 20%,
Packing 20%, Cleaning 10%
12:00pm to 3:30pm Preparation 70%, Cleaning 10%
3:30pm to 5:00pm Cleaning 100%

Copyright 2016 Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation

Volunteer Roles

A person who arrives at Willing Hearts may initially find

himself lost in the midst of the hustle and bustle of kitchen
activities. But they eventually find the task that would suit them.
The following are the different tasks or stations where persons
could help:

1. Preparation of ingredients This would include chopping

vegetables, opening bottles and packets of seasoning and
sauces, opening cans and packets of food, and other task so
the meals can be cooked and delivered on time.
2. Packing of Lunch Boxes This is a relatively simple task:
line lunch boxes, scoop a portion of rice along with the
dishes for the day, close lunch box and put it into the
delivery basket.
3. Cleaning and Washing This is often the most overlooked
part of the whole operation. Used trays, covers, baskets,
cooking utensils, pots and pans all need washing. This is
the station responsible for that task.
4. General help there will always be someone who needs a
helping hand at the soup kitchen. Someone WILL grab you
along the way, asking for help.

If someone tells you that the station that you have approach does
not need help, please do not be disheartened what you can do
is to move on to another where help is required. There is never
too much help.

Copyright 2016 Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation

It is often asked if children could volunteer alongside their
parents at Willing Hearts. We encourage families to volunteer as
a unit with open arms. We see many families volunteering
together as a unit; children as young as 5 to adults volunteering
with their parents. There is always something for the young ones
to do like sticking labels on the lunch boxes, so they are always
welcome at the kitchen.

Copyright 2016 Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation