SINGAPORE: The number of youth volunteers aged between 15 and 24 make up the highest proportion in the volunteering community, said Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS), Vivian Balakrishnan.
He said the figure rose to 36 per cent last year from 25 per cent in 2004 because of the government's emphasis on volunteerism.
In a written reply to West Coast GRC Member of Parliament Ho Geok Choo, Dr Balakrishnan also listed a series of MCYS initiatives to promote volunteerism.
These included the
Young ChangeMakers scheme facilitated by the National Youth Council
which provides youth with seed funding of up to S$3,000 to initiate and
implement projects for community benefit.
More than 1,000 projects have been supported to date.
The MP had wanted to know what the government is doing to educate youth about the values of volunteerism and community work.
-CNA/ac