The Bright Vision Hospital Charity Walkathon, organised on Sunday 4th September 2011 was a huge success.

Five months earlier, the first planning meeting was conducted. Four months earlier, sponsorship letters were mailed out to organisations. Two months earlier, 1200 pledge cards were received by schools, tertiary institutions, businesses and grassroots organizations for collection of donations. On the event day, all the planning and preparation for this Charity Walkathon came to fruition as more than 400 people walked for charity and enjoyed the food, product and game stalls.  Through the efforts of donors, volunteers, staff, supporters and sponsors, more than $100,000 was raised for our elderly and needy patients.

On Sunday 4th September 2011, volunteers from Bright Vision Hospital, SG Cares, Standard Chartered Bank and River Valley High arrived at 7 am to add the final touches to the premises at Bowen Secondary School. 

As early as 7.30 am, pre-registered walkers were already arriving.  By 9am, a warm up session was conducted at the parade Square to warm up the hearts of all walkers including our patients’ contingent.  Everyone had a fun and enjoyable warm up session. 

The Guest-of-Honour Mr. Yeo Guat Kwang, adviser to Ang Mo Kio-Hougang GROs, flagged off the walkathon at 9.15 am. There were two routes for the charity walkathon. The 3.3km route was designed to take participants through the heartland of the Hougang residential area to create public awareness. A shorter route of 2.1km was developed to allow for our patients’ contingent. The patients’ contingent consisting of 15 BVH patients was led by Paralympic athletes Foo Fung Liang and Theresa Goh who made a difference by taking the time and effort to support our event.  The flag bearers for the patients’ and walkers’ contingent were BVH staff volunteers Jaikumar Pandian and Jimmy Lee respectively. 

At the same time, stall holders and volunteers of the carnival stalls (food and various game stalls) were busy getting ready to serve the participants at Bowen School’s canteen. The stalls were sponsored by Ci Yuan CC, Mr Bean, Loving Hut, Fringe House, Oh Chin Huat Hydroponics Farm, Butterfly Park and Singapore Hospice Council.

The walkers in separate continuous streams strolled into the car park past the finish line at 10am. Welcoming them were the organisers, with the Milo van and Red Bull providing icy cold and well deserved hydration. Soon after the BVH cheerleading team began their stage performance. Various performances were carried out by different community groups during the event; they were Indian Dance from Bowen Secondary School, Taiji Demonstration from Ang Mo Kio CC and a Ukulele Performances (by a group of passionate musicians).

Nearly 150 volunteers helped out in the event. This included 47 BVH staff volunteers, more than 20 volunteers from Ci Yuan CSC, 30 River Valley Secondary students, 7 Standard Chartered Bank staff, 9 SGH staff and 35 volunteers from SG Cares and individuals. The volunteers greatly contributed in various roles such as ushers, road safety marshals, first aiders, car parking marshals, stall attendants, carnival cashiers and logistic crew.

For better preparation of the roles, BVH organised briefing sessions for the volunteers before the actual event. The River Valley High School students came as a group during a weekday afternoon for a special briefing.  Although this was the first time the students were playing the role as road safety marshals, they managed to carry out their tasks excellently after the detailed briefing together with the guidance of CSC volunteers who are well experienced in organising brisk walks. 

The volunteers also took initiative to provide assistance beyond their designated role. Some of the corporate and individual volunteers participated as walkers at the same time as being volunteers. Some volunteered for more than one role. For example, Standard Chartered Bank staff registered themselves as walkers, at the same time volunteered to help usher the participants before the event and to help as walker assistants during the walk. Some individual walkers volunteered as wheelchair assistants and helped out in the carnival after the walk.

This event would not have been successful without each individual’s strong conviction and commitment from the beginning to the actual event day. All the efforts have helped make a difference to our elderly and needy patients. We would like to thank every individual and organisation that has generously donated their time, effort and money to make this event a successful one.

By Community Engagement Team 

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