34 staff volunteers from i-Care, one of the teams under Singapore Pools' Staff Community Programme, i-Shine, partnered teachers from Metta PreSchool @ Punggol to bring a group of preschoolers for a fun-filled excursion to Kids Stop @ Singapore Science Centre in September, during the school break. Engaging the young ones with activities during their holidays will keep them occupied while exposing them to opportunities to learn something new. Singapore Pools strongly believe that through these activities, kids learn important social skills such as working cooperatively with others.

Metta PreSchool @ Punggol and Simei are part of the Metta Welfare Association, the charity adopted by i-CARE since 2003. These pre-schools are set up to provide specialised early intervention programmes for children aged three to six from various races and religions who are diagnosed with mild to moderate autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and intellectual disabilities.

The staff volunteers paired up with the kids and bonded with them effortlessly.  Some encouraged the less-adventurous ones to try the different interesting exhibits while others had a harder time keeping up with their wards who were full of energy, displaying much enthusiasm through each activity station!

"We had an awesome day with the Metta pre-schoolers at Kids Stop. The activities were great in engaging their senses and I was amazed by the children's creativity (and of course, their energy levels)!" - Tay Siow Chien, Community Partnerships