These two career women are role models when it comes to juggling their families and careers and they now put an elegant spin on the causes they believe in.
Serene Chua and Judy Hunt are vice-chairmen of the NeuGen Fundraising committee and on the board of NeuGen charity, established by ISCOS (Industrial and Services Co-operative Society), a cooperative for ex-offenders. Four years ago, NeuGen was set up to support children and families of reformed offenders to prevent intergenerational offending.
Chua has 17 years of private banking experience and heads a family office and she is also the co-founder of Wolf Burgers, Carvers & Co and OG Lemak while Hunt helps her family with the real estate business in Singapore and China and has a wine distribution business on the side.
Chua says that women can have families, businesses and a career if they want to. The various positions she holds have taught her a few things such as teamwork and support through her roles in the private banking and F&B industry.
Chua says: “Being a single mother of three young children, one of my priorities is to spend quality time, to nurture their strengths and support them when they need help. Having personal time to unwind is also essential for mental and physical health. As for me, I like to run, watch movies and cook. Giving back is also important as it helps enrich my life, connect me to society and help me grow as a person. Knowing that I can make a difference in someone else’s life keeps me grounded and gives me a sense of purpose.”
Hunt agrees: “I am sure many out there will have schedules that include work or career, family, and their own interests. The important thing is to have a sense of community. To be able to think outside of one’s surroundings and to feel that a little of one’s own time, to do something to help others in your community, will ultimately help to improve the entire society.”
As board members, Chua and Hunt are responsible for creating awareness and raising funds for charity. They, along with the management team and the board of directors, oversee the strategic direction and running of the charity fund in terms of governance and accountability. Events also come under their purview and they meet and engage the children and families (beneficiaries) under the care of the charity. Apart from that, they are also tasked to come up with creative ideas on how to create greater awareness and raise funds.
This is something they are both familiar with as the pair has graced many charity events and appeared in the pages of glossy society magazines. This puts them in the best position to create awareness and plan for future charity events.
Chua took time off her already busy schedule to discuss with Options the role and she and her friend Judy will take on at NueGen.
Image by Albert Chua
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Why do you want to be a part of NueGen?
Succession planning and sustainability are essential reasons why we chose to join NeuGen. We were both approached four years ago when one of the board members decided to step down after many years of service. After much consideration, we also thought that the cause was quite the “underdog” and associated with much “social stigma”. These were factors why we were drawn to NeuGen, as not many people would take up this cause being associated with ex-offenders and their families.
We do believe that younger blood can come in and generate more creativity, energy and dynamism. Coming from different industries, we diversify the contact base and experiences as well. Besides a younger board representation, we also think that there should be more gender equality to drive change. There are currently not enough females on the boards of charities and companies. Women hold 19.70% of board seats globally, according to “Women in the boardroom” - A global perspective report released in 2022 by Deloitte Global.
You both sit on the NeuGen Board and are the only two women in a committee filled with men. How do you both navigate gender inequality?
We can offer a softer female perspective on various issues, instead of a generally more patriarchal mindset. Coming from different backgrounds and experiences helps in bringing value to the table. We represent empowerment, equality, succession and balance in a board that is open to changes and strives to be inclusive. We hope to inspire other females to lead, advocate and champion a better future for women. We have come thus far but more work needs to be done to close the gender gap.
Besides fund-raising, what are you doing to enhance awareness to attract potential corporate/personal sponsors?
From time to time, we reach out to contacts for leads to potential corporate sponsors. It will always start with the introductory meetings followed by discussions on room for collaborations
Other than fundraising, we also engage such sponsors through corporate volunteering, where the companies mobilise their employees to spend time meeting the families and children, bringing food to them.
For example, NeuGen joined hands with Neo Group earlier this year to do Hari Raya food deliveries and festive goodies to over 50 families. It was a great and meaningful experience for their employees to engage the beneficiaries.
On the personal sponsors' side, we reach out to them via the introduction of the board members, other existing members, www.giving.sg and fundraising/marketing efforts. Every bit counts.
What are some of the fundraising/awareness activities you have planned over the next 12 months?
Going forward, we can possibly arrange for more such exhibitions to generate greater awareness about our cause. We also had the NeuDreams art campaign to celebrate art, creativity and talents. These art pieces were created by the children, beneficiaries and like-minded artists as part of the fundraising and awareness efforts.
Closer to Christmas, we will always have our charity bake sale (a collaboration with our beneficiary who is a home-based baker) and donors can enjoy the sweet treats while contributing to a good cause. We are also planning for a golf fundraising event next year. Proceeds will go towards supporting the charity’s work.
What advice would you give someone who is hesitant to take up the challenge and do something good?
Carpe Diem, which is to make the most out of each day and live life with a passion. If you feel you empathise, jump in. Doing this kind of work is very rewarding, a sense of you being a part of a bigger purpose. You may be able to do only a little, or you may be able to do a lot … the important thing is to say yes and do what you can.
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others” as Mahatma Gandhi said. I believe we can each do a little as every drop in the ocean counts. Together, we can amplify our hearts, minds and voices. That is a powerful tool to create positive and meaningful social change together as a society.
Desmond Lee, Minister for National Development and Minister-in-Charge of Social Services Integration, at NeuGen’s launch of New Empowerment model to prevent intergenerational offending
The growth of NeuGen
Industrial and Services Co-operative Society or ISCOS has been around for the last 33 years, and NeuGen was set up by ISCOS four years ago. Here are some of its various objectives and aims to prevent intergenerational offending. This is anchored on local and overseas studies that established the higher risk of children with incarcerated parents committing offence as compared to the general population, due to factors such as lack of parental care, feeling of abandonment, social stigma, low academic achievement and motivation, financial constraints.
A 2020 MSF study found that such children are three times more likely to go into the criminal justice system. Our hope is through early intervention work, we can prevent intergenerational offending by empowering the children and youth to be resilient in pursuing their dreams and aspirations.
As the name suggests, NeuGen and the tagline “New Lives, New Futures” shows our commitment to the young generation. Through our dedicated team of case managers, NeuGen is committed to journey with these children and empowering them to achieve breakthroughs and successes in life and be a beacon of hope for others like them.
In July, NeuGen introduced the Neu Empowerment Model with four pillars: My NeuEducation, My NeuVoice, My NeuGrowth and My NeuOhana — featuring initiatives designed to meet the educational, personal development, family bonding and environmental needs of children and families of ex-offenders. Here is the breakdown of the roles:
● NeuGen wants to be more proactive and impactful in helping to raise empowered children, who are self-determined and resilient, for a better future
● My NeuEducation — Ensuring proactive educational intervention with Sponsored Tuition, NeuGen EdAward (Bursary), Education Sponsorship, Bookworm programme, Junior Enrichment programme
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● My NeuVoice — Empowering confidence, personal dignity and emotional uplift with a Youth Engagement Platform, Mentoring, Mothers/Caregivers Support Group, Art Therapy, Counselling Services
● My NeuGrowth — Enabling holistic development and achievement with After-School Activities, Tri-Event (parent-children-youth workshop), Ad Hoc Enrichment workshops for children, Ad Hoc Enrichment workshops for families
● My NeuOhana — Strengthening family bonds and rebuilding a nurturing environment with Family day, Family bonding time (ad-hoc events), Birthday celebrations, Festive celebrations, Tele-Visits, Living Environment Assistance Programme (LEAP), Milk and Diaper Sponsorship
While the success stories of these pillars are numerous; we highlight two success stories:
My NeuOhana
Sue, 36 years old *
“My husband and I have four children, our eldest is a 12-year-old daughter with special needs while her other siblings are all toddlers between the ages of one to three and they need full-time care.
“When my husband was arrested last year for drugs, my world fell apart. How could I take care of our four children, all on my own? There were initial moments of helplessness, but I had to stay strong for their sake. As the primary caregiver, my routine revolves around the children and taking care of our rental flat.
“Without alternate childcare options, I was not able to hold a full-time job and we could only rely on financial assistance which was barely enough to feed so many mouths. Anyone with toddlers and infants would know that the expenses for milk and diapers can be substantial — thankfully this had been supported (by NeuGen) in the past two years. In addition, the (NeuGen) team would always reach out and invite me to events such as tri-event workshops where I can learn good parenting skills, or the Family Day event which we recently attended as a family and had a great bonding time.
“Parenting on my own has been very tiring but I hang on to the hope I have for my four kids while counting down to the day we can reunite with my husband (he is currently in a community-based programme where he could make occasional visits to see us). I just want my children to grow up happy and healthy.”
My NeuVoice
Ryan, 19 years old*
“Many saw me as an extrovert — someone who is very friendly and sociable. When we are in a group, I will always chit-chat and make friends with everyone. I think it is important to find things that we like to do and to have friends.
“Without them, life is boring. But I was not always like this. Just a few years back, I was very bad at my studies – imagine getting single-digit marks for your papers. It felt like my lowest point and I was on the verge of giving up. People around me called me stupid, except for the few teachers and counsellors who saw potential in me and offered help.
“Their kindness gave me the motivation to study and with their help, I started to see improvements and eventually scored high marks in some subjects. I guess deep down in my heart, I wanted to prove everyone wrong and I did just that.
“This experience made me learn that having a support system is important. Through the Youth Engagement Platform (YEP), I get to learn and experience new things with other youths. I remember the music jamming at my first YEP outing several years ago and I had been regularly showing up at the bi-monthly sessions since then.
“The fun interactions and camaraderie are the draws but more importantly, I appreciate facilitators like Vanessa and Siti who always offered to listen. For youths like me, sometimes we simply need to talk to someone who is mature and able to give advice, especially when we navigate through the ups and downs of life at this stage. Being part of YEP helped me gain confidence and a sense of belonging.”
*Names have been changed
Main photos: Albert Chua/The Edge Singapore
