Safe Harbour@MacPherson Volunteer FAQs

MacPherson Youths

• Participant Profile: 

  • Predominantly secondary school youths (A few upper primary school students). 

  • Youth attendees are currently studying a range of subjects (G1,G2 and G3).

  • Youths referred from Social Service Agencies (SSAs) or public sign ups

• Average weekly turn out: 20 youth participants

At MacPherson CC, our programme primarily functions as a safe drop-in space for youths to receive support, instead of a structured tuition programme. 

E.g. If youth participants are experiencing low energy for a session, we encourage volunteers to chill and have conversations with the youth participants. We also have board/card games available for use during the session.

(Though, we do have some youths who are focused on academic work for most sessions.)

For female volunteers, we have a separate and concurrent session that runs at a youth residential home in MacPherson. The session there primarily focuses on academic support for most sessions.

Types of Support

Academic Support

• School work (e.g. homework)

• Additional practice (using revision books)

• Teaching/Revising of topics (using textbooks)

We typically do not restrict the subjects the youths are working on each session. Should volunteers be met with any subjects/ questions they are unfamiliar with, we typically ask around among other volunteers :-)

Non-Academic Support

• E.g. Interview preparation 

• Safe space to unwind, share about everyday life

The minimum commitment for volunteers is twice a month for a duration of 4 months. Based on our experience running the programme over recent years, this level of commitment is essential for volunteers to build rapport with youth participants. 

Volunteers are requested to forecast attendance in advance (typically at least 2 months), and can take a break when required (e.g. for a month for exam/competition preparation) with notice.

Yes! During the onboarding briefing do let us know what you are interested in supporting with.

We will be doing short interviews with prospective volunteers to find out more about you, share about our programme and find out if our programme is a right fit for you. There will be a volunteer briefing during your first session, followed by on-the-job training and support by adult volunteers. We strive to achieve a good fit between volunteer and student pairings/groupings for rapport building.

No. We carry out volunteer onboarding on a rolling basis throughout the year. We may pause new volunteer recruitments once there are sufficient volunteers recruited.

Nope! We have some textbooks, practice books and writing materials available for volunteers and youth participants to use. 

Feel free to bring along your:

• Water bottle

• Jacket (if you get cold easily) 

• Any food and drinks for personal consumption (provided it does not have a very strong smell e.g. durian)

• Your own work (e.g. if your assigned youth does not have any questions for some time)

• Headphones/Earphones/Ear plugs (when doing your own work)

Yes, feel free to share the link to this website with them. 

https://sites.google.com/view/macphersonyouthnetwork/volunteer-opportunities/volunteerfaq

Yes, a MacPherson CC staff (staff in-charge of MacPherson YN) can issue a letter documenting your contributions at the end of your time volunteering with us/before you take a long break for examinations, work or personal commitments.

However, kindly note that we will only issue VIA letters for volunteers who have helped out for at least 4 sessions in total. Should you have any concerns due to unforeseen circumstances, please reach out to our volunteer programme ICs. 

Please do not hesitate to drop us an email (macphersonyn@gmail.com). Do give us some time to reply you as we are fully volunteer run. Feel free to send a follow-up email if we do not get back to you within 2 weeks.