Mei Xin and Joel are just two young souls who are passionate about the environment and contributing back to society! They’re planning on salvaging art supplies that would otherwise be disposed and transform them into new creative projects or donations to communities – all part of their grand dream of protecting our planet through art and colouring our communities with life in the process :)

Having had first-hand experience with both the extreme ups and downs of the mental wellness spectrum has led YanLing to discover her most important life skill – self-acceptance. Being passionate about the “being” and the “human” to become one internally, she leads meditation circles and also holds safe space for people to dive into their inner thoughts. YanLing is thinking of holding experiential workshops catered to the human experience, bridging the internal worlds of mind, body, emotions and spirit.

Valerie introduces herself as an ordinary working adult who still enjoys the old school way of sending letters/postcards via snailmail! Inter-generational bonding and alleviating social isolation in seniors are things she cares about deeply, and that has led her to start Penpals in the Community in hope of building a bridge between seniors and the younger generation through letter-writing as a platform to connect and share stories.

An aspiring biologist and a full-time dreamer, Alefiya is envisioning and working towards a better world by combating food waste and promoting food sustainability! She had previously pitched a food waste upcycling plan, and is now aiming to better match food sources, like food banks, to the needs of beneficiaries such that the appropriate types of food are given to those with specific dietary requirements.

Grace and Xinyi are two young working professionals who are working together to make the world a kinder place. Their project seeks to better support caregivers who are caring for their loved ones with mental health conditions. They hope to complement the good work done by organisations and groups looking at caregiver training and aim to provide just-in-time resources to ensure that adequate and timely support can be provided to support those on their caregiving journeys.

Jilianne works as a digital marketer in the tech industry and is a strong believer in continuous learning. She cares deeply about mental health issues, and her hope is to create a confiding circle which in turn creates a safe space where problems and advice can be discussed in confidence, tackling mental health issues through early intervention.

Amanda and Keerthana are two youths who hope to empower our seniors through their groundup, GenLab Collective! Their passion for elderly related issues stemmed from personal encounters, which led them to a common mission of improving the lives of the elderly community. The pair see themselves as enablers, tapping onto the experiences of the seniors and empowering them to share and connect with the next generations!

Pigar describes himself as a third-culture Indonesian that grew up in various countries and now works in Singapore as a digital marketeer. Currently training to be a counsellor, he also runs a Telegram channel called Mellow Millennials that broadcasts content aimed to inspire friends to check-in with each other. He plans to combine counselling, creative work and mental health into a company that champions mental wellbeing.

John was a non-tech guy who turned himself into a tech guy (probably hitting every wall possible along the way). Now that he’s on the other side, he sees easy pathways for non-technical people to pick up the tech skills that will keep them relevant as the world gets deeper into tech. His pursuit of digital literacy has led him to the idea of creating a programme to teach non-technical people “How to Speak + Do Tech”, so that they can feel equipped to actively contribute to discussions surrounding the topic.

Padma currently works in an innovation center in an MNC, and hopes to apply the skills she’s picked up through work to the non-profit sector! She’s passionate about improved integration of adults with autism in our community, and is thinking of developing an employment platform (“bridge”) to connect inclusive employers with adults with autism or other intellectual disabilities. Padma also aims for this platform to be used to educate the broader community on diversity in the workplace.

Praveen works in the field of technology architecture, loves cricket, performance arts and is the father of a 3-year-old! He cares deeply about education, and is looking to help regular people identify and improve their mental health through education and communication, all while contributing passionate ideas to make a difference.

Upasna and Simarpreet have known each other since young and they pretty much just accept that they’re growing (old) together! A strong social fabric is something important to them, and they would like to see a more inclusive system, a more empowered community and an overall improvement in the quality of lives.

Baizura, Ida and Natri are part of the team behind ‘AHA’ – ‘Artists, Healers and Artisans’, an art outreach event formed by a group of artists, healers and artisans. AHA started in May 2020 and they hope to raise awareness for art as a form of healing in supporting mental health. They leverage on various art forms for community wellness and bonding and on their minds at the moment is conducting a series of ongoing interactive art workshops/exhibitions from their community, to the community.

Wei Bin and ‘Asyura go a long way back – from secondary school and JC till today! Being passionate about addressing racial inequality, they came together last year to work on their project at a social good hackathon, Mission:Unite 2020, where they emerged as finalists. They have been at it ever since, and is aiming to shape a more vocal and empathetic Singapore by raising awareness, empowering people with knowledge to converse, and ultimately create safe spaces for people to talk about sensitive issues.

Meet Wen Yu, also known as @earthtodorcas on Instagram! She uses art to advocate for climate action and believes that it’s an amazing medium to inspire empathy, hope and action. On her mind at the moment is a participatory community art installation where everyday citizens can share their climate change stories in order to inspire further action!

This team combines a passion in personal development and commitment to building a world of virtuous living with each of their individual skillsets to tackle the “Not in My Backyard” mindset and boost volunteer rates in Singapore! They believe that a city of good starts with millions of “me of good”, and are thinking of starting a platform-based solution to track an individual’s giving journey, amplify good deeds, and honour the virtues behind the actions.

Jia’en is an industrial designer and she enjoys nurturing her curiosity through exploring possibilities that are meaningful to both human and social experiences. She advocates for mental health awareness and here at Sandbox, she wants to push forward a home treatment kit she has designed specifically for people with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) who are dealing with contamination fear and washing ritual.

Xi Ning is an art practitioner that enjoys working with concepts and ideas, rather than focusing on a specific medium! She is passionate about inclusivity in art and wants to bridge the gap between art and the people, making it more accessible for underrepresented communities. Her idea is grounded in the firm belief that art without boundaries is the truest and rawest form it can exist in.

YiSi is a self-professed hobbyist who believes in self-expression through radically undefined and unrefined modes of creativity. A champion of mental health, she is starting up an email newsletter to inspire people to work through difficult emotions and thoughts through small creative exercises!

Aisha is currently a Youth Worker by day, innovating programmes for youth development for at-risk youths in schools. In her free time, she is a mental health advocate and is passionate about increasing awareness and support for those struggling with mental health issues. She’s thinking up a way of educating the public on supporting and facilitating conversations on mental health, and would love to be able to create safe and inclusive spaces for conversations between person in recovery and the general public.