My Involvement with Charities

Chatted with a friend about doing merits: social service, helping others in need, donations and charity service.

I told my friend that my contributions are small, but I have been doing such things for a long time, especially offering my service (for free) when needed.

I am heavily influenced by my late father and late younger brother Dennis Ng. My Dad used to help out in the Chinatown hawkers association, 7th-month events and gave free repair of shoes for people.

My late brother Dennis Ng was well-known for donating big sums (5-figure) to Tzu Chi Singapore. He also did many free talks and education for people in personal finance and entrepreneurship.

Compared to them, I am nothing, I told my friend. But I do whatever I can offer my expertise.

The organizations, past and present, that I was involved in include Soheaven training, Agora Speakers Club, Chinese Development Assistance Council, Toastmasters International, Association of Professional Trainers Singapore, Lions Clubs International, Singapore Cancer Society, Shan You, some Theravada Buddhist temples, Residents Committee, etc. I am open to more when the time comes.

The purpose of writing this article is to keep a record for me, and hopefully can inspire others to do more for society.

Comments

What an Executive Coach and Business Coach Does

The Secret Under the Mattress: Why would a 79-year Man Bet So Big on 4D?

It was 2007 when we discovered his secret. While moving my father’s mattress, we found them: heaps and heaps of Singapore Pools 4D tickets. They were stacked in layers, a paper trail of lost hopes. What shocked us most wasn’t just the volume, but the stakes. He wasn’t betting a few dollars for fun. He was punting hundreds of dollars per draw—nearly ten times a month. At the time, my siblings and I were furious. Our father was a 79-year-old retiree. We wondered, with a mix of anger and confusion, why a man at his stage of life would need to win such "big money." What was he going to do with the money? We saw it as a reckless habit, a sign of poor judgment in his final years. Some of us would say, "If I were to give him money to buy 4D, why don't I use the money and buy 4D myself? At least I have better discipline". It has taken me two decades, and the experience of raising my own three grown-up children, to finally see the truth that was hidden under that matt...

Head Bleeding when the Chair Falls

The Weight of Silence: What Were We Really Arguing About? My earliest memories are punctuated by the sound of shouting. In 1970, when I was barely 6 years old, I stood as a small witness to the fierce quarrels between my father and my late eldest brother Kah Yang (he passed away in 1971 at the age of 17). As I grew up, these contradictions became the soundtrack of our lives, usually centered around our family's shoe shop and clothing stalls in Chinatown. In the court of family opinion, the verdict was almost always the same: my father was "wrong." He was judged as a man who didn't fulfill his role, who wasn't "burdening" enough for the family’s success. But as I look back from the vantage point of 2026, I have to ask: Was that actually true? Let me finally put to rest what my father did right: the truths that were buried under decades of criticism: Unseen Labor: He worked grueling, long hours. I remember him hauling boxes of goods and equipment to set u...

Business and Money Tips

Search This Blog