Video Launch + Raising SGD 283,000 For Children-At-Risk
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Raising SGD 283,000 to support children-at-risk in Singapore
As you can imagine, I am deeply disappointed by the turn of events, but everyone’s health is of top priority. And as I shared in “Meme the Monkey Wins in Life”, we should always do our best and make life better for others, and our duty to our nation and our fellow men is of paramount importance.
What was originally planned for today’s event was for the Guest-of-Honour, Minister for Education, Mr Ong Ye Kung to launch “Meme the Monkey Wins in Life”, a book that I had written upon the suggestion of the former President of Singapore, the late Mr S.R. Nathan.
In addition, as I had raised SGD 283,000 from kind souls in our community to support three programmes that reach out to children-at-risk, Minister Ong would have presented a cheque to representatives of these three programmes.
Mrs Carmee Lim, former principal of Raffles Girls’ School (Secondary) and Mentor Principal of MindChamps, a leading early education provider in Singapore, would also have delivered a special message on brain development and the formation of values in pre-school children, as well as her reflections on the book. And I would have shared how the book came about, and explained how the concepts in the book are important for life and for one’s future.
Now that it is no longer possible to hold the launch today, I am writing you this message to share with you a couple of initiatives that I wanted to present during the launch.
“Meme the Monkey Wins in Life” is a story of how Meme the Monkey might not ace her exams, but she wins in life.
The purpose of the book is to urge everyone to think about what “winning in life” means. In a fast-changing world, there are no “maps”, so we need a good inner “compass” to guide us in life — this “compass” comprises the values that make us better human beings.
I started working on this video in January 2020 to share the thinking behind “Meme the Monkey Wins in Life”, but more importantly to share how we can best respond to a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous world filled with automation, A.I. (Artificial Intelligence), big data, and digitalisation.
In light of the COVID-19 situation, I think that this is a timely message, and I hope that this video will help you live a better life, especially during these difficult times.
To underscore the point shared in the book that our duty in life is to make life better for others, in conjunction with the book launch, I reached out to kind souls in the community and raised SGD 283,000 for three programmes that serve children-at-risk in Singapore’s society, namely:
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KidSTART [SGD 237,000]
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Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund [SGD 31,000]
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The Business Times Budding Artists Fund [SGD 15,000]
Thanks to the generosity of three corporate sponsors – Far East Organization, Razer Inc, and Ho Bee Foundation – as well as nine anonymous donors, I managed to raise SGD 283,000 for these three programmes.
Donors made donations directly to the Community Chest, which administered the donations for KidSTART and STSPMF, and/ or The RICE Company Limited (a registered charity with Institutions of Public Character status) for donations for BT BAF.
100 percent of the donations will be channelled to the charities, and donors will receive a tax deductibility benefit 2.5 times the donated amount.
While it is a pity that we were not able to gather today, I hope that you will enjoy the video and that you will find it useful. As I shared at the end of the video, we are all unique with different gifts to share – so how are you making the world a better place today?
May you choose to make the world a better place every day by always giving your best and taking to heart what Meme the Monkey said:
“Making life better starts with ME! It starts with ME!”
Wishing you and your loved ones good health and happiness!
Best wishes,
Joanne H. Lim
P.S. If you are interested to find out why Meme the Monkey is called Meme, please read this article.
P.P.S If you are interested to find out more about what you can do about the fear of failure, please read this article that I had written, which was published by mothership.sg.
P.P.P.S If you are interested to purchase “Meme the Monkey Wins in Life”, the book is available in the following formats:
You can also purchase the book at the following bookstores in Singapore:
You can also purchase the book at the following bookstores in Singapore:
- Huggs-Epigram Coffee Bookshop
- Kinokuniya Stores
- Times Bookstores
- Popular Bookstores (selected bookstores only)
About “Meme the Monkey Wins in Life”
GENESIS
Before he passed on, Singapore’s former President, the late Mr S R Nathan, suggested to Joanne H. Lim to write a book for children based upon a book she had co-authored, “Winning with Honour”. Joanne honoured Mr Nathan’s suggestion with the publication of “Meme the Monkey Wins in Life” in December 2019. The book is meant for children up to 7 years old and anyone who wants to win in life!
Meme the Monkey might not ace her exams, but she wins in life.
The purpose of this book is to invite one to think about what “winning in life” actually means. What is success? How does one define success in life? What makes for a successful life?
This is particularly important in a world that is increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA). In a fast-changing world, there are no “maps” because no one has gone that way before. When there are no “maps”, we need a good inner “compass” to guide us in life — this “compass” comprises the values that make us better human beings.
The right values will also prepare one for the world of automation, artificial intelligence, big data, and digitalization. To survive and thrive in this world, one must not only excel at technology, but also at humanity because after total efficiency is achieved via technology, the value of any business or organisation will be contingent on human and other non-digitalisable elements such as purpose and empathy.
“Meme the Monkey Wins in Life” is based upon renowned research, such as Maslow’s extended hierarchy of needs and Harvard’s Grant Study, and shares how Meme the Monkey might not ace her exams, but she wins in life. The book opines that:
✔ Our duty in life is not to ace exams, but to make life better for others
✔ Doing well in life is all about doing one’s best and doing good to other
“Meme the Monkey Wins in Life” was published in December 2019 by World Scientific Publishing Co Pte Ltd. The book is available in hardcover (SGD 18.00 before GST), softcover (SGD 14.00 before GST) and digital (SGD 11.00 before GST) editions, and can be bought on the following platforms listed on this website.
Joanne H. Lim was awarded the Singapore Literature Book Prize (Non-Fiction) in 2014 and is the founder of The Right PerspectiveSG, a consultancy specialising in writing and strategic communications. She is the co-author of The Leader, The Teacher & You, a book on leadership and governance, as well as Winning with Honour, a book on success in life, family, and work. Meme the Monkey Wins in Life is the kids’ version of Winning with Honour.
Quek Hong Shin is a freelance author and illustrator whose work includes picture books such as The Incredible Basket, Universe of Feelings and The One and Only Inuka. The Amazing Sarong – the first book he wrote and illustrated – was shortlisted for the Hedwig Anuar Children’s Book Award in 2018 and Best Children’s Title at the Singapore Book Awards 2016. The Incredible Basket won Best Children’s Picture Book at the Singapore Book Awards 2019.
About the Fund Raising Beneficiaries
Thanks to the generosity of three corporate sponsors (Far East Organization, Razer Inc, and Ho Bee Foundation), as well as nine anonymous donors, Joanne has raised SGD 283,000 for the following programmes:
- KidSTART (SGD 237,000) – a programme led by the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) to enable children from low-income families to have a good start in life by providing child development and holistic services to families.
- Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund (STSPMF) (SGD 31,000) – a community project initiated by The Straits Times to provide pocket money to children from low-income families.
- The Business Times Budding Artists Fund (BT BAF) (SGD 15,000) – a programme that reaches out to children and youths from financially disadvantaged backgrounds to provide them with opportunities to explore the arts. BT BAF is managed by The RICE Company Limited – a registered charity and not-for-profit arts organisation that seeks to build a sustainable arts ecosystem to benefit under-served children and youths in Singapore.
Donors made donations directly to the Community Chest, which administered the donations for KidSTART and STSPMF, and/ or The RICE Company Limited (a registered charity with Institutions of Public Character status) for donations for BT BAF.
100 percent of the donations will be channelled to the charities, and donors will receive a tax deductibility benefit 2.5 times the donated amount.