Dear ECO Volunteers, partners, supporters and friends,

It is my pleasure to drop you this note and share with you more about the organisation that you are a part of. My thanks to you for being involved in our activities for these two years and your continuing involvement and support.

This first note also marks the beginning of a monthly update on what each of the various teams is doing and how you can be involved. Here, I would like to highlight our past, present and future direction. This is to keep all of you up to speed about your organisation.

Past

ECO Singapore completed its first phase of public engagement in December 2005, when we ran our first initiative to bring together local environmental NGOs to share with the public what we can all do, and got involved at Tampines during the "Giving Tree @ North East".

That was the first step for us to share how an individual could get involved in all possible local activities and groups or make that change in his lifestyle for a sustainable environment.

From 2006, we built on this momentum in our activities and initiatives. From leading the first Singapore United Nations' Commission on Sustainable Development delegation group to organising the Inaugural National Youth Environment Forum, all of you have made it possible to ensure that these programs were realised.

In 2007, while we continue to run these programs, we have also paved the way for the organisation towards a social enterprise model. The vision is to self-sustain our activities with our own revenue-generating programs, to maintain our overheads, and where possible, complement our programs and volunteer development.

Your valuable contributions have allowed the organisation as a whole to engage a significant number of youths, inspiring them to not only make that change in their daily lifestyles as more informed consumers, but also to take the additional step of getting involved.

Present

We have recently restructured ourselves to be more effective in meeting the next phase of outreach initiatives. I am pleased to introduce to you the new departments and their respective leaders:

• Volunteer Management and Development led by Ms Ang Ying Zhen
• Marketing and Communications led by Mr Balasingam-Chow Yu Hui
• Publications led by Mr Ng Pak Shun
• Forum and Policy led by Mr Aaron Yeo
• International Affairs led by Mr Kishen Raj

These leaders have a core team individually to drive the various initiatives under their respective departments, bringing concepts to reality.

In addition to these departments, we also have in our Executive Committee the following talented people:

• Ms Jacqueline Lau, Vice-President
• Mr Heng Zeng Rong, Secretary
• Ms Veron Goh, Treasurer

While the restructuring allows us to better reach out to the public, we have also recognised the importance of having stronger internal communications to keep everyone in the loop on current developments.

Recognising your valuable contributions has always been important to us. Therefore, what was previously the Human Resource Department is now renamed the Volunteer Management and Development department (VMD). This department will look after your interests and, where possible, help to develop your skills and potential.

With the VMD team, we will be conducting an Organisation Climate Assessment to listen to what you have to say, to find out how you feel about your organisation and to learn where you hope to see it heading. Your say is important because the organisation belongs to you.

As for personal development, we have come up with our "ENRICH!" programme that every one of you will have a chance to experience. The course will allow you to have a good overview on the environment. We will send you more information about this programme once we have scheduled the classes, which will begin around January 2008.

Finally, the monthly "Buzz the Bus" session will be conducted at our new premises, starting on 20th October 2007. Not only will the usual 2 to 4pm session be conducted on the third Saturday of each month, we will also hold a gathering session from 4 to 6pm on that day for existing volunteers to come down and mingle. There will also be movie screenings of environmental films. Some finger food will be provided, and if you cook, we welcome you to bring it down and share with the rest!

Future

We will be having quite an extensive range of activities for the upcoming year. From the completion of our ECO House, to the biannual National Youth Environment Forum, to the ECO Youth lifestyle carnival for the whole month of June 2008, you can expect more activities that you can get involved with.

With your continued support in terms of your time, skills and enthusiasm, we will continue to engage and empower more youths to take ownership of our environment, be more informed consumers, and make a difference by making eco living a lifestyle, starting with ourselves.

It's all happening because we care for our Earth.

With Warm Regards,

Wilson Ang
Founder and President