This is my committee - C block committee.

Why are we doing the fund raising, and why are the other blocks not doing it?

To start, I want to clarify our purpose as the C block committee, we are C-lockers, for C-lockers. If we were to have only one job as a committee, it would be to maximize the welfare of our C-lockers, with no bias in any aspect.

When I was first chosen as block head, there seem to be a consensual sentiment in hall to not choose foreign undergraduate as your block committee members, because they will 'disappear' halfway through the semester and not do work for you. However, obviously, I did not subscribe to this 'belief', and I must say, I am, so far, most pleased with each of your performance. I hope that your participation in the block committee activities will be as much as it was in semester 1, if not better. For the foreign students, go prove a point, show the critics that you are no less competent than a local student.

Firstly, to clarify, this fund raising idea is, in entirety, my idea. This is not a requirement by the JCRC, as per other events like block theme night, etc. As such, I apologize if you were to view this as extra workload during the semester. If you think that you have many other commitments and would be unable to help with this fund-raising project, please let me know by 14 January. If not, I would expect FULL cooperation with your project leader, my vice-heads.

Next thing you should know is that there is no allocated budget from hall office this year for every block committee. As such, we have no funds to upgrade/maintain our block facilities. Because of this, I decided to carry out the fund-raising project so that we will improve, or at least maintain, the welfare of our residents. All funds that are raised WILL BE accounted for. For this project, I will personally do the accounting of funds.

Following, I would touch the goals of the project, what I want to achieve as a committee. Obviously, the primary goal of this project is to raise funds so as to open up our options as a committee. We could be using the funds to purchase new kitchen equipment, upgrade our lounge, buy more food for block supper, etc. Basically, this funds would open our options of ways to improve the welfare for our fellow residents. I do have a secondary role for this project, which is to forge closer bonds for each of us in this committee. I want a committee that goes beyond saying hello when you meet each other, a committee that we can truly call each other our friends.

These said, I will need your cooperation in the following points:
1) Talk, participate actively in the discussions. If you have an idea of how to make things better, just throw it into the discussion. In my committee, there are no stupid ideas.

2) Be punctual. This applies both for meetings and deadlines. I no longer want to tell you you guys to meet at 11.20 for a meeting at 11.30. I believe that we are all mature enough to account for yourselves. In my committee, I will tell you the EXACT timing of the meeting/deadline, and I expect that you have the decency to meet the timing. If you are unable to meet the given timing, simply let your team leader know. They should not be asking you for your attendance; You should be updating them about your attendance.

3) Take ownership of the project. I do not need people who simply follow instructions. I need members who are able to see the reason and purpose of everything we do. If you do not understand why something is being done that way, ask. I would very much love to empower each of you in your roles of the project, but you must first show me that you are worthy of such empowerment.

4) Take initiative, work as a team. We are all humans - we make mistakes; Individually, we might overlook certain details. This is where I need all of you to come in as a team to fill the shortcomings of another.

I hope that I have your cooperation in the aforementioned areas.

Lastly, here are my commitments to you for this project:

1)I promise you that this project would be my TOP priority in NUS, for the period that it is carried out.

2) If you ever find yourself having too much work to do and cannot complete them in time, I will help you, in any way possible to lighten the workload, even if it means that I have to do it myself.

3) I promise to be open to ideas and that I will listen to what each of you have to say. I will be impartial in my decisions, and will make decisions in the interest of our residents.

I hope that you will give me your best in this project. If you were to give a speech to the world about this project, will you be ashamed to speak about any single detail of your work? Would there be anything you don't want them to know?

I hope this long message will put each of us on the same page, and more importantly, I hope that you will now view this project not as work you have to do, but as work you want to do.

If you have queries in any regard, please let me know. It is paramount that we are all on the same page before the embarkation of the project.

If you have read every single word till here, here is a sincere thank you from your block head. I truly appreciate your commitment to this committee.

Best Regards,
Yeow Di Qiang
Block Head