First Manulife Singapore-C3 Partnership for Youths
26 students from Guanyang, Yio Chu Kang and Woodlands Secondary Schools came together on 7th September 2022 for Manulife-C3 Youth Day. They got to learn more about insurance, financial services, IT functions and also set up a youth bazaar for fundraising.
The programme started in the morning with C3’s Counsellor, Peter Lim who shared insights with about 50 Manulife Singapore employees on the topic, “Mental Health of Youths: Are They Depressed or Just Emo?”
Peter first shared some statistics on youth mental health and highlighted the difference between mental health and mental illness.
He gave insights on how the teenage brain’s developing pre-frontal cortex takes some time to mature, thus explaining youth’s “emo-ness” being a result of neural growing pains. Finally, he shared practical tips on how to respond to youth with poor mental health.
Manulife Singapore’s staff found the talk very helpful particularly on the insights into the mental health of youths as there are a number of parents with teenage children amongst the staff.
Interactions between Manulife Singapore Staff and C3 Youths
After the talk, C3 youth and Manulife Singapore staff interacted with each other over a sumptuous lunch, courtesy of Manulife Singapore.
Following that was an office tour, where these youths learnt more about Manulife Singapore’s operations including digital capabilities to deliver a seamless customer service experience.
15-year-old Aiden remarked, “I appreciate the unique experience of getting a taste of life in the insurance and IT field. It made me more knowledgeable and informed. I learnt in the IT session about apps and coding. I learnt that insurance covers for different scenarios and how important they are.”
The final part of the programme was a fundraising bazaar to support C3’s programmes so youths can be empowered for positive contributions to society.
16-year-old Kar Wai explained, “This is my N-level year so it is a good opportunity to see what the workforce is like. I experienced how a retailer would sell and promote their products. Not only that, I also made many new friends“.
Youths from the three schools had spent weeks in advance to plan and prepare for the fundraising bazaar featuring six booths. These included creative Nerf-gun game booths, Dango -Japanese dumplings made from rice flour mixed with Uruchi rice and glutinous flour, to name a few.
Over few hundred Manulife Singapore staff turned up to support the bazaar and interacted with the 26 youth from the three secondary schools. It was a bustling and heartwarming sight as we collectively raised over four thousand dollars from the bazaar.
