EVER heard of teachers participating in Community Involvement Programmes (CIP) without students?

There's always a first time. About 60 teachers from Victoria Junior College (VJC) volunteered to help needy senior citizens.

Mrs Selena Chin, 30, the teacher in-charge of the CIP department in VJC, said the project had two aims.

'Firstly, the teachers are always so busy, so we thought it will be good to let them step out of their work zone to interact with the community,' she said.

'Secondly, since we promote community service to the students, we thought the teachers should be exposed to it as well to be effective mentors and better role models to the students.'

The project was in collaboration with Tung Ling Community Services, a Community Outreach Programme for the Elderly (Cope), at Dakota Drive.

Its executive director Mr Roger Leong, 49, said the two- and three-room flats near the centre are usually occupied by lower-income senior citizens.

The teachers helped to distribute $50 red packets and hampers to the elderly in 20 different units.

The hampers contained items like toothpaste, towels, canned food and soap.

Most of these items were collected in a donation drive organised by the teachers. Sponsors also contributed in cash and kind, such as the Swiss Bakeshop, which provided freshly baked bread.

VJC also hopes to expose their students to this part of the community.

Said Mrs Chin: 'We find that most projects proposed by students are drawn towards children, so we wanted to highlight this elderly sector to them.'

Lim Mu Yao, 18, who's in JC2, said he will be spurred on to volunteer more after seeing his teachers do so.

'They are teachers, and we regard them as role models,' he added.

Geography teacher Joseph Tan, 31, said: 'This project is good as we get to talk and bond with the other teachers. Furthermore, it is a good chance to explore the neighbourhood.'

When asked if the college, which has about 150 teachers, would make such teacher-only CIP projects an annual event, Mrs Chin said: 'Yes. We hope that this will be a springboard for students to be encouraged to volunteer more actively.

'Furthermore, the JC1 classes would have to plan their class CIP projects soon, so we hope this would give them the impetus to start.'

Audrey Tan Ruiping, newsroom intern

This article was first published in The New Paper on February 11, 2009.