There was once when 28-year old Reshveen Rajendran, and his wife, 27-year old Weeny Goh, were volunteering at the Rare Disorders Society (Singapore) (RDSS).

They had brought a friend’s child, Abby, to meet Chloe, a girl with Pompe disease which is a rare genetic disorder.

What they didn’t realise was that Abby had a friend who was also called Chloe and coincidentally had passed on from a similar disease a year earlier.

For Abby, being able to befriend and open up to Chloe was a cathartic release; she had been feeling depressed after her friend’s passing, but opening up to Chloe gave her a great sense of relief.

Inspired to help others from young

Facilitating such moments is what spurs the couple to commit themselves to voluntary work.

“Whenever we do charity work, we never know how we can in one way or another just impact somebody's life, whether it be a child or be one of our friends' daughters,” said Reeshveen.

The couple have been organising and carrying out voluntary efforts for four years now - though both of them were first inspired by acts of charity at home.

When Reshveen was a young boy, his mum, who works as a nurse at Tan Tock Seng Hospital would often go above and beyond for her needy patients.

She would bring a young Reshveen along on a weekly basis to visit them in nursing homes or in their own residential homes.

Besides donating food, they would spend time talking with these patients. From there, Reshveen said that his mother instilled in him “a sense of compassion and giving to these people”.

Going on volunteering dates

Reshveen, who now runs an investment education company, later met his wife at work as she was employed as his company’s operation manager.

Goh also comes from a family that loves helping others.

Her mum generously prepares and distributes food to the needy.

When they started dating and Reshveen invited her to volunteering trips over the weekends, Goh was only too happy to come along.

Since then, the couple have carried out plenty of charity work: besides raising money for the RDSS, they also raised funds and personally helped to give several homes of needy families a makeover, to give them better living conditions.

More recently, they’ve organised a Christmas event where they distributed food and necessities to migrant workers.

This year, they’re also planning something for Chinese New Year, to help those who can’t go back to Malaysia celebrate the holidays here.

While plans haven't been firmed up quite yet, Reshveen shares that they wish to help such people “feel like they’re at home where they really don’t feel alone.”

Volunteering “doesn’t have to be like a mission trip”.

Not everyone is able to organise charity events or do home makeovers like the couple.

For those of us who may be unsure where to begin our volunteering journey, Reshveen

reassures that volunteering or charity work could very much start at home.

“What's that small little thing that you can actually do right now right in your own capacity where you can be a blessing to somebody?” he says.

Reshveen adds that everyone is going through their own challenges, and we all have the capacity to do charity just by helping others closest to us.

“Charity ...doesn't have to be like a mission trip to Cambodia or Myanmar...It could be just something simple that we do for our neighbors right? Our neighbors, for our families, for our own homes. So I think that's something which is very important.”

How you can get started

Valentines’ Day which coincidentally falls on Chinese New Year, is coming up.

If you haven’t figured out what you’re doing this special double-occasion day, how about making it into a day of doing something good and meaningful, not just for your other half, but for the community at large as well.

As Reshveen puts it, “we get meaning into our lives when we devote ourselves to loving others, devote ourselves to the community around us and when we devote ourselves to creating something that gives us purpose and meaning.

For you, you can start by visiting this website, where you can find out how to begin your journey of giving, and spread a different kind of love this Valentine’s Day.

This article is brought to you by NVPC - Towards a City of Good who makes this writer believe that love and giving can take place everyday, too.

Top photo courtesy of Reshveen Rajendran