ITE Brings Community Together through Hearts in Motion in Support of President’s Challenge

Close to 2,000 ITE students, staff and members of the public gathered at Jurong Lake Gardens today for Hearts in Motion, a community event organised by ITE in support of President's Challenge. President Tharman Shanmugaratnam attended the event, which featured a 5-km competitive run, a 3-km family × team walk, and a community carnival with interactive booths and sports try-outs.

The event contributed about $100,000 to President's Challenge, through support from corporate donors as well as sales from carnival booths (refer to Annex) run by students from ITE College West. The proceeds will go towards benefitting programmes supported by the President’s Challenge. Designed to be fun, inclusive and family-friendly, Hearts in Motion brought individuals, families and communities together through activities that promote active living, community participation and intergenerational bonding.

Developing Leaders through Service

Beyond supporting a meaningful cause, Hearts in Motion also served as a platform for students to develop leadership skills through service. Over 200 student leaders and volunteers from ITE College West played central roles in co-organising the event, taking charge of areas such as participant engagement, programme coordination, logistics, carnival operations and social media outreach. Working alongside staff, community partners and sponsors, students gained hands-on experience in planning and executing a large-scale community event. They also strengthened their communication, teamwork and leadership skills, while deepening their sense of empathy and social responsibility.

Reflecting on her experience, Nur 'Shaindah Binte Sibahri, a Higher Nitec in Sport Management student who served on the event’s Student Leadership & Engagement Sub-Committee, said, "Through my Sports Management course, I have learnt what goes into organising sports events. Being part of the organising team for Hearts in Motion allowed me to put my learning into practice at a real community event. It gave me a deeper appreciation of the planning, coordination and teamwork needed to deliver a large-scale event, and I am glad that I played a part in bringing the community together for a meaningful cause. Seeing the event come to life and participants enjoying themselves made all our hard work worthwhile."

Ms Alice Seow, Principal of ITE College West, said, "We want our students to graduate not only with the skills to succeed in the workplace, but also with a strong sense of purpose and passion to serve the community. Hearts in Motion gave them the opportunity to put these values into action by taking on leadership roles and working alongside staff to organise this meaningful event. We are proud of our students and staff for their dedication, and grateful to our partners and donors for their generosity and support."

Uplifting the Community through Active Living

The event began with the 5-km competitive run, where President Tharman presented prizes to the top three finishers across the Men's Open, Men's Veteran, Women's Open and Women's Veteran categories, before flagging off the 3-km family × team walk.

A key highlight of the event was the community carnival, which showcased the talents and creativity of ITE College West students through food, technology, and health and wellness experiences. Participants could enjoy student-prepared refreshments, robotics and engineering demonstrations, complimentary health and fitness appraisals, as well as kayak and pedal boat try-outs at PAssion Wave and football coaching clinic by FC Jurong.

On top of the booths run by students, the carnival also featured booths by six President's Challenge benefitting organisations – Abilities Beyond Limitations and Expectations, Diabetes Singapore, Down Syndrome Association (Singapore), New Life Stories, Singapore Cancer Society and Yellow Ribbon Cares – where participants could learn more about their work, the communities they serve and the impact of the programmes supported by President’s Challenge.

Also present at the event were Ms Low Yen Ling, Senior Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth and for Trade and Industry, and Mayor of South West District; Mr Jeffrey Siow, Acting Minister for Transport and Senior Minister of State for Finance; and Mr Shawn Huang, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Finance and Manpower.