YMCA Special Needs Ambassadors Hike “120” on Singapore Map to Celebrate YMCA’s 120th Anniversary
As part of the YMCA Special Needs Inclusive Challenge 2022, Member of the Parliament of Singapore Ms Denise Phua together with YMCA Special Needs Ambassadors embarked on a hike at The Rail Corridor. This is part of a special series of hikes to mark the numbers “1”, “2” and “0” at various hiking routes on the Singapore map to commemorate YMCA of Singapore’s 120th anniversary, while allowing participants to accumulate distance to conquer the perimeter of Mt Fuji virtually as part of the YMCA Inclusive Challenge. The first hike at The Rail Corridor signified the number “1” of the “120” hike.
The YMCA Inclusive Challenge sees 10 YMCA Special Needs Ambassadors attempt to virtually conquer Mt Fuji through hikes and climbs around Singapore. Members of the public can join the challenge to raise awareness and funds for persons with special needs. They can participate as individuals or in teams to accumulate 3,776m of elevation gain, Mt Fuji’s height or a distance of 120km, about the perimeter of Mt Fuji. Currently, over 110 Singaporeans have signed up to embark on the challenge. The three-month challenge hopes to raise awareness for special needs inclusivity and raise $150,000 for YMCA programmes that strengthen youth with special needs. The challenge is open to all members of the public from now until 31 August 2022.
The challenge is a continuation of the inaugural YMCA Inclusive Climb 2019, which saw 10 persons with special needs undergo intensive physical training before attempting to summit Japan’s tallest mountain, Mt Fuji. The participants and volunteers underwent an extraordinary journey of self-discovery, where the clients built on their resilience, confidence and independence. They were also able to advocate for special needs inclusion and showed the world that they were capable of more than imagined.
This year, YMCA also celebrates 120 years of strengthening the community through social development, gainful employment, volunteerism and leadership programmes that champion, challenge and train youth with special needs, youth at-risk, youth volunteers and leaders to become independent and effective contributors to society. Through marking “120” with various hike routes on the Singapore map, the YMCA commemorates the many opportunities it has had to leave a lasting impact on the Singapore society through the contributions of its donors, partners, volunteers, staff and the hard work and perseverance of their clients.
“Over the past decades, YMCA continues to be a channel of blessing to a multitude of youth clients. Through this significant event, we hope to highlight YMCA’s impact and spread the word about opportunities we offer for the public to contribute and participate in, be it through the YMCA Inclusive Challenge or other programmes, to build a more caring and inclusive Singapore for all,” said Sharon Chan, Division Head (Programmes), YMCA of Singapore.
To register or for more information about the YMCA Inclusive Challenge, please visit fuji.ymca.org.sg. For partnership opportunities with the YMCA of Singapore, please email Mei Xuan at fuji@ymca.org.sg.