Meet The Great Women Of Our Time 2016 Education & Public Service Nominee Cheryl Chong

Cheryl’s full-time job keeps her busy analysing and executing real estate investments and divestments. But as Vice-Chairperson and Director for Community Engagement of the Young Women’s Leadership Connection (YWLC), Cheryl actively leads community-driven initiatives to engage her peers. As if that weren’t enough, the changemaker went a step further, and co-founded The Social Co with her good friend, Rebekah Lin. Together, they launched 50for50, a 19-month nation-wide campaign which ended in March this year. The initiative raised close to $2.25 million for 58 local charities, matched equally by the Government, hitting a remarkable total of $4.5 million. Cheryl and her team are now working on 1 For 1, a new fund-raising campaign to to get Singaporeans to donate $1 each.

The idea for 50For50 seemed idealistic and unachievable…

“But people came on board, trusted us, and went with it. We are so grateful and happy to have created a platform that activates time-challenged youths, who do care, to give back to society in creative, meaningful and sustainable ways.”

1 For 1 is a youth-led initiative…

“It’s about rallying every single person in Singapore to donate $1 towards a good cause. The idea is to make giving easy, convenient, and almost second nature.”

Whenever I feel like giving up, I tell myself…

“At the end of the day, it’s about the beneficiaries we’re trying to impact. I remind myself of the objectives we’ve set out to achieve, to focus on the good things, and to keep the big picture in mind.”

If Cheryl Chong inspires you, vote for her in The Most Inspiring Award here. You will stand a chance to win prizes worth up to $1,230!

The Great Women Of Our Time 2016 is presented by Skin Inc and co-sponsored by Swarovski.