Our Story

" Young people are the future" was a phrase we heard almost daily back in school.

And we believed it. We are indeed the future, but we also noticed something that troubled us: around us, genuine engagement with social and environmental issues was rare.

Conversations were dominated by academics, trends, and hobbies — and when social issues did come up, they were often tied to one's CV, portfolio or LEAPS points rather than something deeper.

That said, we weren't quick to judge our peers for this. If anything, we understood it completely. With packed school schedules, mounting academic pressure, and the ordinary challenges of growing up, finding the mental and emotional space to care about the world beyond yourself is genuinely hard.

It's not a reflection of character or who you are, but one of circumstance.
What we did notice, though, was that when young people were given the right opportunity to connect, not just to serve, but to genuinely engage, something clicked.
We had been lucky enough to experience that ourselves, and we knew our peers deserved the same. So we looked for platforms and organisations offering not just accessibility, but also inclusiveness and beginner-friendly ones opportunities for civic engagement.

When we couldn't quite find what we were looking for, we decided to build it ourselves.

In January 2024, with no funding, mentors or any institutional support, driven solely by conviction and a dream, The Bettering Branch was born. We set out with cold emails and texts, online forums and a vision.

A vision of an organisation that allowed Singaporean youths (like ourselves!) to give back, through not just flexible & accessible opportunities that lower the barriers to civic engagement, but activities that allowed youths to genuinely connect.

Since then, we have only grown exponentially, surpassing our own expectations and goals. We look forward to what 2026 brings & to continue branching out for the better!

We lower the barriers to showing up by not just making our event dates flexible and tailored to the busy schedules of Singaporean youths, but also structuring them so that giving back feels as enjoyable and energising as hanging out with your friends or doing something you love. From there, we see youths return for our events again and again!

And yes, we know. Maybe its because the flexibility and fun makes it an 'easy' way to get hours, but what really matters to us is that youths keep showing up. Because the more they show up, the more they feel it :)

We strive for every event to be an experience where youths are given the opportunity and space to connect with the cause, because we can't manufacture the moment it clicks, but we can endeavor to keep creating the conditions that make it to happen, until one day giving back and actually caring feels like second nature.

In short, we get Singaporean youths to keep showing up because they innately want to. From there, we walk alongside them till they believe empathy is simply the way to go.

We are honored to receive the Victoria Pioneer Award in 2025 for our achievements in social impact! We thank the 1984 pioneer batch of VJC for their support and belief in our mission.

Our co-founder, Carissa, receiving the Victoria Pioneer Award on behalf of The Bettering Branch alongside representative team members, Isabel (Research & Advocacy), Le Qing (Media) and Nelly (Publicity)