RECYCLE RED!
Recycle Red! is a Chinese New Year sustainability initiative by The Bettering Branch, seeking to promote sustainable & eco-conscious habits during Chinese New Year by partnering with Geneco to bring Red Packets Recycling bins to Schools.
Since 2025, we have partnered with 30 schools (including almost all Pre-U schools in Singapore excluding specialised independent schools) to...
- Divert approx. 428,667 red packets from landfills (assuming 1 red packet weighs 3g - total 1286KG collected)
- Reduce about 1543.2kg CO2 Emissions avoided (Using CO2 factor ~1.2kg CO2 per kg recycled paper)
- Save ~9,002 litres of water (due to recycled fibres requiring significantly less water per tonne, assuming ~7litres per Kg
We thank Milo, Project Acai, Geneco and all our partners for making Recycle Red! a success thus far! See you in 2027!
The story of Recycle Red!
SUSTAINABLE SINGAPORE GALLERY FLAGSHIP EVENT
We partnered with Mastereign and the Sustainable Singapore Gallery to facilitate tours inside the gallery, conduct eco-friendly activities outside & provide on-site assistance with the event.
MONTHLY COMMUNITY CLEAN UPS
We organise monthly community clean ups to do our part to keep Singapore green & clean.
But our clean ups aren't just a way for youths to help protect our coasts,
they also serve as a third space event to destress in nature + meet new friends from different schools,
supporting youth mental health.
- From curated playlists while cleaning to mini games like 'which team can fill their first bucket the fastest',
we keep things at our cleanups fun and never dull!
We are grateful for the National Environmental Agency (NEA)'s support via allowing us to use tongs and buckets from the NEA Cleanpod!
Cleanup from 10th March 2024
Sorted out, to be recycled, from the trash we collected!
Cleanup from 26 July 2026
FLEA MARKET FUNDRAISER
We conducted fundraising, selling preloved items like books & clothes in an effort to promote sustainability and a circular economy
at the Sembawang GRC National Day Observance Ceremony & Fun walk!
All funds collected went to The Bettering Branch's future activities.
FOOD DELIVERY TO HOMEBOUND SENIORS & FAMILIES
We partner with Bethesda Care Services to organise food delivery sessions to homebound seniors & families in the East! These sessions also involve wellbeing check-ins with the families & allows them access to nutrition despite physical immobility or sensory impairments (Vision/Hearing).
THE GUIDING LIGHTS: ACADEMIC TUTORING FOR PRIMARY SCHOOLERS
The Guiding Lights is a collective of weekly academic tutoring, mentorship and befriending programmes by The Bettering Branch for primary schoolers to aid their social & cognitive development.
Beginning with Mission Lighthouse, in partnership with Sunshine Club Student Care Centre (Bedok) in 2025,
our initiative has grown in 2026 to include Project Beacon, for Pearl Care Centre (Near Greendale) and Project Pharos for Super Talent Student Care (Punggol Walk).
All programs are led by Junior College and Polytechnic youth volunteers from schools like Victoria Junior College, Temasek Junior College, Tampines Meridian Junior College and Temasek Polytechnic. As of our last count, over 60 academic tutoring sessions have been conducted across all three projects since 2025!
PROGRAMMES FOR MIGRANT DOMESTIC WORKERS
We work with Brahm Centre to assist with their OMEGA (Oasis for Mindful Enrichment, Growth, and Advancement) program for Migrant Domestic Workers. The programs focus on both conducting activities to boost wellbeing and mental wellness education for Migrant Domestic Workers.
APSN Student Care Centre Excursions
Our volunteers accompanied children (aged 7 to 14) from the student care centre at APSN (Association for Persons with Special Needs) for their June excursions!
Together, we visited The Floor is Lava @ Changi, Hay Dairies Goat Farm & Taoz Pottery studio.
Unfortunately, we are unable to share any photos to maintain the privacy of the children
ARTS & CRAFTS WITH KIDS
We organise arts & crafts workshops for kids to help develop their motor skills & creativity, as well as provide them an afternoon of fun and learning!
Our workshops always try to incorporate elements of sustainability because we believe eco-friendly habits start young!
STREET SALES FUNDRAISER
We collaborated with Project Joey to help fundraise for SHINE Children & Care Services by selling crochet flowers, coasters and ribbon flowers to the public. We raised more than 2.5K together!
SENIOR LUNCHEONS
We organise and conduct activities for seniors during Fengshan Community Club’s Saturday Senior Luncheons!
Some activities include...
- Designing mini canvas bags
- Designing Fridge Magnets
- Bingo sessions
- Making DIY pen holders using recycled plastic bottles & yarn
We often try to integrate sustainable practices/use eco-friendly materials in these
activities because we believe sustainability should be practiced anywhere, anytime!
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
We partner with Social Service Agencies to help out with their community outreach, ensuring the wellbeing of at-risk communities in Singapore.
SENIOR BEFRIENDING SESSIONS
We work with multiple Active Aging Centres, Elderly Nursing Homes and communities to organise activities where our youth volunteers befriend seniors through games and intergenerational conversations.
YOUTH4YOUTH TALKS
We share more about The Bettering Branch's story, how youths can make an impact & the importance of empathy in today's society.
Our Founder speaking to Junior College students
about the importance of empathy in Singaporean society, how she
personally juggled making an impact alongside her A-Levels & how
she started Recycle Red!, a project that reached 30 schools and
recycled almost half a million red packets, all from her bedroom.
Our Co-founder & Founder share with
secondary school students how they organised The Bettering Run despite never having done anything similar before,
early failures when building The Bettering Branch,
as well as
how to make a difference as a student.
CLIMATE ADVOCACY & EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH
We head to events all across the nation to spread the word about specific climate issues and how individuals can take action against it.
At The Wasteless Utopia, an event held in conjunction with Global Fashion Revolution Week,
we were invited to share more about Fashion Sustainability Policies in Singapore (or rather the lack of them!!!) with the public.
Additionally, to tie in with the
“Think Globally, Act Locally” theme for 2025, we also shared about how Singapore's Sustainability Policies
compared with the UK, US & EU.
In Support of Singapore's Ministry of Sustainability & the Environment's Go Green Movement, we were invited to the Youth4Climate Festival
to share more about Climate Adaptation, the 3 key pillars in Singapore,
Singapore's first National Adaptation Plan + climate policies (& how they compare to our SEA neighbours).
At the Sustainable Singapore Gallery Flagship Event, our team researched sustainable energy policies to break down and share with the public!
In particular, we spoke about
how Singapore contributes to the global
sustainable energy scene with its unique energy policies due to its
export-dependent economy & small land size.
THE BETTERING RUN
The Bettering Run is our annual community run in support of (YOU)ths becoming better versions of themselves through Health & Sustainability.
What began as a 3.5KM run in partnership with Canberra Community Club in 2025 has grown
into a recurring initiative!
— in 2026, we partnered with Pasir Ris Central Community Club
and expanded to a 4.5KM route, taking runners from PAssion Wave to Vidacity, a
repurposed primary school and sustainability-focused innovation hub.
From 200 participants in our first year to nearly 400 in 2026, The Bettering Run continues
to grow! We are grateful to our Guests-of-Honour — Dr Lim Wee Kiak, Member of Parliament
for Canberra (Sembawang GRC) in 2025, and Ms Indranee Rajah, Second Minister of National
Development and Finance in 2026 — for their support.
The Bettering Run strives to be a zero waste event by opting out of traditional stage & tentages (2026), digitalising vouchers and stamp cards, sourcing secondhand decorations and reusing everything!
Learn more about how we minimise waste & maximise impact at The Bettering Run
The Bettering Run will be back in 2027 :)
SCHOOL OUTREACH
We visit schools to share with students more about The Bettering Branch's story, our opportunities and more!
Send us an email at thebetteringbranch@gmail.com if you want us to visit your school!
VIRTUAL INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS
Our outreach goes beyond Singapore's borders! We collaborated with Pangea Kids Burbank from California, USA to create an informative instagram post in order to raise awareness for the current health, human rights and human trafficking concerns in Vietnam. We also did an Interview ith Seedshift, a youth project supported by the Taiwanese Ministry of Education, to support their programs.
INFOGRAPHIC POSTS ON INSTAGRAM
As part of our mission to empower youths with empathy through education, we post bite-sized educational infographic posts on social & environmental issues.
BONUS! COLLABORATION WITH BYTEPENGUIN
We collaborated with BytePenguin, a fellow youth-led initiative that helps charities build websites, in 2025 to bring this website to life!
We are incredibly grateful to everyone on the BytePenguin Team who has contributed their time,
skills and effort to helping us build this site. Our core team has since taken over maintainence of the site.
