February 2021 Issue: Co-operator Newsletter Quarterly Issue
Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) Multi-purpose Co-operative Society (ACSI Co-op)
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Know Our Co-ops series Co-operatives have been an integral part of shaping Singapore, touching the lives of more than 1.4 million members. Co-operatives were birthed out of shared needs, responsibility and commitment to each other and to the society, and were amongst the earliest community self-help organisations to take root in Singapore. The Know Our Co-ops series aims to let our affiliates to get to know each other better; appreciate each other's good work; and encourage conversations which can lead to collaborations. After all, we are in the same business to make a difference. |
ACSI STUDENTS’ FIRST FORAY INTO BUSINESS
For a group of Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) students, their first foray into the business world starts with serving their fellow students for a good cause.
They are members of the Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) Multi-purpose Co-operative Society (ACSI Co-op), which was registered on 11 May 2001 with the aim of meeting the students' economic needs and welfare through values of self-help and mutual help.
These student co-operators will man the school’s bookshop three days a week. Located at the Student Activity Centre, the bookshop sells books and stationeries as well as ACS memorabilia and collectibles, ranging from key chains to ceramic mugs, from socks to toy bears.
The values and principles of a co-operative that place people, rather than, profit at the centre of business, inspire the students to not only run a business in a sustainable way, but to do so to meet a social need as all sale proceeds are channelled to the Student Welfare Fund. The more money ACSI Co-op makes, the more the students give back to the school community.
The school takes great pride in offering a “holistic education that provides students with a broad and deep foundation for lifelong learning and the development of values and life skills in each child”. The school’s two-CCA policy is aimed at empowering the students to “discover their strengths, interests and talents and equip them to handle challenges they may face later in life”.
The ACSI Co-op fits right into the equation in building such resilience and total character in the students. It takes learning out of the classroom into the ‘real world’ of running a co-operative business where self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, and solidarity are celebrated; and honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others are inculcated.
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For two hours a week during term time, the student co-operators take turns to run the bookshop. From accounting to marketing, from stock taking to sales, the students from Year 1 to Year 4 learn the nuts and bolts of retail management. They are able to kickstart their knowledge about the co-operative movement and gain invaluable experience running a co-operative first hand. The experience will also help them to have a better understanding of the co-operative model - do well and do good.
Along the way, the older students pick up leadership and entrepreneurial skills as they lead, guide and coach their juniors, imparting their knowledge of co-operatives and organisational skills. All hands are on desk as they learn to work together and for each other to ensure that the bookshop not only survives but thrives.
The co-operative learning goes beyond the school compound. The Singapore National Co-operative Federation (SNCF) arranges for the students to go on various learning journeys to co-operatives and exhibitions to expose, educate and engage the students in building a better world, or as the school upholds, to nurture students to be of service “for God and Humanity”.
As the school motto says, “The best is yet to be”.
