How Friendzone Helped Boon Lay CCC–CDWF Turn a Scholarship Ceremony into a Platform for Youth Connection & Grassroots Engagement

🌱 A New Kind of Celebration: From Routine Ceremony to Real Connection

In many divisions, scholarship ceremonies are routine affairs— brief, formal, and often impersonal. But the Boon Lay Citizens' Consultative Committee-Community Development and Welfare Fund (CCC-CDWF) saw an opportunity: what if this annual event could be more than a handover of awards?

In partnership with Friendzone, Boon Lay CCC-CDWF reimagined the University Scholarship Awards Ceremony as a warm, engaging experience where young residents could connect with one another and reflect on their journeys together.

🧩 The Challenge: Making Ceremonies Meaningful for Youth

Traditional formats can feel transactional, especially for students who may not know anyone else in the room. Boon Lay CCC-CDWF wanted to:

• Foster genuine connections between university students living in the same division

• Encourage reflection on each student’s personal path to success

• Create a more personal and engaging interaction between youth and their Grassroots Adviser
  

💡 The Friendzone Approach: Curated Conversations, Community Focus

To bring this to life, Friendzone facilitated a guided conversation session where awardees moved beyond small talk and shared their stories in an intimate, peer-led format. Prompted by thoughtful conversation cards, students spoke about:

• Who they are beyond academics— including their day-to-day lives, interests, and values

• Their proudest milestones— both big and small

• Support systems and personal struggles along the way

• Evolving definitions of what “success” means to them

The structured yet relaxed setting helped turn a room of strangers into a budding community— where young people found common ground in shared experiences.

🤝 A Ceremony That Created Bonds, Not Just Photo Opportunities

• Local Connections, Finally Made 
  For many, this was the first time meeting other university students residing in Boon Lay. Through authentic conversation, new friendships formed— and students left feeling less alone in their journeys.

• A Platform for Youth Voices
  The session gave space for students to surface what they valued, what they struggled with, and what support they still needed, offering valuable insights for future grassroots programming.

• Minister Desmond Lee’s Grounded Engagement
  The session was graced by Minister Desmond Lee, Adviser to West Coast–Jurong West GRC Grassroots Organisations. Instead of a one-way award presentation, the format gave him the chance to engage meaningfully with students— listening to their reflections, understanding their aspirations, and responding to them personally. This opened the door to deeper, more human connections between youth and grassroots leadership.

🌟 Beyond a Ceremony: A Model for Youth Engagement

What Boon Lay CCC-CDWF achieved wasn’t just a more memorable event, but a shift in how grassroots organisations can engage youth meaningfully.

By creating the conditions for young people to meet, talk, and be heard, the ceremony became not just a formal occasion, but a first step in community-building.

🧶 Why This Matters for Grassroots Organisations

This case study shows that even routine events can be powerful when reimagined with purpose. Friendzone offers:

• A proven structure to spark connection between residents

• Tools to surface grounded, personal insights from youth

• A chance for advisers and grassroots leaders to build trust on the ground

👋 Let’s Reimagine Your Next Engagement

Whether it’s a scholarship or Edusave Merit Bursary ceremony, a networking event, or a youth dialogue, we believe every gathering can be a launchpad for connection and community.

📩 Say hello at hello@friendzone.sg. We’d love to co-create something with you.