Volunteering: The power of breaking bread

For Sophie Ng and Tash Blackman, volunteering means more than ticking a box. From coaching students over spring rolls to assembling 1,000 cheese sandwiches in an hour, their teams are proving that even small acts can leave a lasting mark.

Building confidence over conversation (and food)

For Sophie Ng, who works in Singapore’s Financial Management, People and Engagement division, volunteering is as much about the quiet moments as it is about structured mentoring. While board meetings, skills workshops and career guidance sessions all play their part, she believes the most meaningful breakthroughs happen in the margins - often over something simple.

“You can always start a conversation by talking about food,” Sophie says. “It’s a natural way to connect. Once there’s that common ground, students are so much more open.”

Inspired by a mentoring initiative for underrepresented students in the United Kingdom (UK), Sophie and her colleague Malik Razeen, from Macquarie’s Commodities and Global Markets division, set out to build something similar in Singapore. Working with local social services agency New Hope Community Services, they connected with a public school called Outram Secondary School.

“It was exactly the kind of school we were hoping to support,” Sophie says. “Many of the students wouldn’t usually see a path into financial services.”

Together, Sophie and Malik established a six-session mentoring program focused on Learning, Education, Aspiration and Participation (LEAP). The program pairs students with Macquarie mentors and covers practical topics like presentation skills, CV writing and career goal setting. 

The results are already tangible. One student, after visiting Macquarie’s trading floor as part of the program, has since enrolled in a polytechnic finance course. Others are exploring new career paths they hadn’t previously considered.

“It means we can focus on building trust and helping students see what’s possible for them - one conversation at a time.” Sophie says.

Buttered bread and real impact

Sometimes, simple acts feel like they make a big difference. For Tash Blackman, from Macquarie’s Banking and Financial Services division in Sydney, volunteering with Eat Up Australia meant she was able to support a charity that delivers free sandwiches to children who arrive at school without lunch while doing something immediately tangible with her team.

Tash organised an on-site session with her team, where 30 employees formed a production line to make 1,000 cheese sandwiches in just one hour. There was music, light-hearted competition, and plenty of buttering - but also a sense of urgency and shared purpose.

“At the end of it, you’re looking at crates of sandwiches that’ll go to real kids the next day,” she says. “That’s impact you can feel.”

Tash says the experience wasn’t just about food; it was about connection.

“You’re side-by-side with someone else from the team, doing something real. It builds trust and camaraderie, and it opens up conversations that just don’t happen at your desk.” 

Supported from the ground up

Both Tash and Sophie credit Macquarie for making their initiatives possible, not just through volunteer leave and matched giving, but through an organisation-wide culture that supports action.

“Our volunteer time counted toward the Foundation’s rewards program,” Tash explains. “So we weren’t just encouraged, we were actively supported.”

That support helped the Eat Up initiative take hold across the business. What began as a single team event has since grown into a broader movement. 

In Singapore, Sophie is taking steps to grow the LEAP mentoring program into something longer-term.

“We’d love to evolve it into a scholarship-style initiative, like the one in the UK,” she says. “We’re taking it slowly, but the potential is there.”

For both women, the experience of volunteering has been as personally meaningful as it has been impactful. 

“One student told me she lived in a girls’ home,” Sophie says. “That was a reality check. I thought I understood inequality, but it’s different when you see it up close.”

Tash adds: “It’s inspiring to work somewhere that doesn’t just allow us to give back, but actually encourages it, and backs it all the way.”