Inspiring you on the journey to your purpose
At Volkswagen, we are empowering people to pursue their purpose. Discover how we are collaborating with 4 inspirational individuals and communities, to support the causes they care about and help them to #VWithPurpose. Read on to learn more about their stories, and our limited time promotion.
Meet Our Collaborators
Sam Lo (@skl0_)
Creating art that speaks
A self-taught, Singapore-based visual artist whose work revolves around social commentaries fuelled by daily observations of their surroundings and research into the sociopolitical climate. Their intrigue with the concept of culture and the bold execution in some of their earliest forays into street art earned them the nickname "Sticker Lady", lovingly given by the city in reference to the saga that was birthed from their work in the streets.
Using the Tiguan as a blank canvas for Sam and other artists to express their art, they hope to demonstrate the importance of the creative process over the end result, the drive to never stop evolving, and the dedication to fight for what you believe in.
My artwork is an homage to my roots, my community, and my past. The creative community has always been a constant inspiration to me. Over the years, I have learned a lot about what it means to be a creative in Singapore, the dedication to the craft and fighting for what you believe in. In this piece I have included the works of some of my friends - typography artist theregularjo, graffiti artist HAS J, and urban/contemporary artist SPAZ - who have inspired and grown with me. They, among others, have taught me how to be the artist I am today and I am proud to have their works with mine on this collaborative piece.
Art has the power to do many things that can change the world - from offering alternative viewpoints, inspiring the next person, relaying important messages or simply allowing someone to enjoy its composition. Art is a reflection of humanity.
As a muralist and freelance creative, I often meet clients, go for site recces, run to the paint shop for materials and meet up for creative jam sessions with my artist friends, so the Tiguan R-Line has been really helpful in my everyday commute. The car has also given me extra freedom to explore the city to seek inspiration for upcoming works and enabled me to see Singapore in a different light.
The 'Easy-Open' hands-free boot that opens automatically upon swiping my foot under the boot to activate the sensor. Oftentimes the materials we bring about are extremely bulky, so this feature is really helpful.
Bjorn Low (@ediblegardencity)
Changing the way we eat and live
Bjorn is the co-founder of Edible Garden City, a group which has been championing
the grow-your-own-food movement in cities around the world, starting with
Singapore. For eight years, Edible Garden City has designed, built, and maintained
over 240 food gardens in the city. Their community of local farmers produce fresh,
tasty, and nutritious harvests to food and beverage outlets, as well as to
families, through their Citizen Box programme.
With the Passat, the team delivered vegetables to their Citizen Box subscribers,
and made use of their educational, mobile gardening installation in the Passat to
promote the benefits of urban gardening.
Growing our own food has immense physical, mental, social, and nutritional benefits! And we've also seen that people who grow their own food tend to waste less food, as they understand the time and effort that goes into it. On a more macro level, there are benefits like strengthened food security, lesser food wastage, and reduced carbon footprint as well.
Seeing the change in the way people interact with nature, and their deepening connection with it, moves me and motivates me to continue promoting urban farming in Singapore. Growing our own food has incredible benefit to our mental and physical health, but is an often-overlooked and under-utilised type of therapy. I would like to see more people discovering gardening as a tool for better health and happiness.
We've never had a vehicle as easy to drive or as comfortable as the Passat. It is a very smooth drive; very comfortable and spacious, great for us as we always have lots to tote around - from plants to vegetables, trolleys, and soil bags. We are also using the Passat to deliver our Citizen Boxes, grow kits, and hands-on kits to subscribers and online workshop participants, as well as local produce to our chef partners like Oliver T.J. at Open Farm Community.
The ease of driving and the practicality. It's incredibly smooth and silent; you almost don't feel the road. And I was also pleasantly surprised by the fuel economy. We had completed a week's worth of deliveries, all around the island, and still had 1/4 of the tank left.
Jason & Zhen Long (@bengwhocooks)
The Bengs who feed those in need
The namesake behind Beng Who Cooks - a hawker stall in Hong Lim Food Centre that gained attention during the onset of Covid-19 for giving out free meals to the needy. Jason works together with his friend Zhen Long, dishing out protein bowls with a local twist. The discipline and work ethic that Jason has built while having to juggle both his training as an amateur boxer, and his work at his father's stall continue in how he runs his business today, served up with a side of compassion for the needy and a whole lot of devil-may-care attitude.
With the Golf, Jason and Zhen Long were able to fulfil their food deliveries more easily during this difficult time, helping these Bengs with a giant heart reach out to even more people in the community.
I always believe that cooking is about putting people before you. To the 2 of us at BWC, food is about feeding people, and getting the whole family together at the dining table, showing each other love and affection through food. Delivering food to those who need it is our way of showing them that there is always love to be found and given even during tough times.
I would like people to be more selfless, to stop thinking about just themselves. As Singaporeans, we're sometimes taught that our own selves are everything, and people tend to be extremely selfish towards their own needs instead of thinking about someone else, even that little bit. I think it's okay to be selfish to a certain extent - it's okay to have your own needs, and to prioritise yourself in certain situations - but when it comes to your loved ones, always put them first.
It has made mass deliveries even easier - we used to only do deliveries by motorcycle, and you know, motorcycles can only deliver, at most, maybe 10 orders. With a car, I was able to receive and deliver at least 30 orders at one go, and even transport ingredients from place to place.
It was extremely easy to connect my phone to the car using App-Connect, and the Golf has a good sound system. Not just that - the navigation map can also be shown on the Active Info Display, right in the cockpit and on the digital dashboard in front of me, instead of on the screen to my left. It's easier for me to find my way and drive without turning my head too much.
Thenuga (@catwelfaresociety)
Advocating for our feline friends
Having joined the Cat Welfare Society as a volunteer almost 10 years ago, Thenuga eventually became president of the society in 2014. Her time is now spent hands on and knee deep with the work at the society: be it late-night cat trappings or mediation work. Formed in 1999, the Cat Welfare Society engages the community to achieve sustainable and humane management of cats in Singapore through advocacy, sterilisation, mediation, and educational outreach programmes.
In the Touran, Cat Welfare Society were able to expand their outreach to more neighbourhoods, meeting with cat owners and fosterers, checking on cats in the vicinity, and delivering food to customers.
I have gained a great deal of patience and learnt the importance of taking small steps toward an end goal. CWS' work is not about instant gratification or short-term rewards. We have worked hard in the past decades to establish programmes that will end senseless culling and allow cats to live a dignified and safe life, be it in a home or in the community.
The ability to help others and their animals.
CWS' sterilisation and mediation programmes have been greatly aided by the Touran
over the past weeks. Usually we would need two or more volunteers with a car to
transport the number of cats we did for sterilisation, but we managed almost 20
cats with just the Touran.
We also used the Touran to help our volunteers travel from case location to case
location which increased their productivity almost two-fold, compared to them
relying on public transport to commute. As an added bonus, we were also able to use
the Touran to deliver donations, and food to caregivers.
I have two favourites. The first is the versatile seating layout of the car that allowed me to transport numerous traps and carriers to conduct multiple trappings. The car also provided a smooth ride so the cats are not subject to any rattling around in the car. They're transported in as comfortable a manner as possible. Another pro is the 3-zone Air Care Climatronic system which circulates the air through the whole car. This ensures that the cats at the back are kept cool during the ride and that any animal-related smells do not linger within the car.
What's next
Explore our collaborators' choice of cars