For thousands of NUS freshmen and students, this year's NUS Students' Union (NUSSU) RAG & Flag Day transcended fundraising. It was an opportunity to discover how they can make a positive impact through community service and build meaningful personal relationships with their chosen beneficiaries.
Themed "Ripples Across Time", the 68th edition of NUSSU RAG & Flag Day saw participants raise more than S$330,000 for over 300 critical programmes and projects supported by Community Chest, benefitting over 94,000 social service users annually. All proceeds go directly towards empowering communities in need through the Community Chest.
Building connections beyond the classroom
In the weeks leading up to NUSSU RAG & Flag Day, NUS freshmen and students visited beneficiaries from 16 social service agencies across Singapore. Through these interactions, they gained first-hand insights into the challenges faced by children with special needs, at-risk youths, persons with disabilities or mental health conditions, and seniors, all while forging friendships with those they sought to support.
Fundraising with purpose
Since 1958, NUSSU RAG & Flag Day has been one of NUS' largest and longest-running student traditions, bringing generations of students together through service, creativity and community spirit.
This year, the fundraising efforts began a month early with an off-campus NUSSU Flag Carnival, a two-day event held on 3 and 4 July at TripleOne Somerset. Featuring 17 flea market-style booths, the carnival allowed participating groups to raise funds for their chosen social service agencies while engaging the public on the causes they support through games, merchandise and interactive activities.
This was followed by two Flag Days on 25 July and 1 August, when close to 2,400 NUS students fanned out across Singapore to collect donations for their chosen beneficiaries.
Over the past 17 years alone, NUS students have raised a cumulative total of almost S$5.2 million through NUSSU RAG & Flag Day.
Celebrating service through creativity
Beyond giving back to society, RAG Day serves as a heartfelt expression of gratitude to donors and the wider public for their generosity.
This year's RAG Day brought the spirit of service, creativity and community to life through 14 performances featuring sustainable handmade costumes, imaginative props and mobile displays. Created by more than 2,000 students over months of planning and collaboration, the performances signalled a vibrant, visual "thank you" to the community.
For many participants, the performances represented far more than artistic expression.
For Andrew Chew, a Year 3 Pharmacy student, his journey with the NUS Pharmaceutical Society (NUSPS) RAG & Flag started three years ago as a freshman "floatee" pushing displays on stage. Today, as Vice President (Special Projects), he continues to shape NUSPS RAG’s float and performance, passing down the vibrant tradition to new students.
"While I am no longer directly involved in planning performances like I did in previous years, it is incredibly heartwarming to see my successors step up. They have given their all to a performance that beautifully weaves together this year's theme "Ripples Across Time", our beneficiary, Life Community Services Society, and our core commitment to sustainability. We take immense pride in our zero-waste efforts—whether it is salvaging cardboard tubes from Chinatown textile shops, manually untying zip ties to reuse them, or building the float’s skeletal structure with old metal L-bars. While it is important to put on a grand and engaging performance and invite donations, we strive to do it in a way that is environmentally responsible," he shared.
Rhea Sharma, a freshman participating as a dancer for the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences RAG, added: "It is all about trying our best together as a group. Performing alongside my newfound friends makes me want to give a thousand per cent. Our combined energy pushes me to do more than I ever could alone—they are all gold in my heart!"
Guest-of-Honour Mr Desmond Lee, Minister for Education and Minister-in-Charge of Social Services Integration, officially launched the celebrations at NUS University Town. He was joined by NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye and 47th NUSSU President Stephen Chen Zhi Peng.
In his opening address, Professor Aaron Thean, NUS Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost, said, “This year’s theme, “Ripples Across Time”, is a thoughtful reminder that the impact of kindness transcends generations and is built over time. Every hour that is volunteered and every dollar raised creates a ripple that becomes a powerful wave of change for those in need.” He added that these experiences, will help NUS students learn beyond textbooks. He also encouraged them to continue to pursue their passions and purpose, and build friendships that will last a lifetime.
Mr Stephen Chen added, “NUSSU RAG & Flag: Ripples Across Time is all about taking collective action, no matter how small, as a community of people in support of one another. We are deeply grateful to the freshmen and participating bodies who have contributed their time and energy so generously, to all our partners, both internal and external, for their close collaboration and expertise, and certainly for members of the public for their unwavering support throughout the years! With continued support like this, NUSSU RAG & Flag will always remain a cornerstone of the NUS experience and identity."
Recognising collective contributions to campus sustainability
The RAG Zero Waste Award was introduced last year by University Campus Infrastructure to encourage Participating Bodies (PBs) to minimise their environmental impact through the way they design and build their floats. Supported by NUS SAVE, the PBs sourced cardboard and other discarded materials from across campus, adopting circular practices to give these items a second life.
This year, the Zero Waste Best Effort Award was awarded to NUS Pharmaceutical Society for the second consecutive year. They were the first PB to source all their cardboard from a campus bin centre, an effort that inspired most PBs to follow suit this year. The team continued to demonstrate circularity and frugality by carefully storing reusable materials and building components, including wheels, hinges, metal bars and paint, for future builds.
In addition, two PBs received the Zero Waste Effort Award. KRaSHeares sourced discarded materials from nearby renovation works and creatively incorporated them into its float, giving overlooked materials a valuable second life. Raffles Hall carefully retained leftover materials from the previous year’s RAG and repurposed them in this year’s build, extending their useful lifespan across successive events.
Collectively, these efforts demonstrate how thoughtful sourcing, material stewardship and creative repurposing can reduce event waste and promote a culture of sustainability on campus.
Beyond the main stage, visitors enjoyed the lively Flag Carnival, featuring games, food and handicraft booths run by NUS faculty clubs and residential communities, alongside live acts by NUS student groups.
As NUSSU RAG & Flag Day came to a close, participants left with more than memories of performances and fundraising milestones. They took with them new friendships, a deeper appreciation of the communities they had served and a shared belief that every act of kindness, no matter how small, can create ripples of positive change.
Highlights from RAG & Flag 2026
Overall RAG & Flag winner:
- Faculty of Dentistry
Zero Waste Best Effort Award
- NUS Pharmaceutical Society
Zero Waste Effort Award
- KRaSHeares
- Raffles Hall
RAG Gold:
- Faculty of Dentistry
- Faculty of Law
- Faculty of Science
- School of Computing
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine
RAG Silver:
- King Edward VII Hall X Pioneer House
- KRaSHeares
- Raffles Hall
- School of Business
- Temasek Hall
RAG Bronze:
- College of Design and Engineering
- Eusoff Hall
- Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
- NUS Pharmaceutical Society
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This story was first published on NUS News
