Singapore, 28 January 2009 – The Social Development Unit (SDU) and the Social Development Service (SDS) will tie the knot today to become a single entity to enhance the singles’ socialising and dating opportunities. The “engagement” took place during the National Day Rally on 17 August when the Prime Minister shared news of the merger as part of the 2008 Marriage and Parenthood initiatives.

 

 

SDU was formed in 1984 to address the problem of declining number of marriages among female graduates, and SDS was set up a year later to promote marriage among non-graduates. Over the last 25 years, 186,000 members of both organisations have tied the knot – 53,000 SDU members since 1984 and 133,000 SDS members since 1985. While catering to specific needs, SDU and SDS have been providing activities that are open to members of both organisations. The potential for more collaboration grew over the years. In the 2005 SDU/SDS Perception Survey, around 60% of SDU members and 70% of SDS members interviewed said that both units should be combined. The Government has decided to merge the two organisations now, to reap economies of scale, enlarge the database, and provide more opportunities for singles.

 

 

The merged entity will be a well-networked one that has a presence at significant touch points in the public, private and people sectors. It will provide a wider spectrum of services and events for members, such as sports and travel, etiquette and grooming courses, social events, and involvement in community projects.

 

Single Singapore citizens and permanent residents aged 20 years and above can join this yet-to-be-named entity for an annual fee of $10. The rate is the same as SDU’s current membership fee.

 

 

Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports said: “The merged entity, leveraging on over two decades of experience of SDU and SDS, will reap economies of scale and offer enhanced services to the combined 90,000 membership. They can look forward to more opportunities to meet other singles, and enjoy more options and activities based on their different needs and preferences.”

 

The merged entity will continue to develop, grow and professionalise the local dating industry and set industry benchmarks in terms of quality and affordability for the private players through its accreditation framework. There will also be scope for the merged entity to partner accredited private dating agencies in joint events, tie-ups and joint promotions, and to share knowledge and expertise.

 

 

The merged entity will be conducting a branding exercise and will be seeking members’ views on the identity and name that can be readily identified with today’s singles. In the interim, the merged entity will be known as “SDU-SDS”.

 

With the merger, singles can look forward to more services and opportunities. All singles are encouraged to be part of SDU-SDS. Interested singles can apply through our members’ website at www.lovebyte.org.sg.  

 

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The criteria for membership for SDU-SDS will be effective from 28 January 2009. The changes in eligibility criteria from SDU and SDS are as follows:

 

ELIGIBILITY Criteria FOR Membership
SDU (Old)	SDS (Old)	Merged Entity (NEW)
· Singapore Citizens /Permanent Residents graduate singles. · No upper and lower age caps.	· Singapore Citizens /Permanent Residents non-graduate singles (20 to 40 yrs old).	· Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents singles[1].   · Minimum age: 20 years old; no upper age limit.   · Criteria to be effective only for new members & renewals of existing memberships.

 

SDU-SDS will provide the Classic (Basic) Membership Scheme at an annual fee rate of $10. The changes in the basic membership fee from SDU and SDS are as follows:

FEe for CLASSIC MEMbERSHIP
SDU (Old)	SDS (Old)	Merged Entity (NEW)
· $10 /annum (age 30 and below) · $15 /annum (age 30 and above)	· $30 one-time fee (for ages 20-40 only) · Membership expires on 41st birthday	· $10 per annum for all.   · Price to be effective for new members and renewals.   · Existing SDS members will not be affected by the fee change until the renewal of their membership on their 41st birthday.

The Classic membership is a basic membership which entitles members to:

 

There are other dating services (dating events, personalised introduction, etc.) that are not included in the Classic Membership scheme. Members can participate in these services at additional charges.

 

SDU-SDS will offer corporate membership from 28 January 2009. The scheme compared to SDU and SDS corporate memberships is detailed below:

Corporate MEMbERSHIP
SDU (Old)	SDS (Old)	Merged Entity (NEW)
§         Provides graduate singles (Singapore Citizens /Permanent Residents) employed under these companies free SDU classic membership §         $100 /annum; unlimited individual sign-ups	§         Non-graduate singles (Singapore Citizens /Permanent Residents) working in these companies will be entitled to sign up for SDS ordinary (individual) membership. §         $300 / 5 years; up to 100 sign-ups §         Option to procure additional memberships at $3 per member up till 50 members.	·        Provides singles (Singapore Citizens /Permanent Residents) employed under these companies free SDU-SDS Classic membership[4], subject to the new membership criteria;   ·        Companies will pay $100 /annum, with unlimited sign-ups[5] for their single employees.   ·        Existing SDU Corporate Members and SDS Corporate Members will automatically be placed under the SDU-SDS Corporate Membership Scheme.   ·        Tenure and expiry of existing SDU and SDS corporate membership will remain unchanged under the new SDU-SDS Corporate Membership Scheme.   ·        Companies will be placed on the Workplace Network mailing list for events specially organised for singles with our corporate/workplace partners.

 

 

These will be enhanced with the merger. SDU-SDS will continue to provide a variety of dating/social interaction events to members. For some events, non-members may participate as long as they are single, albeit at a higher rate from SDU-SDS members. Information can be found on www.lovebyte.org.sg.

 

 

Members subscribing to these services will continue to receive the services. Going forward, we will be reviewing workflow and service offerings in these areas. Details will be made known later.

 

Existing SDU and SDS members will receive a letter on the merger and details on the criteria and fees. They will stand to benefit from the larger membership pool and enhanced services offered by SDU-SDS. Information and services will be provided via the existing IT system, the Lovebyte.

 

Persons who are interested to join SDU-SDS are welcomed. Application for membership, and payment of membership fees can be done online via www.lovebyte.org.sg, or at our office at 8 Stevens Road, Singapore 257819.

 

 

 

 

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