What is The Bettering Run?
The Bettering Run is an annual run and post-run carnival organised to give youths an accessible and fun entry point into becoming better through healthier and more sustainable living. It bakes becoming better into every aspect of operations: booth vendors (youth projects and small businesses aligned with health & sustainability) are invited at no cost to lower barriers to participation; the event is nearly zero-waste, using second-hand decorations sourced from the community, reused materials, and digital-only vouchers instead of printed ones; it moves to a different neighbourhood in Singapore each year to bring its message to new communities, focusing on one neighbourhood at a time as a smarter way to maximise impact as a ground up initiative without overextending.
Why a run and carnival together?
When planning the first TBR, we kept getting the questions "Why a run and carnival together?
Just stick to one for your first time!" Or "It might be too complicated to have a run AND carnival together"
But to us, TBR could not be TBR without the run and carnival.
The run and carnival are brought together because they reflect two sides of
the same idea: change takes both effort and support.
Running requires intention. You have to show up, try and choose something that might not
be the easiest option. In many ways, this mirrors becoming better. Choosing to recycle or eat healthy
also demands effort. In a place like Singapore, where efficiency is everything and convenience is king,
this makes Health & Sustainability a larger hill to climb up.
Our carnival complements this by creating a space for celebration, rest and community. It rewards our runners for their effort, while also providing us a platform for education and engagement, allowing people to understand the purpose behind the run in a fun and accessible way. Furthermore, we invite fellow youth projects, small businesses (supporting Health &/or Sustainability) to uplift them.
To us, a run alone might be able to inspire action, but without context or support, motivation fades, which is the exact opposite of what we need in creating a healthier & more sustainable Singapore.
What makes The Bettering Run unique?
1. Booth Vendors are invited at no added cost - Most events typically charge vendors a fee for their platform or space. But every single booth vendor,
be it a youth project or small business,
is invited to TBR at no added cost (Something we were originally advised against, as we warned that no fee meant potential vendors cancelling last minute).
That said, we did it anyways. After all, whether you're a fellow youth project or small local business,
things aren't always easy and costs are always barriers. Why would we build more barriers towards becoming better?
And this model has proven to work. None of our vendors have ever cancelled, and those that are able to, have given
back to us a little, in the form of exclusive vouchers & discounts for our registered TBR runners!
2. An (almost!) zero waste event - We opt out of traditional decor and banners for our event.
Nothing you see was only used once.
In 2025, we scoured Carousell for second-hand decorations or looked to the community for recycled materials that became our decor. We also picked up damaged factory-reject whiteboards for our signages (that we reused for other events, including The Bettering Run 2026 and our advocacy efforts at the Sustainable Singapore Gallery!). We also set our event date to coincide with other events happening around the community (so our event stage and tentage was reused multiple times instead of set up and torn down just for our event!)
In 2026, we continued what we did in TBR1, except we opt-ed out of the stage and tentage entirely. Instead, we utilised our surroundings and the location (Vidacity) itself to create a wasteless event set up! We also provided recycling/compost bins around the carnival to ensure even 'trash' doesn't go to waste.
3. Our run site! - Considering all the waste generated from redemption tags, vouchers, activity stamps etc. we decided to work with our partners to digitalise everything! For TBR2, 100% of vouchers from over 10 partners were digital, ensuring not a single piece voucher is printed, used, and never seen again. Check it out here! It was originally developed by a fellow youth-led group BytePenguin before being taken over by our team for further development in 2026
4. Organised by 16-19 Year olds - The Bettering Branch & Run is youth-led all the way to its core. Our organised team, worked out every detail & aspect, invited partners on board & did everything while still juggling school.
5. No same place twice - The core idea of The Bettering Run includes the fact that we move from community to community and constituency to constituency every year. Our goal is for TBR to go to a new neighbourhood every year, bringing our concept of becoming better to every community in Singapore. TBR1 was held in Canberra/Sembawang, TBR2 visited Pasir Ris. We look forward to sharing where TBR3 will be!
Why Health & Sustainability? That's a mouthful...
We believe both causes are undermined by the same root behaviours of overconsumption and short-termism,
and both require the same mindset shift toward long-term thinking over immediate convenience.
Furthermore there are several overlaps between living more healthily and sustainably.
Both are under the theme of becoming better! Hence The "Bettering" Run.
We believe that something as simple as showing up for our run and carnival counts,
because every step in the right direction matters!
We don't need you to be your best, just better. After all, its called the 'bettering' run, not the 'best' run!
TBR 2025
We partnered with Canberra Community Club for TBR1: a 3.5KM Run + Post-Run Carnival.
Set against the picturesque backdrop of Canberra Park, we saw more than 200 participants of all ages show up in support of Health & Sustainability.
We also thank Dr Lim Wee Kiak, Member of Parliament for the Canberra division of Sembawang Group for attending the event as our Guest-Of-Honour.
TBR 2026
We partnered with Pasir Ris Central Community Club for TBR2, and increased the distance to a 4.5KM!
Occurring on 13th June 2026, starting from PAssion Wave to Vidacity, a sustainability-focused innovation hub and living lab, we promised an evening of fun, health and sustainability,
seeing close to 400 attendees show up (double of last years!!!)
We also thank Ms Indranee Rajah, the Second Minister of National Development and Finance for attending the event as our Guest-Of-Honour.
