Design Thinking for Social Good
Talks, workshops and practitioner-led learning for schools, universities and organisations
Little Changemakers helps students and teams move from empathy to action through customisable talks, workshops, lectures and design sprints grounded in real community work.
About the Speaker
Cherry Thian is the founder of Little Changemakers, a Singapore-based social enterprise that designs inclusive, intergenerational and wellness-based programmes for children, seniors, caregivers, volunteers and community partners.
With more than 20 years of experience across education, programme design, community engagement, user-centred innovation and social enterprise development, Cherry brings real-world case studies into her talks and workshops.
Real Community Experience
Cherry shares from actual projects across schools, eldercare, CSR, inclusive learning, wellness, service-learning and community innovation.
From Empathy to Implementation
Sessions help participants understand how ideas are designed, tested, adapted, priced, pitched and sustained in real-world settings.
Customisable Talks and Workshops
All sessions can be customised to suit your audience, learning objectives, duration and preferred focus area. Sessions can be delivered as school talks, guest lectures, interactive workshops, design sprints, fireside chats or project consultations.
Assembly Talks and Workshops
Suitable for CCE, VIA, student leadership, values education, ECG, enrichment and school-wide exposure programmes.
Guest Lectures and Masterclasses
Suitable for university and polytechnic modules in social work, education, design, healthcare, psychology, entrepreneurship and community development.
Practitioner Sharing and Design Sprints
Suitable for teams exploring CSR, community impact, inclusive programme design, eldercare innovation or service-learning partnerships.
Possible Talk and Workshop Themes
Each theme can be adapted as a short talk, interactive workshop, guest lecture, design sprint or project consultation.
Design Thinking for Social Good
Participants learn how design thinking can be used to notice real needs, understand users, reframe problems and create practical community solutions.
Building a Social Enterprise from Community Needs
A practitioner sharing on how Little Changemakers grew from community needs into a purpose-driven business serving schools, seniors, corporates and community partners.
Designing Inclusive Sensory Activities for Children
A hands-on workshop where students learn how sensory needs can affect participation, then redesign everyday activities using persona cards and inclusive design prompts.
Rethinking Eldercare: From Activities to Purposeful Participation
A session on how eldercare programmes can support dignity, purpose, participation, wellness and meaningful contribution beyond conventional activities.
From Volunteering to Real Impact
Participants learn why good intentions are not enough, and how to design volunteer experiences that are respectful, useful, safe and meaningful.
Inclusive Programme Design for Communities
A practical introduction to designing programmes for children, seniors, caregivers, people with disabilities, volunteers and mixed-ability groups.
CSR and Community Partnerships
Participants explore how corporates and community partners can create meaningful engagement experiences that benefit both volunteers and beneficiaries.
Intergenerational Programmes and Community Innovation
A sharing on how children, youths, seniors, volunteers and community partners can learn from and contribute to one another.
From Learning to Real-World Design Projects
Some schools, organisations and care partners may want to go beyond a talk or workshop. Beyond practitioner sharing, Little Changemakers also provides user-centred design services for organisations that want to redesign spaces, programmes, care experiences and community engagement models.
Purposeful Community Spaces
We help partners design sensory rooms, eldercare activity spaces, intergenerational corners, engagement zones and community spaces that support participation and wellbeing.
Care Model and Engagement Design
We support care teams in rethinking how activities, routines, roles and environments can better support dignity, purpose, social connection and meaningful participation.
From Idea to Implementation
We design practical programme systems, facilitation resources, activity kits, volunteer flows and engagement models that can be tested, adapted and sustained on the ground.
Featured Workshop
Designing Inclusive Sensory Activities for Children
This 90-minute workshop helps students understand how sensory needs can affect participation, then use design thinking to redesign everyday sensory activities for children with different support needs.
The workshop helps students move from awareness to action. Instead of only learning about inclusion, they practise designing for it.
Understand
Read the persona and notice strengths, interests, needs and possible barriers.
Choose
Pick one base activity or community challenge to build from.
Define
Name the main barrier or design problem to solve.
Adapt
Add inclusive supports while keeping the activity meaningful.
Pitch
Share the idea clearly with its learning value and inclusion outcome.
Engagement Formats and Indicative Fees
Final fees depend on group size, duration, customisation level, materials and facilitation needs.
Assembly Talk
45 to 60 minutes. Suitable for schools, CCE, VIA launch programmes and leadership groups.
Guest Lecture
60 to 90 minutes. Suitable for universities, polytechnics, seminars and professional modules.
Interactive Workshop
90 minutes. Suitable for schools, JCs, polys, universities and youth groups. For up to 60 participants.
Customised Workshop
90 minutes to 2 hours. Suitable for cohorts with specific learning outcomes or themes.
Half-Day Design Sprint
2.5 to 3 hours. Suitable for project-based learning, social innovation and service-learning.
Project Mentorship or Consultation
Suitable for student teams, service-learning projects and community innovation groups.
Invite Cherry for a Talk or Workshop
Looking for a meaningful talk, workshop or practitioner-led session for your students or team?
We can customise the session based on your audience, learning objectives and preferred focus area.