“The first time I stepped into the Temasek Shophouse in early 2022, I fell in love with it and what it stood for,” recalls Ruth Soh.
Beyond the beauty of a heritage building, it was Temasek Shophouse’s (TSH) identity as a social impact hub that resonated with her.
“When I learnt about its purposeful mission of serving changemakers and building connected communities, as well as its upcoming expansion project, I was sold,” adds Ruth, who now leads TSH’s Placemaking & Community efforts.
Ruth’s appreciation for TSH’s role has grown alongside the organisation as well as the building itself, which tripled in size last year to support more changemakers, communities, and causes.
“It is a place where strangers connect over shared interests, friendships form communities, and fresh ideas find support to go further,” she says.
Ruth with the TSH team at Let’s Celebrate on 6 August 2026, which gathered key stakeholders, partners, and members of the community to commemorate the official reopening of TSH.
Where People, Ideas, and Impact Meet
For Ruth, one of the most meaningful aspects of her role is being able to stay close to the communities and causes that TSH serves.
“I love meeting new people everyday and finding out about the work they do,” she shares. “I also enjoy seeing vibrant places buzzing with excitement and purpose, helping others form meaningful connections, and advancing different causes.”
This spirit sits at the heart of TSH’s placemaking and community efforts. On a day-to-day basis, Ruth and her team work with non-profits, social enterprises, ground-up groups, and community partners to co-curate and host events and programmes — spanning sustainability, heritage, culture, and community — that activate the space for greater good.
Book launch of The Good Gang by community arts non-profit 3Pumpkins; interactive climate-themed carnival Funfair of Forgotten Futures by Ayer Ayer Project; Orientations & Actions gathering by Urban Kakis! on civic life for youth; Networking Iftar by Singapore’s National Youth Council; GREEN-HOUSE sustainability festival.
For Ruth, no two days look quite the same. With the unveiling of three event spaces last September, TSH has seen more and larger-scale programmes, expanding and strengthening its engagement with different partners and communities.
Amongst Ruth’s most memorable moments is a concert she organised for TSH’s fourth anniversary back in 2023, which brought together a diverse group of musicians, including musicians with disabilities.
“They put on a stellar, heartwarming performance that I’ll never forget till today,” she fondly recalls.
TSH celebrated its fourth anniversary in 2023 with a LIVE@Temasek Shophouse public performance featuring a line-up of talented and diverse local artistes.
The event led to a partnership with prominent local artiste Clement Chow, one of the event performers, and eventually the creation of Let’s Jam, a monthly jamming session that brings together musicians and people of all ages and walks of life through a common love for music.
For the past three years, TSH’s Let’s Jam sessions have brought together musicians and people of all ages and backgrounds to connect monthly over song and dance.
“A lot of events that I’ve attended touch the heart,” Ruth remarks. “We often leave teary-eyed because of the lives they impact.”
More Than A Place to Convene
Beyond simply creating more office or event spaces, TSH’s revamp embodies a deepening commitment to supporting the changemakers and organisations driving social and environmental impact in Singapore and beyond.
“I find so much joy in helping different organisations further their causes,” Ruth says. “It’s all about catalysing positive change and broadening their outreach efforts, through TSH as a platform for partnerships,” she says.
Initiatives such as the Impact Makers and Impact Storytellers communities regularly bring changemakers through the doors of TSH, which is also home to the Temasek Trust Collective (TTC).
“When we meet partners, we consider not only what TSH can offer them, but also how to connect them to potential partners and opportunities across the wider ecosystem who can help them go further,” Ruth says.
The Let’s Celebrate event on 6 August 2026 gathered members of the TTC and Temasek, partners, as well as the community to mark TSH’s official reopening. The celebration included a commemorative light show, an interactive theatrical journey around TSH’s history, and a hands-on all-age craft activity.
“TSH is uniquely placed and each organisation in the Collective has a role to play,” Ruth says.
It was through a study trip to Europe two years ago that Ruth’s understanding of this was sharpened. At the ChangeNOW conference, she met with various foundations and philanthropic organisations who noted the breadth of TTC’s involvement across the philanthropic spectrum, going beyond traditional grantmaking with a focus on long-term financial sustainability, diverse impact areas, and engagement with both non-profits and social enterprises.
“It’s great that we can tap on our fellow colleagues to complement and enhance what TSH can offer,” Ruth adds. Through such interactions, the TTC brings together perspectives, expertise, and resources across sectors, contributing to its wider mission of building capacity for the impact sector.
Impact Can Start Small
Ruth believes that impact need not always be big and at a strategic level in order to be meaningful.
Sometimes, it can be as simple as one person leaving an event with a different mindset — be it seeing the planet through a fresh pair of eyes or resolving to be kinder.
“Change can be made even when one heart is touched,” Ruth reflects. “A lot of smaller organisations and ground-up groups do just that. Even if their events are attended by just a handful of people, I believe that their efforts create lasting impact.”
She has seen this through events organised by children, youths, and seniors at TSH. “Watching them come together to do something for the community is very meaningful,” says Ruth.
“I am inspired to see so many Singaporeans embracing an outward-looking mindset, and encouraged that the same neighbourly spirit continues to thrive in the next generation.”
A Place That Feels Like Home
There is perhaps a reason Ruth feels so naturally at home in this role.
Outside of work, she and her husband often host friends and even strangers for private dining experiences, where they cook up a feast for their guests.
A pop-up private dining experience that Ruth and her husband hosted at The Arts House Annex.
The setting may be different, but the instinct is familiar: welcoming people in and bringing them together to build connections around shared interests and causes.
At TSH, the work is often fast-paced and stressful. “Nonetheless, there is a deep sense of fulfilment and meaning in every interaction we have,” Ruth shares.
Such impact often only reveals itself over time: when experiences lead to returning participants, conversations turn into partnerships, and a single event births a community.
Sometimes, all it takes is giving people a place to meet.
Ruth's story is part of ‘People of Purpose’, a series spotlighting colleagues across the Temasek Trust Collective who are driving meaningful impact. Each story reflects the spirit of collective action and our shared journey toward inclusive, sustainable change.
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