Since 2017, Mark Yuen and his Team MDI have provided more than 10,000 free haircuts to seniors and lower-incomes families in Singapore. The name “Team MDI” is inspired by the hair salon where Mark first started his apprenticeship in hairdressing, which was called Mirror D’ International.  Hear how he went from climbing the corporate ladder to initiating this meaningful cause. 

Leaving a job in the finance industry to be a volunteer is a bold move. What prompted you to do so? 

Before I started Team MDI, I was in the wealth management industry, managing a team providing legacy and retirement planning services for my clients. You could say that my interactions with my clients over the years caused me to think more about palliative care and the needs of elderly folks during the evening years of their life. In 2012, I made the decision to leave the corporate sector to be a volunteer in palliative care services. I began to look for courses to upskill myself as I had always wanted to contribute back to our society through volunteering. 

There are many other ways to give back.  Why did you choose hairdressing?

I have been a grassroots volunteer over the past two decades and noticed that we tend to neglect the emotional needs of the vulnerable groups – their feelings of loneliness and anxiety. I wanted to create a platform where we could provide psychological support for the less privileged and I saw hairdressing as a means of doing so. A good haircut is not just about personal hygiene but can also lift spirits.  Many of our beneficiaries consider our volunteer hairdressers as their friends and often share their troubles and concerns with us during a haircut session. That was when I felt there was a need to make hairdressing services more accessible to the vulnerable groups in the community.