SDS found right match for 80,000 After 14 years of matching singles, the Social Development Service is set to hit 88,000 early in the new millennium By GRACE MA ONE man asked to be matched with a divorcee because he wanted a mature partner. Some have asked for partners born in certain years of the Chinese horoscope. In its 14 years of matching singles, the Social Development Service (SDS) has seen and heard it all. This year, the number of members who tied the knot crossed the 80,000 threshold. And with an average of 7,000 to 8,000 members getting married each year, it looks set to hit the auspicious number for prosperity, 88,000, early in the new millennium. SDS was set up by the People's Association in 1985. From a modest 2,747 members in 1986, it celebrated its 14th anniversary on Friday, with a membership of about 87,000 members. SDS chief Irene Chia, 31, believes that its success in matching people stems from its ability to meet the different needs of its single members. She said: "We have a team of fun-loving staff who conduct ice-breakers and follow-ups for members to maximise their interaction." Miss Vivien Tan, a 25-year-old legal secretary, agrees. She said: "The organisers are really good at getting us to interact during these activities. It can be difficult if you go alone and don't know anybody there." She has been with SDS for four years and is still enjoying herself at its activities. Although SDS' objective is to create opportunities for non-graduate singles -- who are between 20 and 40 years old -- to meet and pair off, Mrs Chia said: "We want people to treat us more as a networking hub than a place to find a spouse. "We want to show that SDS is a fun place to come and socialise." It organises about 1,300 activities a year for people to meet and mingle. They might be crooning sessions at karaoke lounges, or hill trekking in Malaysia for the adventurous, for example. For a mere $2.50, members can have a 1-1/2-hour workout at a gym while $1,500 buys a trip to the United States, with travel insurance included. Those too busy for such events can turn to personalised services such as the Computer Matching Service and Dial-A-Friend. The former matches members based on a certain criteria like age, height and income, while the latter allows members to leave telephone messages for the person they are interested in. Now, even the members themselves organise their own get-togethers with their newfound friends. While fewer people now view SDS as a place for the Single, Desperate and Sad, members like businessman Bryan Chiang, 30, are still hesitant about "declaring" their membership. "There's still a negative image of joining matchmaking agencies so I tell only my close friends," he explained. Stigma or not, SDS enrols about 5,000 new members a year. Many use it to expand their social network and are unruffled by snide remarks. As Miss Tan put it: "Most people think we're here mainly to find a partner, but I'm here to make friends. "It is a good place to meet a lot of people, and definitely better than sitting at home doing nothing."