A SINGAPORE PRESS HOLDINGS WEBSITE
Singapore, September 6, 2010 Housewife Zhou Xing Yuan, 64, was Ann Chin Popiah Stall’s first customer of the day at 10am yesterday, snapping up 26 rolls of the spring roll for a good cause.
She left her East Coast home early to avoid a queue at the fundraising event organised by the Community Chest and the stall, with proceeds going to the elderly.
Madam Zhou proudly dropped $44 into a donation box set up at the stall at Chinatown Food Centre after placing her order, paying more than the $1.60 cost of each popiah.
She said: “This is the most I’ve ever bought here. I normally buy only six rolls.”
The stall’s owner, Mr Andy Tan, 26, said he would match the donations dollar-for-dollar as he wanted to reach out to old folk.
By 7pm when the event ended, he had sold 700 rolls of popiah and collected approximately $1,250.
Mr Tan matched the amount raised, bring- ing the total donation to about $2,500.
He came up with the idea after observing the lives of the elderly people around the Chinatown area.
He told my paper: “I seldom spent time with the elderly. But after I set up this stall, I started to talk to some of the older people. I listened to their experiences and felt empathy for some of them...so I decided to do something to give back to them.”
The hawker’s family has been in the popiah business for 50 years. And after revamping it in 2008, the entrepreneur decided to open branches in Ang Mo Kio, Lau Pa Sat, Sin Ming Road and along Sixth Avenue in Bukit Timah.
Mr Tan hopes his example will set a precedent for other donors.
He added: “I hope that more young people will spend time with their elderly relatives.”
The food centre was also abuzz with 20 elderly folk from the Asian Women’s Welfare Association, who were treated to free popiahs yesterday.
The director of the Community Chest, Ms Tan Bee Heong, said that she hoped more people would think of innovative ways to do their part for charity.
She said: “We hope that this is something people from all walks of life can emulate and help further develop other creative fundraising ideas.”
Mr Tan’s charity drive marked the first time a hawker has decided to donate a day’s sales proceeds to raise money for the charity, said the Community Chest.
