The “circuit breaker” has disrupted daily lives, but parents with children born between April and May are faced with an added dilemma – how do you celebrate your child’s birthday?
One Singaporean mum of three decided that the best way to celebrate her daughter’s second birthday was to give her the gift of giving back.
So Ms Juwel Nyla Ang created Amelia’s Rainbow Fund, a charity initiative named after her daughter, to raise money for the purchasing, packing and distributing of care kits to low-income families with children.
The fund was launched on 9 April, and over the course of just nine days, a total of S$29,415.99 was raised. “I honestly didn’t expect such an overwhelming response. Especially during this time when many people’s incomes have also been affected,” Ms Ang, who owns e-commerce retail site No Skin Attached, said.
With the amount raised, Ms Ang put together care kits consisting of anti-bacteria body wash, anti-bacteria wipes, board games, children’s colouring kits, S$100 worth of NTUC vouchers, as well as essential food items such as rice, instant noodles and biscuits.
With the help of volunteers, the care kits were then distributed to a total of 150 low-income families with children in the Bukit Merah and lower Henderson areas.
To identify these families, she worked together with Beyond Social Services, a charity helping children and youths from less privileged backgrounds break away from the poverty cycle.
Her desire to give back to low-income families with children in particular stemmed from her own experience as a mum herself. With three toddlers at home, she could empathise with the difficulties other families might be facing.
As only S$28,000 out of the total amount raised was used to purchase the care kits, the excess funds were donated to two charities – It’s Raining Raincoats and Foodbank SG.
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Source: Channel NewsAsia, 30 April 2020