Group prefers volunteers to donate time, skill — not cash
SINGAPORE — Unlike most non-profit groups, which actively raise money to fund the work they do, Keeping Hope Alive does not accept any monetary donations from people.
In fact, the group’s founder Ms Fion Phua, 47, set a target in 2015 to not raise any money for the next decade.
Noting how donating money is now as convenient as dialing a number to donate to the President’s Star Charity show or making a few clicks on the computer to donate through crowdfunding portals, she said: “We are trying to (tell) people that doing good … does not cost you a single cent.”
It has also become a trend to simply donate money whenever someone is in need, added Ms Phua, who works as a club membership broker.
“But our way of doing charity is to encourage you to come forward to donate your time and skill,” she said. This could mean a manicurist helping to trim the toenails of the elderly or a hairdresser who can provide haircuts.
Every Sunday, about 50 to 60 volunteers from the group would visit the elderly living in one- and two-room rental flats. The help they provide include cleaning homes, and fixing and replacing home appliances.
When asked how she pays for the products used in the group’s cleaning activities, or helps the beneficiaries with their outstanding bills, Ms Phua said her volunteers find ways to work their way around the situation without having to raise funds.
For instance, to clean an elderly’s home, Ms Phua suggested that volunteers knock on neighbours’ doors to borrow detergent. Each volunteer can also chip in small amounts, such as 50 cents, to buy a bottle of detergent.
Other times, they also work with organisations such as the Community Development Councils, which will sponsor them tools such as paint and paint brushes to carry out their work.
If a needy elderly requires a hearing aid, Ms Phua said the volunteers can approach a retailer who sells such aids, explain the situation and ask if the retailer could sponsor the item.
Ms Phua said she had long avoided providing the needy with financial assistance even when she was volunteering about 10 years ago.
To help those who needed a job then, she and her fellow volunteers knocked on companies’ doors to ask if they have job vacancies.
However, when the beneficiaries have urgent outstanding bills to pay, her volunteers will eventually chip in to cover these bills, after first asking the relevant parties for a waiver of late fees or instalment payments, among other things.
For Ms Phua and her volunteers, it is all about providing direct assistance to those who need it.
“Whether you want to donate cash, or you want to donate your time or help … in whatever form of charity, give it directly to the beneficiary,” she said.
