“The love from the public has been stolen” — Donations for orphanages abroad stolen from Potong Pasir thrift store

SINGAPORE — Five bags of items meant to be donated to overseas orphanages were stolen from outside a thrift store in Potong Pasir.

On Friday morning (Jan 6), volunteer Ms Zheng Lijin discovered that the five bags she left outside the store at about 3 am were gone. The items were brand new: clothes, toys and cups worth about S$600. Ms Zheng took a photo of the bags before leaving the premises.

“The love from the public has been stolen,” she told Chinese language newspaper Shin Min Daily News. Hopefully, the CCTV cameras outside the store could assist in confirming what happened. A police report was made on the incident, and investigations are ongoing.

Thomas Wee runs St Isidore Centre, a thrift shop at Blk 120 Potong Pasir Avenue 1. St Isidore Centre is a non-profit organisation helping orphanages in the Philippines and Indonesia.

He accepts donations of pre-loved items such as clothes, toys, bags, books, household goods, and electrical appliances. The donations are shipped and sold overseas to raise funds for children.

St Isidore Centre accepts donations from the public during store hours, sending thrift boxes every Tuesday. People can also leave items outside the store when it’s closed.

Uncle Thomas also told Shin Min Daily News that since a year ago, donations have gone missing when left outside after the store is closed. On one occasion, he saw three women rummaging through the bags.

Although he had told them previously that they could just ask for items they needed, the women said they didn’t want any charity.

He encouraged the public to leave donations when the store was open to avoid such incidents.

Uncle Thomas is the founder of Willing Hearts Orphanage in the Philippines and sends necessities to the community monthly.

“He was curious about who he was helping and decided to head to the village personally. The housing condition he had witnessed there had spurred him to help them alleviate the current situation. To do so, Wee sold his properties to set up the Willing Hearts Orphanage in Bulacan with Maria Teresa, his former employee, housing 38 boys and girls aged from four to 12 years old,” notes St Isidore Centre on its website.

Those interested in donating to the organisation can do so through the following link. Individuals can attend cooking classes headed by Uncle Thomas. He is also a chef and enjoys a private dining experience featuring his menu. Proceeds will go directly to St Isidore Centre.

Members of the public can also purchase delicacies or items through the organisation’s physical and Carousell stores.

Other avenues for helping include sponsoring the cost of sea freight for shipping thrift boxes or paying for a child’s school fees. /TISG

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