SINGAPORE: For many, festive seasons like Christmas and the upcoming Chinese New Year celebrations are a time for spring cleaning and getting rid of unwanted belongings.
As a result, some local organisations said they have seen a substantial jump in donations of secondhand items.
Other charities like the Boys’ Brigade in Singapore, however, said they face some challenges.
It told CNA that it has met just about half of its target for donations this year.
“We have enough rice … and instant noodles, but what we’re short of are things like beverages, halal canned food, biscuits and cookies. So if we can have more of these donations, that would be helpful to us,” said Mr Desmond Koh, executive director of Boys’ Brigade Singapore.
For this festive season, its volunteers, including students involved in the uniformed group, have prepared hampers that will go to 51,185 beneficiaries this year – the highest number that it has served.
However, the charity does not have enough volunteers who can drive to deliver the hampers, which comprise items like rice, canned food and biscuits.
This spurred it to come up with a new strategy to make it more convenient for volunteers: On-foot delivery.
