Residents of St Nicholas Home for the Blind with donated cookies. — CHAN BOON KAI/The Star
This Christmas, residents of The Salvation Army Penang Children’s Home experienced unexpected joy as many of their heartfelt wishes were granted.
Home manager Becky Lurence expressed gratitude for the generous donations of pillows, blankets and bedsheets from Rotary Club of George Town.
The Rotary Club also treated the 18 children to a shopping trip at a local supermarket, where they chose new clothing.
Additionally, the public has been generously dropping off groceries and food at the premises on Logan Road, George Town.
“We are grateful to the generous donors for their support this festive season.
“The children have had wonderful opportunities to go out.
“Some hotels in Penang gave them the chance to showcase their singing talents by performing Christmas carols for guests.
“It has been a truly enjoyable experience,” Lurence said.
She hoped for continued support, particularly in acquiring new wardrobes for the children to store their belongings, as the ones they currently had were in poor condition.
“We also hope more people will volunteer their time to help tutor the children, as academic support remains our biggest challenge,” she added.
StarMetro previously reported that Salvation Army Penang Children’s Home and St Nicholas Home for the Blind were seeking charitable support.
St Nicholas Home general manager Carmen Chew said the home, which accommodates 90 residents, had received RM200,000 of the RM500,000 needed for its expenses.
“The public has been generous, and donations are coming in to fund part of this month’s expenses.
“We need RM250,000 a month to operate, and we’re still facing a deficit as the year ends.
“We hope to raise another RM300,000 to ensure we can pay all our staff members by year-end,” she said.
Chew expressed a desire to enter the new year without financial worries.
“We welcome donations in cash or for people to buy our pineapple jam tarts for Chinese New Year.
“Rations are also appreciated, but we hope they are halal, as we are a multi-racial organisation.
“People can also support us by visiting our wellness centre,” she said.
Due to financial constraints, the home has had to reduce essential activities, relying on savings to stay afloat.
Chew noted that the home offered its services for free and depended heavily on public donations to continue operating. — By N. TRISHA
