Would you donate your Covid-19 cash payout to the needy? Fundraiser challenges the privileged to do so

By now, you would have already received the $600 cash payout as part of the government’s Solidarity Budget to support Singaporean households in the midst of a worsening coronavirus outbreak that has impacted a lot of jobs and businesses nationwide. 

Hopefully, you haven’t lost it all by getting fined after breaching the circuit breaker safety measures. 

But if you did get the money wired in and count yourself among the proportion of Singaporeans who don’t urgently need it right now, perhaps spare a thought to those who actually do. 

An online fundraising campaign has invited the privileged portion of the population to consider donating their bonus cash to disproportionally affected groups, including migrant workers and the isolated seniors.

“There are migrant workers who have been terminated with no wage protection, still unpaid for recent work, who are now homeless. There are women and children who are suffering an escalation of domestic abuse and violence, who are now forced to stay in homes that were never safe for them,” the campaign’s description read.

“There are elderly who are feeling more isolated than ever, and families with their incomes disrupted who are struggling even more than usual to make ends meet.”

It’s a campaign spearheaded by Vice Asia content manager Sharon Shum, who launched the fundraiser on Give.Asia early Monday morning (April 13) to benefit five local charitable organisations that are undoubtedly working hard to assist marginalised groups who need all the help they can get at this time. 

"I got the idea from a flippant remark to my sisters after the [Solidarity Budget] announcement as I found it questionable that even people earning above $100k a year were going to get $600: 'What are they gonna do with that? Buy premium steaks to eat during [the circuit breaker period]?'" she shared with AsiaOne. 

It was after some reflection that the 30-year-old realised she had much to be thankful for even though she's not in that income bracket. “I still have a full-time job and salary, and I don't really need that money either, even though it would be nice,” she said. 

She had a nagging feeling that more could be done beyond just donating her cash payout. 

"I figured if I was gonna do my own research into what charities to give to, then I might as well share that knowledge since I think a lot of people who have the means don't donate as having to conduct due diligence into which organisations are reliable can be a deterrent," recalled Shum. 

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In the end, she narrowed down the likes of Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME), Hagar Singapore, Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE), Boy’s Town, and the Singapore Red Cross as the beneficiaries of the fundraising campaign. Her curated selection of charitable bodies would cover a wide spectrum of assistance through long-term solutions, financial assistance, supplies, shelter, and advocacy, among other things. 

The five organisations have since assured Shum that the funds raised from the campaign — reaching over $40,000 as of writing — will go directly towards their Covid-19-related initiatives. 

Though any amount of contributions are welcome, she challenged those in the high-income bracket (exceeding $100,000 a year) to donate the full $600 of their payout to the causes.

"I also did this back-of-the-envelope calculation one night. If there are 114k 'top 10 per cent' households in Singapore, each with a monthly average household income from work of $13.7k — even if just 1 person from each of those households donated the full $600 (because they can clearly afford to) that's already $68.4 million," Shum remarked. 

Since the launch of the campaign, there have been more than 280 donors who’ve chipped in — several of whom have donated their entire Covid-19 cash payout amount to the campaign. The messages they’ve left on the page have been just as heartening as well.

“I started this so I have to put my money where my mouth is,” Shum said of her own contribution. “I’m lucky enough to still have a full-time job at the moment so this is the least I can do.”

Last week, local social media influencer Preeti Nair (better known as Preetipls) held her own crowdfunding campaign for the country’s migrant workers, raising over $262,000 for two charitable organisations that are assisting them. 

For the latest updates on the coronavirus, visit here.

ilyas@asiaone.com