At a time when he could have been plying the streets in search of more passengers, 62-year-old cabby Ang Kim Thye would be using his taxi to voluntarily deliver meals to the less-fortunate, or provide emergency taxi rides for NorthLight School students.
And in his latest act of helping others, Mr Ang, chairman of CabbyCare, ComfortDelGro’s charity group, today (June 18) shaved his head bald in support of children cancer patients, the second time he has done so.
This year marks the second time that CabbyCare — comprising 150 ComfortDelGro cabbies — is supporting Hair for Hope, an annual fundraising event for the Children’s Cancer Foundation (CCF).
At today’s event, 61 cabbies — 10 of whom were walk-ins — willingly shaved their locks to support the CCF. This year, CabbyCare will make a S$20,000 donation, which will be matched by another S$20,000 from ComfortDelGro. The total amount donated for the foundation is S$30,000 more than last year.
Mr Ang said: “This (initiative) is very meaningful as the children are innocent and they definitely need our support. We should continue this every year to allow them to feel a sense of support … We shouldn’t let this be a one-time event.”
Another taxi driver who shaved his head, 64-year-old Chng Meng Hoe, added: “I hope (the children) have a speedy recovery, and that we will give them the support to assimilate back to a normal childhood.”
Cabbie Kanapathy Shunmugam, 63, added that he was glad to be able to do his part to offer some financial support to the children cancer patients.
Like Mr Ang, the other two men also use their taxis to do volunteer work. Although ComfortDelgro reimburses the cabbies for the trips they make to transport food to low-income families or ferry the handicapped on return trips, the three men chose to donate the money they receive to CabbyCare to support the CCF.
Mr Ang said: “By doing this, we can spread the message to tell everyone that children with cancer need our support. We need to give them the faith they need (to carry on).”
Source: TODAY