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Kind hearted Malaysians chip in to assist

Within three days of our posting about the plight of Joy Garden old folks home last month to Caring Soul 's circle of friends, many have responded with various offers of assistance. Some made donations directly to the home while others started delivering various grocery items to them.

A warm hearted neighbour who sits in the committee of a residents association took the trouble to encourage the use of its charity fund to helping this home. Hence, Caring Soul founding couple was tasked with delivering a whole car load of grocery items to Joy Garden in Semenyih today.

The leader of the charity drive of Jade Hills Resident Association , a kind hearted gentleman by the name of Puru loaded a host of items ranging from a variety of fruits to household groceries to my car yesterday afternoon.

My residents association with generous donations from almost the entire neighbourhood has embarked on five charity drives , delivering free groceries to more than 500 families so far. Thanks to their contribution today, Joy Garden Old Folks Home will be well plenished with food for the next few weeks.

Many other friends also donated whole chicken and fresh meat to the home. Even our regular chicken supplier decided to chip in, offering to deliver some free fresh chickens to the home when the boss heard we are buying the chicken for charity purposes.

It is heartening to note that there are still so many kind hearted souls who are willing to lend a helping hand to the needy in spite of the hard times that most of us are facing during this MCO ( Movement Control Order ) period. Under the umbrella of Caring Soul, we will continue with our mission to help alleviate some of the problems charity homes are facing.

Meanwhile, we take this opportunity to thank our circle of friends who went out of the way to help the needy ( not necessarily this old folks home ) one way or another. Let us remember that it is during such tiring times that the less unfortunate need help the most.

No matter how small our contribution is, it is the thought that counts. The famous story below reminds us of this :-

“ One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean. Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?”

The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”

“Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference!” After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf.

Then, smiling at the man, he said…..“I made a difference for that one.”

Like the story, your good deeds no matter how small, will surely make a difference for the less fortunate.

Caring Soul's message on the pandemic

Dear friends,

As with almost everyone, charity homes were hard hit with the Covid 19 pandemic plaguing the country. Compounded by the economy that threatens the livelihoods of many households, it becomes abundantly clear that contributions in cash and kinds to these homes have declined significantly.

Another main inconvenience during the various MCOs ( Movement Control Orders ) was also the unkempt hair of those residing in these homes. Caring Soul, with its core activity of providing free hair cut over the past 10 years to a number of charity homes had been receiving numerous calls for this service but unfortunately we were unable to do so for obvious reasons.

Even after the relaxation of the MCOs, we still continue to decline appeals for haircuts simply because Caring Soul must exercise care and responsibility to the well being of its volunteers. This is embedded in one of the 10 statements of Caring Soul's caring philosophy. While carrying out the spirit of care to the less fortunate, Caring Soul also believes that we must go about our activities in a smart and responsible manner.

We often advise our volunteers to be mindful that our helpfulness to others but must not be at the expense of the well being of ourselves nor our families. This again is embedded in the second statement of Caring Soul's Caring Philosophy.

In the light of this, we have regretfully declined the appeal of charity homes for hair cut until such time when the pandemic is seen as safe for the volunteers to venture out. Of course, if an individual volunteer wants to do it on her own free will, we will not prevent it but advise them to exercise special caution.

Now that we will be temporarily suspending hair cut services to the homes for a considerable period of time, we will help out the homes in other ways, more specifically through donations in cash or kind as this is the best way to contribute without exposing ourselves to the dangers of the virus nor unintentionally spreading it to the homes.

As Caring Soul subscribed to the philosophy of non solicitations of funds, the founders will be making financial donations to selected homes on a personal basis.

We will keep you updated once Caring Soul volunteers are able to resume its usual activities under a safer environment.

With warm regards. Take care and stay safe.

Appreciation night for Caring Soul volunteers

Hand wash and hand sanitizers came at a most appropriate time as door gifts for some 50 Caring Soul volunteers and their family members at Caring Soul's get together on 15th February 2020.

The event, held once every two years, was to honour and appreciate the volunteers for taking time off from their schedule to consistently provide care and services to various charity homes over the years. It was also to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Caring Soul since it was founded in 2010 following the retirement of its founders.

A total of 54 Caring Soul volunteers and their family members attended the get-together which started at 7 pm.

There was free flow of food and wine, the food being specially handpicked from various popular food outlets and some dishes done with the personal touch of the founder.

Because all of Caring Soul's activities were personally funded by the founders using their retirement savings, the get-together was held at the couple's home rather than at an outside restaurant. It is believed that every cost saving derived from any lavish spending can be better utilised for the needy.

The highlight of the event was the lucky draw, with 11 hampers and 20 gifts contributed by friends, ex- colleagues and past business associates who were quick and kind enough to answer to the founders' appeal to make the event a memorable one for Caring Soul volunteers.

After all, the volunteers have dedicated their time for the past years to bring cheers to the less fortunate.

With no expectations of anything in return, the volunteers would spend time with old folks, orphans and handicapped children at various charity homes, providing them with free hair cut and many a time, cook for them. Some even went the extra mile of cutting the finger nails and toe nails of some elderly as a number of them were unable to do that themselves.

To friends, ex colleagues and past business associates who contributed the gifts and hampers, once again thank you so much for your support in showing your appreciation to Caring Soul volunteers. To the rest, I am sure your kind thoughts meant more to them than the gifts and hampers.

The strong attendance at the get-together is truly a reflection of the volunteers' commitment to charity work .

Caring Soul volunteers at charity bazaar

More than 10 Caring Soul volunteers took part in a charity fund raising carnival held at a school hall in Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur today. The carnival was organised by Rumah Victory to raise funds for its old folks home located in Jalan Puchong.

Before the start of the carnival, Caring Soul members went about looking for sponsors to donate items to be sold at the eight stalls allocated. They managed to obtain items ranging from Chinese New Year T-shirts, buns, badminton rackets, clothings, socks to a variety of home cook food. The founder even donated its collection of books to be sold at the bazaar.

At the end of the carnival, Caring Soul was presented with a certificate of appreciation from Rumah Victory. Volunteers also had a fun time selling the items and interacting with the crowd which came in droves to buy coupons to purchase various items from close to 70 stalls. It was also a time when Caring Soul members took the opportunity to get to know each other better.

Caring hands from Caring Soul's volunteers

A picture tells a thousand words. This is what caring is about. The facial expression of the two Caring Soul's volunteers and their careful handling of elderly folks at a charity home is a reflection of their compassion for the needy.

Caring Soul members are also trained to be mindful of rendering assistance to the needy with care and love without robbing them of their dignity and self esteem.

Caring Soul volunteers visit orphanage in Petaling Jaya

Caring Soul volunteers extended their free hair cutting services to an orphanage in Petaling Jaya on Aug 15, 2013. In fact, such activities at this orphans home had been going on for the past few years but not recorded in this webpage because the photographer was not always available.

Caring Soul had also been offering such services to another orphanage in Semenyih and a recycle centre in Jalan Puchong.

The orphans in this home used to get some "style" from the hair cutting session but this time all of them must go "botak" as instructed by the home care taker as she has been receiving complaints from the school authorities.

Some 40 children were given free hair cut on that day.

Old folks get to taste home cooked bak kut teh

Some 30 residents of a home in Semenyih had a taste of home cooked bak kut teh when Caring Soul volunteers went on their routine rounds to provide free hair cuts for them on June 30, 2013.

After having tasted chicken rice from the hands of the volunteers on numerous occasions, a resident on behalf of the rest, had requested for bak kut teh.

After their routine hair cut, Caring Soul volunteers headed for the home's kitchen. The residents were eventually treated to a sumptuous meal.

Caring Soul volunteers also assisted some of the older folks in cutting their finger and toe nails. In one of the photo, you will also see how one resident handed a bowl of food to another blind inmate in a show of care and compassion.

Caring Soul volunteers learn hair styling skills

It has been many years since Caring Soul volunteers have been providing free hair cuts to some selected old folks homes and orphanages.

With this in mind, volunteers enhance their hair cutting skills by taking some lessons from a professional hair stylists in June 2013.

With more skills, Caring Soul volunteers will be able to meet the requests of the younger generation at the orphanages.

Caring Soul organises contractors to donate services to handicapped home

During the first quarter of 2013, Caring Soul organised two contractors to provide their services for free to a handicapped home located in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.

The home was building a new wing to house a large hall that can accommodate music and art lessons for the children to enhance their learning skills.

A Caring Soul volunteer has been making regular visits to the home to help with the physiotherapy of the children since 2008. In 2012, she heard that the original contractor who was building the new wing absconded after collecting his payment.

Caring Soul then stepped in and organised an electrical contractor to provide free electrical wiring services to the new wing as well as provided ceiling fans and lights. Another contractor was later roped in to provide free installation and piping to the air conditioning units.

All in all, Caring Soul managed to save the home close to RM 20,000. Caring Soul would like to record its utmost thanks to Powerlite Sdn Bhd for providing the free electrical wiring services, ceiling fans and lights. A word of thanks also goes to Cooltron Sdn Bhd for its free services in the installation and piping of the air conditioners.

Caring Soul volunteers don new uniform

As the number of Caring Soul volunteers grew, there is a need to have some conformity. It is with this in mind that Caring Soul uniforms were created for its volunteers a few months ago.

Apart from giving the volunteers a sense of ownership, the uniforms also help to create more awareness of the organisation's voluntary work. In fact, as the volunteers gather for lunch after each voluntary work, they were sometimes approached by some people enquiring what Caring Soul is about, giving volunteers the opportunity to explain the objectives behind the organisation.

On September 12, 2012, seven volunteers donning Caring Soul new uniform performed three voluntary services in one single morning and afternoon at the Joy Garden in Semenyih. Free haircuts for the residents were followed by the cooking of chicken rices and later distribution of some goodies.

Although chicken rice is fast becoming a common affair to the residents, they still enjoyed themselves thoroughly in each and every meal prepared for them. The most memorable moments during such gatherings are often the interaction between the residents and Caring Soul volunteers. We are always ready to lend a listening ear to the amazing stories that are attached to each resident.

From this occasion, one can see the smiles and joy that Caring Soul volunteers brought to the residents. From time to time, contribution of goodies from some volunteers add spice to the event and brought more cheers to the residents.

Caring Soul continues to adhere to its principle of not accepting any form of cash donation. Anyone who is interested to do so are requested to deal direct with the home concerned.