Charity bake sale leads to social initiative
When Mr Muzammil Mohamad first organised a charity bake sale for his friend's company, he thought it would be a one-off project.
But the positive response to the sale prompted the formation of a social initiative that is now raising funds to feed needy families during Ramadan.
For his first charity bake sale last year, Mr Muzammil gathered friends and food and beverage players as vendors to sell halal pastries to raise funds for charity.
When the sale received a great response, the 32-year-old civil servant was approached by an acquaintance, Ms Saleha Abdullah, 29, a warehouse coordinator, to form a social initiative.
The two started Halal Goods Do Good last year and have organised five food sales to raise funds for different charities, including some which have difficulties raising money because of their size or lack of experience.
These events have often required the duo to use their own money and can cost up to $2,000 per sale.
Mr Muzammil, who goes by the name Jamil, said: "We are a completely non-profit initiative, but we are also not a registered charity. We act as middlemen between charities and the public and help them raise funds."
Now, for their first pledge event in the spirit of Ramadan, the two have partnered local social enterprise GobblerShop to raise funds to provide bags of groceries to needy families.
GobblerShop sells groceries at discounted prices and helps the socially disadvantaged to find employment.
The bags of groceries will go to the beneficiaries of four charities - Free Food For All, Project Goodwill Aid, Hira Society, and For The People and Community.
The Halal Goods Do Good initiative will work off GobblerShop's e-commerce platform, where people can pledge and pay $25 for one bag of groceries, which will include all-halal products and essentials such as rice, oil, Milo drinks and soya bean milk. The retail value of each bag is around $45 and should last a week for a family of four or five people.
Ms Cheryl Mah, marketing manager of GobblerCo, the parent company of GobblerShop, said: "If money for more than 400 bags is raised, we are ready to curate new bags of groceries."
As of last Friday, the team had hit 270 out of its target of 400 bags. Those interested in pledging a bag can go to www.gobblershop.com for more details or visit the Halal Goods Do Good Facebook page at www.facebook.com/HalalGoodsDoGood.
The initiative is expected to end on Wednesday.
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