Making space at Jaya One for PWP to assist poor single parents

Jaya One Mall is fast becoming a happening place in Petaling Jaya and yesterday it announced its plan to team up with Parents Without Partners Bhd (PWP) to assist poor single parents through various programmes planned for the year.

First off, it gave PWP’s social entrepreneurship arm Jumble Station (JS) a space in P1 of the new annexe called The School to run and manage a recycling centrer. This means that retailers in Jaya One, visitors and shoppers can now drop their donated items there and these items will then be given to single parents and their kids who need them while those not needed can be sold on site or at the Amcorp flea market on Sundays. The cash raised will be used to assist single parents in their hour of need.

Kicking off the event was a month long photo exhibition of 12 single parent families that are among the 50 hardcore poor being assisted by PWP out of the 250 families on its list currently. The photos taken by Azrul Abdullah are a testament to his incredible talent as a photographer capable of capturing images with enduring appeal.

The spontaneous, exuberant joy of being photographed as a family was wonderfully and artistically captured which brought smiles to the eyes of many a jaded viewer. These outsized coloured photos were printed for free by a very generous printer and the single parent concerned, can’t wait to have the photo take pride of place in their little low cost flats!

The launch of the collaboration between Jaya One and PWP went off very well with around 10 media personnel and invited guests turning up for the event which started at 3pm on Tuesday. CEO Charles gave a moving speech about how his lovely wife with all her perks  - maids, driver etc still says she’s stressed out, how much more difficult then will it be for single parents who are struggling daily on little to no finances and resources.

He adds that through the recycling centre at Jaya One, PWP should be able to have the exposure it needs to raise greater awareness of the plight of poor single parents and galvanise the public to bring and donate items that can generate the funds to bring about a change in the lifestyle of the poor single parents.

The cycling centre should be functional by April and his team hopes to feature various activities that will result in a heightened understanding of the difficulties that single parents and their children face daily. PWP on its part is delighted to have been chosen as a partner in this CSR programme for this very hip and happening place in the heart of Petaling Jaya. Where in Subang our partners were the low cost flat dwellers, now with Jaya One, we hope to rope in the middle and upper crust folks to collaborate with us to empower more single parents to lead better lives. 

DUMC Dream Cup golfers assist single mum Jaya

DUMC Golf team helps single mum

Single mum Jaya was doing her studies in fashion designing when her hubby abandoned her and their three kids leaving them all in the lurch. Her parents stepped in to help out but it could not be for long since that would deplete their hard earned savings for their own peaceful retirement plans.

Things got a bit better when she got herself a clerical job but last month, her world turned bleak when she was laid off by her boss who was unhappy that she wouldn’t stay past her working hours to do overtime for the company.

Jaya says that she can’t work longer hours because her two younger sons, twins – Elijah and Issac have to be taken home from the baby sitter’s house without undue delays and her eldest son Matthias need to be supervised in his homework as well.

Sad, depressed and totally stressed out, she was urged to contact PWP for assistance by DUMC’s Pastor Margaret. After some soul searching, she realized that she needed an income generating source that would allow her to earn her own living while still being able to spend time with her sons.

One possible solution is for her to find a shoplot near where she lives in Puchong, where she can run an op shop on her own, get her items for sale and supplies from JS and work at her own flexi time. JS on its part will help to equip the shop, pay for the two months rental deposit and provide guidance and mentoring for those early periods.

As if on cue, DUMC’s golf club organizer Issac turned up at JS that same afternoon to offer the full amount successfully collected from a fundraising golf tournament known as DUMC Dream Cup, by its male members to the tune of RM2,100. This will be the seed money for Jaya to start off her own second hand shop and hopefully help her to become more entrepreneurial in the process.

On behalf of this very happy and grateful single mum, PWP would like to say “:Thank you DUMC golfers and do keep the generosity ball rolling over the various gold courses indeed.