Woman offers S$18,000 Hermès bag for NTUC vouchers for needy families

Another woman shows up with S$11,000 worth of vouchers, declines bag.

Belmont Lay | March 19, 2018, 04:27 PM

A woman in Singapore offered her Hermès Birkin bag in exchange for S$13,888 worth of NTUC vouchers, which she intended to spend on needy families.

In return, a kind donor answered the call to give by giving S$11,000 worth of vouchers -- and refused to accept the bag.

Door-to-door visits

The Hermès Birkin bag owner, Pan Fion, said her initiative announced on March 6 is part of helping low-income families in Singapore.

She has been going door-to-door every Sunday morning to visit them at one-room rental flats over the years.

Fion said she often brings the families to shop for groceries. This allows her to identify the immediate needs of the families and address them better.

She is the founder of Keeping Hope Alive, a community that helps underprivileged Singaporeans by visiting them, providing them with groceries, refurbishing their homes, and caring for the sick elderly living on their own

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Bag not meant as exchange

Asked why she put her bag up for vouchers, Fion said to Stomp: "It’s not strictly an exchange. Don’t be mistaken."

"I think we all want to do good, but sometimes there are people who can’t help feeling that they receive nothing even if they offer help to others."

“That’s why I’m giving the bag because I understand that it’s not easy. It’s because I want to reward the people who want to do good.”

She said the bag itself could bring about a lot more good to the families that need it.

She also revealed that the bag cost around S$18,000.