An 80-Year-Old Donates 600 Snack Packages to Children by Selling Scrap Materials

Regretting Not Being Able to Care for Their Own Child, Donates
"Hoping for a Beautiful World Where Children Smile"

A heartwarming story has emerged about an elderly person in their 80s who donated snack packages for Children's Day despite difficult circumstances.

Volunteers packing snack packages to donate to a daycare center.
[Image source provided by Tongjangdan, Chungjang-dong, Dong-gu, Gwangju]

On the 7th, Gwangju Dong-gu and Yonhap News reported that Mr. A, in his 80s, who requested to keep his identity confidential, donated 600 snack packages to 11 daycare centers on the 2nd, just before the Children's Day holiday. These packages were filled with snacks that children would enjoy, such as jelly, fruit, cookies, and bread. Although Mr. A's living conditions were so poor that he qualified as an emergency housing welfare recipient, he collected cans and scrap metal at night and worked as a delivery person at the market during the day, using the money he earned to prepare the snack packages.

It is said that Mr. A began donating snacks last year with the hope of "a beautiful world where children smile." This act started from his regret and remorse for not being able to properly care for his own children due to complicated family circumstances in the past. Reflecting this sentiment, each snack in the donation package was prepared with great care. When buying fruit, he repeatedly asked sellers to select high-quality items, and he agonized over choosing cookies for more than two weeks. While delivering the snacks, he happened to meet a parent who was a fruit seller, and his unseen dedication became known to others.

Because the amount donated increased compared to last year, Mr. A asked the neighborhood association, who had shown interest and approached him regularly, for help with delivery. Upon hearing his story, the neighborhood association actively decided to assist, gathering about 20 volunteers to help package and deliver the 600 snack packages. Lee Yang-seop, head of the neighborhood association in Chungjang-dong, Dong-gu, Gwangju, said, "Despite living in hardship without even qualifying for basic living subsidies due to family circumstances, the donor’s wish to see children smile has written a beautiful May fairy tale."