P.A.R.K. Hero Award

This page is dedicated to individuals who have come forward to make a difference in the lives of others. They are people who shared the same philosophy as P.A.R.K. and individuals whom we can all look up to as our role models and inspirations in life.

List of Award* Winners:

1. Mr. Tan Choon Kiang - Singapore 'lunchtime hero' who skips lunch everyday to bring food to the needy. The 62-year-old engineering officer uses his lunch time to hand-deliver meal packets to households in Chai Chee estate with immobile residents (poor, elderly and disabled) and has done that without fail for over a year now. Tan’s greater hope is for Singaporeans to “step forward and do a little bit for these small communities”. Volunteering, he said, is “very meaningful”.

2. Mr. Chang Fook Tin - 82 years old Mr. Chang, and his wife, deliver up to 70 loaves of bread to poor and needy on a weekly basis. Coming from a poor family himself, he experienced acts of kindness as a student where he received free textbook and school fees paid off. Mr. Chang decides to pay the kindness forward by reaching out to the poor and needy by volunteering with 'Food from the Heart', to deliver breads to the needy families effortlessly, rain or shine.

3. Mr. Anthony Cymerys -  For more than 20 years, 82 years old Anthony, also known as Joe the Barber, cut hair alfresco in Hartford for the fee of a hug. A self-proclaimed volunteer addict, Cymerys has spent decades contributing to other notable causes as well. Since the 1980s, he has delivered food through Meals on Wheels, and taken day-old bread from supermarkets to senior homes and shelters. He also donates blood twice a month through the Red Cross and runs the blood drive at his church.

"I'm like the Salvation Army of Windsor," Cymerys said of his hometown. "God blesses me every day. This is the most rewarding thing I've ever done in my life."

4. Mr. Lee Jong-Rak - Lee Jong-rak is the creator of the Baby Box. His Baby Box is the first and only box in Korea that is for collecting abandoned babies who are physically or mentally handicapped or are just unwanted by their mothers. Hundreds of unwanted babies are abandoned on the side of the street in South Korea every year. Jong-Rak knew he needed to set up a way to save the lives of these precious babies. He built a drop box on the side of his home with a humble sign reading, “Place to leave babies.”

The inside of the box contains a thick towel covering the bottom, and lights and heating to keep the baby comfortable. A bell rings when someone puts a baby in the box, then Jong-rak, his wife, or staff associates come to immediately move the baby inside. His aim was to provide a life-giving alternative for desperate mothers in his city of Seoul.

* This award is virtual and created as a form of moral recognition to the recipients who shared the same philosophy as P.A.R.K. and have stepped forward to make a difference in the lives of others, through acts of random kindness. It is not tied to any monetary rewards nor is P.A.R.K affiliated to the recipients in any way.