Stories
July 1, 2022
The K.C. Loo Fruit Centre, in the heart of Mt Eden Village, is a store with a lot of heart.
A popular meeting place for local residents, its doors have remained open since the late Kong Chew Loo and family first set up shop some 65 years ago. While the fruit shop has changed location several times over the years, it has never changed hands. K.C sadly passed away in 2016, but his legacy and love of his local community lives on through his loved ones.
Daughters Glennis and Marlene and grandson Brendan continue to run the store. In 2014, when Brendan, a 10-year-old student at the time, was fundraising for a Fiji orphanage, he struck upon an idea to achieve his goal.
By dedicating space in store for selling inexpensive items such as magazines and plants, Brendan’s goal was soon realised but the goal posts continued to shift. The family’s fundraising efforts are still going strong 18 years on. A third sister Lily and local Janice Cheeseman regularly donate plants and other items for sale.
“It takes us a little while,” Marlene says, “Most items only sell for a dollar or two.”
Yet every coin donated has helped the family raise an incredible $47,017 for charity up until the end of last month.
When grand mum Eileen, Kong Chew’s wife of 63 years, spotted the Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter on the telly (during an episode of First Responders) she instantly knew who would be the lucky recipient of fundraising proceeds in July.
While the Loo family have never had need of the rescue helicopter themselves, they understand how important the service is to their community especially when travelling to remote locations.
We applaud the Loo family’s fundraising efforts and their community’s incredible generosity over the years.
