PUBLISHED ONMarch 05, 2024 8:15 AMByClaudia TanA Singaporean man has recently decided to give away his tickets to the highly coveted Eras Tour— and do a good deed at the same time.
Leon Qiu took to TikTok last Saturday (March 2) to announce that he was giving away a pair of VIP 1 tickets to Taylor Swift's concert on March 8.
"This is not scam, I'm really a human being living in Singapore with a dog, and wife and a kid," he jested in his video.
@thatleonqiu TAYLOR SWIFT ERA TOUR GIVEAWAY 1 Pair of VIP 1 ROW 12 Step 1: go to https://www.giving.sg/donate/campaign/this-is-me-trying-to-help-a-child-at-street-11 and make a donation, of any amount! Be generous! Take a sceenshot of your donation. Step 2: Save this post and leave a comment that you have donated and who you would like to bring if you win! Be as creative , as persuasive as possible. Send me a screen shot of your comment and your donation reciept to me. i will acknowledge it! Step 3: The winner will be annouced on 7th March 10pm! This campaign closes on 7th March at 6pm. #taylornation #taylorswifterastour #trending #sgtiktok #taylorswiftgiveaway #singapore @Mothership @The Straits Times @TheSmartLocal ♬ original sound - Leon Qiu
Explaining the giveaway mechanics in his video, Qiu said that participants simply need to make a donation of any amount to Child at Street 11, a non-profit organisation which provides after school care to children from low-income families.
The donations should be made through Qiu's campaign page on Giving.sg, a donation platform backed by the Ministry of Culture, Community & Youth for registered charities in Singapore.
After making their donations, participants have to send a screenshot of the donation receipt to Qiu, and explain why they want the tickets.
Participants have until 6pm on March 7 to make their donations and send in their entries to Qiu.
The winner will be announced at 10pm on the same day.
Speaking to AsiaOne on Tuesday, the 37-year-old who recently completed his PhD said he initially bought the concert tickets out of curiosity.
He purchased four VIP 1 tickets on July 5, 2023, and paid a total of $4,992.
"But as the date drew nearer, my wife and I realised we couldn't bear to go, given that we don't know most of the songs. We also thought that the screaming fans would be too overwhelming for us."
He later gave two tickets to his wife's friends.
Although Qiu had thought about selling the tickets and donating the proceeds to charity, he only received verbal offers for the cost price of the tickets.
"Since we were okay with missing the concert, and we were giving the tickets away to people who really wanted to go, I felt it would be nice if we could raise awareness for a charity that is close to our hearts."
With his campaign, Qiu hopes to raise $10,000 for the organisation.
"It costs $8,640 a year to sponsor one kid, so I decided to raise that amount and a little more since the campaign period is so short," he told AsiaOne.
He added that he regularly donates to Child at Street 11, and has also worked closely with the donation platform for his recent PhD dissertation.
Besides blessing a Swiftie and helping out a good cause, Qiu also felt that the giveaway was a "teachable lesson" for his eight-year-old son.
"We want to teach him and have him remember that there are children out there who live vastly different lives from him, and what he is accustomed is sometimes considered a rare opportunity for another family," he said.
Qiu also quipped that he was contemplating bringing his son to watch the concert from 'Cat100' — right outside the National Stadium.
At the time of writing, Qiu told AsiaOne he's received 77 entries for the giveaway.
The campaign has since raised about $6,900.
Qiu shared that some of the more poignant responses he's received include an entry from someone who recently suffered the loss of a loved one, as well as another from a person suffering from terminal illness.
When asked how he'll pick the winning comment, Qiu replied: "The most persuasive comment will be picked, but based on what I've received so far, everyone participating is really deserving.
"It'll be a difficult choice," he said.
Speaking to AsiaOne on Tuesday, Barbara Lee, the CEO of Child at Street 11 said that the initiative came from Qiu himself.
"We're very touched as this fund will go a long way in providing better quality education for the children.
"It also helps us to get more assistance for some of our special needs children," she said.
The money will mainly be channelled towards the fees for classes, as well as to buy food for the children under their care.
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claudiatan@asiaone.com