Community Comes Together To Support Philadelphia Couple Battling Cancers

A Philadelphia mates battling wellness issues had to adjacent their concern temporarily. While they were struggling some financially and mentally, to their surprise, their customers and assemblage stepped successful with lukewarm hearts and turned a merciless calamity into a merciful story.

Since 2001, Andre Chin and Amanda Eap, immigrants from Cambodia, person owned Artisan Boulanger Patissier, a bakery successful South Philadelphia. They person 2 sons, some studying astatine Temple University successful Philadelphia.

The bakery Artisan Boulangerie Patissier, owned by Andre Chin and Amanda Eap, successful South Philadelphia, Pa., connected Nov. 1, 2021. (William Huang/The Epoch Times)

Their blessed and peaceful beingness derailed abruptly aft some were diagnosed with cancer.

Andre was diagnosed with prostate crab 5 years ago. After treatment, helium was cancer-free for astir 4 years, but it returned recently. Amanda was diagnosed with bosom crab successful July 2021 and had country successful September. So, they had to unopen down their bakery, astatine slightest for the clip being.

“I felt shocked. I felt similar I couldn’t accidental anything. I was crying. I didn’t cognize what I could do,” Amanda told The Epoch Times astir however desperately she felt astatine the time.

When the mates needed assistance the most, their customers and friends stepped in. Besides providing comfortableness and encouragement, they reached retired successful galore ways to assistance the mates get done their hardship, according to Amanda.

Daniel Weber, 1 of the couple’s friends, has organized a GoFundMe campaign, which has raised much than $100,000.

The neighbors adjacent the couple’s bakery bring meal to them each night.

The landlord for their bakery waived the rent until “the time I commencement to unfastened again,” said Amanda. “She helped maine a lot. That has made maine get done a batch and released my accent a lot.”

Rachel Klein, the proprietor of Miss Rachel’s Pantry successful South Philadelphia, hosted a fundraising cocktail enactment connected Nov. 1 to assistance the couple. It had unrecorded music, nutrient from Conscious Culture, Rowhouse Grocery, Farm Art Products, and raffles. There were much than 70 radical who purchased tickets astatine $75 each, according to the organizer.

Cocktail fundraiser enactment for Andre and Amanda is held astatine Miss Rachel’s Pantry successful South Philadelphia, Pa., connected Nov. 1, 2021. (Frank Liang/The Epoch Times)

“I americium amazed truthful galore radical showed up today,” Amanda told The Epoch Times astatine the fundraising cocktail party. “I ne'er thought a batch of radical emotion america that much.”

Amanda whitethorn beryllium amazed to spot that truthful galore radical emotion them, but her customers are not.

“Everybody loves Amanda and Andre due to the fact that they’re specified bully radical too being fantabulous bakers,” said Leonard Guercio, a retired manager from Temple University’s Digital Cinema Lab and a person to the mates for 15 years.

“When you spell into their bakery, you consciousness precise welcome. It’s truly similar you consciousness astatine home. You consciousness similar you’re among friends. And past erstwhile you devour their delicious food, you consciousness like, oh, I’m successful heaven,” Guercio told The Epoch Times. “So that’s wherefore I deliberation radical emotion them truthful overmuch due to the fact that they emotion people. They’re precise affable and welcoming people. They’re the benignant that you’re arrogant to accidental to different radical ‘these are my friends.’”

Screenshot of Rachel Klein, organizer of the cocktail fundraiser enactment and proprietor of Miss Rachel’s Pantry successful South Philadelphia, Pa., connected Nov. 1, 2021. (Screenshot via NTD)

Klein echoed the aforesaid appreciation. She told The Epoch Times: “Andrea and Amanda enactment truthful hard. If you’ve ever been successful the bakery, you tin spot them moving each azygous day, moving their butts off. And they’re conscionable wonderful, dedicated people.”

As for the thought to big a payment cocktail party, “I conscionable thought we should assistance our tiny community,” said Klein. “I thought that we should enactment hard for the mates due to the fact that they enactment hard to marque the vicinity blessed and marque bully things for everybody to have.”

The community’s kindness changed Nicholas Chin’s sentiment astir people. He is the couple’s older lad who is studying pharmacy astatine Temple University.

“I americium realistic with a batch of things. But I conjecture this is 1 immense happening that changed my sentiment astir radical a lot,” Nicholas told The Epoch Times.

“A batch of the enactment from the neighbors and the customers helped a lot,” Nicholas said. He utilized to deliberation they ne'er truly cared astir his parents, but it was “surprising.”

“I’ve been conscionable trying to bash a batch of assemblage service. Because radical helped my parents out, I consciousness similar I should besides assistance radical retired successful general,” Nicholas continued.

Amanda felt assured that their household would get done the ordeal and beryllium backmost connected way again with truthful overmuch enactment from customers and the community.

“We volition unfastened it again and program to invitation each the friends and radical supporting america to devour astatine my pastry for escaped for a mates of days,” Amanda told The Epoch Times. “I already made the program for that erstwhile I get well.”

“I privation to bash that. We privation to springiness back,” said Amanda.