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October 11, 2016

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Home » City specials » Hangzhou

Charity work put on a professional footing

WHEN Hangzhou-based documentary director Su Jiaming established a charity foundation that raised funds for a couple who have adopted around 40 abandoned disabled children, he insisted on a zero-management-fee structure.

But he doesn’t necessarily believe that people should assume that all charity work is the responsibility of the rich and should be done for free.

“That is not correct,” said the 27-year-old Su.

He is involved now in the Yiqiao Fellows program, which aims to train young Chinese people as future pioneers of nongovernmental charity work. It was started by several young Chinese experienced in the public welfare field. Three of them, in fact, were selected as fellows of Harvard Seeds for Innovation.

Yiqiao Fellows commenced in August. It functions much like a scholarship program for young people interested in charity work, offering financial aid, organizing camps and recruiting trainers.

“I want to break down the barrier between charity and business in this country by training those with business skills and offering them management positions at NGOs,” said Huang Mengsi, a Harvard Seeds fellow who is one of chief organizers of Yiqiao Fellows. “The healthy way to run a nongovernmental organization is to operate it like a business, but many Chinese people misunderstood that.”

The fellows work in different NGOs.

One of them is 25-year-old An Lunjie, who quit his job as a strategy consultant and entered One Foundation, one of China’s largest NGOs, which cooperates with Yiqiao.

The young man has participated in several public-interest programs in US and China, and is the founder of the nonprofit ABC Strategy Consulting Agency that serves NGOs in China.

Public awareness

“I feel the main difference between charity work in China and in the West is public awareness,” said An. “In the West, people don’t think it strange if I earn the same wage as a consultant or as a manager in an NGO. But in China, they do.”

An said his goal is to bring more people into charity by making good deeds more accessible and viable, no mater in full-time and part-time.

Currently, he is working on a program called One Click that recycles inner-city, second-hand clothing and sends it to needy people in outlying areas. Support from Alibaba’s Cainiao Logistics covers the cost of delivery.

“We make to make good works more accessible to people who want to help and to people who want to work in the field,” said An.

Director Su agrees. His charity work began seven years ago with a borrowed camera. He entered the shabby home of the large family and his life as a documentary maker began.

His film “Fading Flowers” tells the story of Chen Tianwen and his wife Guo Gairan, who adopted homeless kids beginning in 1989. Most of the children were disabled and had been abandoned by their parents. The film won the Best Documentary and Grand Shot awards at the 2011 Mobile Shanghai International Film Festival.

“Film attracts attention and collect more hands,” he said of how documentaries help charity work.

Su said his videos can change the stereotype that charity work is a rich man’s responsibility. It is the responsibility of everyone and needs love and understanding, he said.

The 10 “future leaders” currently in the program come from different work experiences in various industries. Some have not been involved in charity work before.

Shen Shupei, a former e-commerce marketing manager for an international company, has become a manager in the One Foundation Monthly Donation program. It encourages people to tithe a fixed donation to charity every month. Shen handles relations between donors and the foundation.

“Charity should not only be about asking donors to give,” she said. “We also need to give them something back.”

She has developed an online communication system so donors receive real-time information on where their money goes and what kinds of people they are helping.

Offline, many donors are encouraged to participate in volunteer activities. “We want to enrich the ways of charity, and more people could get involved,” she said.

“The core to continue is the ability to be self-sustainable,” said Gu Rui, another fellow, who now works at Chi Heng Foundation, which aids orphans of AIDS patients.

The foundation produces eco-bags made by AIDS-impacted women. Companies and individuals that donate to the cause are also encouraged to buy the bags.

“We not only serve the unfortunate, but we also value the companies and individuals that want to donate or help as our partners,” said Gu.

The fellowship invites successful businessmen and professionals to help train the fellows in one-year courses.




 

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