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Community Outreach

AustCham Shanghai Lends a Hand

As a non-profit organisation, AustCham Shanghai annually donates a substantial amount to nominated charitable organisations operating within China.

How We Help

The Chamber raises the money, mostly, through its popular calendar of events and Friday night Aussie Drinks.

Who We Help

AustCham Shanghai thanks Hooker Cockram for generously donating the remaining RMB12,500 required for the heart surgery of a 5 year old girl, Qi Huiyun through Rotary Gift of Life.

Those AustCham Shanghai has recently assisted and/or will be assisting include the following:

  • Aussie Drinks Community Outreach project provides Expo tickets to the disabled community with each disabled person receiving 2 tickets, one for themselves and one for their carer. Fundraising started at Aussie Drinks since Friday 29 January 2010 aiming to raise RMB36,000 for 400 Expo tickets.

     
  • Wheelchair Foundation aims to create awareness of the needs and abilities of people with physical disabilities, to deliver a wheelchair to every child and adult in the world who needs one, but cannot afford one. AustCham Shanghai donated funds for 100 wheelchairs to be delivered to local communities in Shanghai.

  • Shanghai Sunrise gives financial support to underprivileged students in Shanghai. AustCham Shanghai will support 15 university or high school students to complete their studies as well as librabries for 2 schools.

  • Shanghai Municipal Welfare Foundation for Disabled assists 520,000 disabled people in Shanghai. AustCham Shanghai committed to help the disable children and those from disable family to complete their studies and cover medical expenses of the disabled patients in Sunshine Home in Fenxian District.

  • You Dao supports migrant group in Shanghai. GABXIV 2009 Community Outreach project is to support the Golden Years Kindergarten in Qingcun, Fenxian District through You Dao. Through this year's fundraising we hope to provide Full/partial scholarships, School field trips and Family Activity Days which will change the future of these children. Below is a photo of the first 10 children identified for scholarships.
    GABXIV project_02

  • Reinier Jessurun, the Aussie Marathon runner, aims to raise USD40,000 from the race to build a school in Gansu Province affected by Sichuan earthquake. AustCham Shanghai committed RMB136,000 to rebuild a classroom building in Moujia Primary School, Gansu Province.

  • Hu Dongdong, a local boy needing critical and ongoing medical treatment for a serious leg infection. Since 2004/5 we have committed funds to support Hu Dong Dong's ongoing medical treatment.

Those AustCham Shanghai has helped in previous years include the following:

  • Clothing and Toy Collection
  • Craniofacial provides under privileged children with facial deformities reconstructive surgery as well as training Chinese surgeons in craniofacial reconstruction.
  • Gift of Life, run through Rotary, provides heart surgeries for children. Over the last 10 years, AustCham Shanghai has sponsored 26 urgent heart surgeries for children.
  • Gift of Life Friends, a volunteer-led managed group, provides post-operative care, supplies and support for children that have undergone heart surgeries. The group provides dietary supplements, and other support for families and children affected.
  • Fred Hollows Foundation provides eye care for poor and disadvantaged people who live far way from capital cities and treatment centres.
  • Heart to Heart school library projects in Anhui Province and heart surgeris for children in remote areas.
  • LifeLine Shanghai is a hotline service that provides free, confidential support and information for expatriates living in Shanghai. Call 6279 8990 between 10am-10pm everyday to speak anonymously with a trained expatriate volunteer.
  • Pudong Special School lunch expenses & musical instruments for Chinese athletes.
  • Save the Children fights for children around the world who suffer from poverty, disease, injustice and violence.
  • Shanghai Charity Foundation is a charity organisation which assists those in need in Shanghai and Greater China. Projects that AustCham Shanghai have supported include:
    - Daily use items and bathroom construction for Jinshan Elderly People's Home
    - Chinese New Year gifts for low income families from Fenxian District
    - tuitions for children from low income families from Huangpu District
    - Daily use items for Wuzhong Mental Rehabilitation Hospital
    - Clothes for children from Mianyang Camp School in Sichuan Province
    - Eye Care project for migrant school children
  • Special Olympics Australia - travel expenses for Australian athletes.
  • XinXing Aid for Street Kids - daily/educational/medical expenses; staff training expense; office facilities expense; children's schooling.

 

Let Us Help You

The Chamber is always actively seeking charities it may assist and welcomes members' suggestions. Please contact Lily Sun (lily.sun@austchamshanghai.com) with a detailed proposal.

Criteria the Board of Directors consider include:

  • the money must directly and substantially impact the end user and little should be absorbed by administration;
  • the organisation must be sustainable;
  • the organisation must operate locally so that AustCham Shanghai's donation benefits people within the local area; and
  • AustCham Shanghai prefers to support organisations with which it can form close ties.

 SCF ceremony
Low income families in Bansongyuan Community, Huangpu District, Shanghai