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

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

• Aussie Drinks Community Outreach project raises funds to cover surgery costs for little Lianna with Baobei Foundation. Lianna is an 8-month-old girl from Henan Province with spina bifida and a tethered spinal cord. Fundraising started since 25 June 2010 at Aussie Drinks aiming to raise RMB36,000.
  
  
  
• CREO-SCF Special Fund's Qinghai Yushu earthquake appeal focuses on rebuilding schools and kindergartens, providing education equipment and scholarships for students in Yushu, Qinghai. A total donation of RMB65,200 has been made, of which RMB17,600 was raised from ANZAC Day Aussie Drinks. 
  
  
• Heart to Heart Shanghai - books and resources for Yue Jin Primary School and Jing He Primary School in Jiangsu Province.

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

• Baobei Foundation improves lives of precious Chinese orphans who have been born with critical Neurological and Gastro-Intestinal disorders. AustCham Shanghai provided fund for 2 therapy device to offer training opportunities for spina bifida children.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Reinier Jessurun, the Aussie Marathon runner raising funds Marathon race. AustCham Shanghai supported with half of the funding to rebuild a school classroom building in Gansu Province affected by Sichuan earthquake.
• Renewal Centre assists homeless rural migrants by providing basic services, health screening and career training.
• 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, Shanghai
  - tuitions for children from low income families from Huangpu District, Shanghai
  - Daily use items for Wuzhong Mental Rehabilitation Hospital, Shanghai
  - Clothes for children from Mianyang Camp School in Sichuan Province
  - Eye Care project for migrant school children in Shanghai
  - Training for migrant workers to look after elderly who live alone
• Shanghai Municipal Welfare Foundation for Disabled assists 520,000 disabled people in Shanghai. Projects that AustCham Shanghai have supported include:
  - Tuition fees to help the disable children and those from disable families to complete their studies and cover medical expenses of the disabled patients in Sunshine Home in Fenxian District.
  - Expo tickets for those who have physical difficulties and in poor financial conditions.
• Shanghai Sunrise gives financial support to underprivileged students in Shanghai. AustCham Shanghai supported 15 university or high school students to complete their studies as well as librabries for 2 schools.
• Special Olympics Australia - travel expenses for Australian athletes.
• 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.
• XinXing Aid for Street Kids - daily/educational/medical expenses; staff training expense; office facilities expense; children's schooling.
• You Dao supports migrant group in Shanghai. AustCham Shanghai provides funds for full/partial scholarships to migrant children, school field trips and family activity days which will change the future of these children.  

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.

 
Low income families in Bansongyuan Community, Huangpu District, Shanghai