Zhejiang Women and Children’s Foundation and Guangsha Holding Group jointly launched a charity initiative entitled ‘“Guangsha Ming Fund” at a ceremony held in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province on October 16, 2014.

The fund aimed to offer assistance to impoverished women, rural “left-behind” children (those whose parents have left them in their hometowns to find employment in far-off cities) and rural migrant workers across the entire province in the improvement of their livelihoods. It mainly covered Postal Parcels for Mothers, Family Letters, Migrant Workers’ Holiday with Children, Rural “Left-behind” Children's Loneliness Index projects and more.

At the launch ceremony, Guangsha donated 5 million yuan (U.S.$ 800,000) to Zhejiang Women and Children's Foundation to kick off its first campaign under the newly established fund with the theme "Bringing Love Back Home".

Send Loves & Cares to Impoverished Mothers

The fund offered financial assistance to 30-year-old Cai Yajun's family in Ningbo, a city in Zhejiang through the Postal Parcels for Mothers project. Cai has become the backbone of her family since her husband and father-in-law died seven years ago. The project has received a donation of three million yuan (U.S.$ 500,000) from the charity fund via the China Women's Development Foundation (CWDF).

The Initiative of Family Letters Deepens Parent-Child Ties

The Family Letters project has helped rural “left-behind” children communicate with their parents. The charity fund established postboxes in all elementary schools across the province and encouraged target children there to write letters to their parents who work far from home.

The Introduction of Paid Leave for Rural Migrants

The Migrant Workers' Holiday with Children project offered 1,000 yuan (U.S.$ 163) and a nine-day holiday to migrant workers who work in Guangsha, allowing them to spend time with their children.

The Release of Rural “Left-behind” Children's Loneliness Index

At the launch ceremony, Guangsha released the first edition of the Rural “Left-behind” Children's Loneliness Index. According to a survey conducted in six provinces across China by experts from Guangsha Livelihood Research Center, the loneliness index of rural “left-behind” children reached 40.44 on average, which showed that one out of four left-behind children suffers from loneliness and a shortage of parental affection.

Those present at the launch ceremony were Deputy Director of the Subcommittee of Social and Legal Affairs under the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and Vice-President of the CWDF Zhen Yan; Vice-President and Secretary-General of CWDF Qin Guoying; Member of the Standing Committee and Minister of the Publicity Department in Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Ge Huijun; and representatives from Guangsha.