A charity golf event teed off in Zhuhai yesterday, collecting
more than 100,000 yuan ($13,300) in donations for needy elementary
schools in northwest China's Gansu Province.
The Hong Kong-based Rotary Club of Mid-level planned the event.
The club is a member of Rotary International, a global network of
volunteers.
The schools benefiting from the donations are in the Dongxiang
County of Linxia Hui Prefecture in Gansu Province.
"The schools are very old and shabby. We will donate all the
money we collect from the golf game to the schools and help them
repair their buildings," the club's international service director
Jerry Liu said. "We believe we will collect a total of 160,000
yuan."
The golf event is not the only effort to assist the schools.
Liu said another charity event next month was expected to bring
in 200,000 yuan. The money will be used to purchase new teaching
facilities for the schools.
The golf competition attracted 77 players from Hong Kong, Taiwan
and South Korea.
Participants had to pay a far higher price than usual for their
round.
The golf club subtracted its basic operating costs and the money
left over was donated to the fund, a former president of the club
Norman Lam said.
Besides donations for Gansu's elementary schools, the club also
donated 45 wheelchairs and a number of crutches to Hongqi County,
Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, benefiting 61 disabled
people.
Rotary is a worldwide organization of business and professional
leaders that provides humanitarian service, encourages high ethical
standards in all vocations, and promotes goodwill and peace around
the world. About 1.2 million Rotarians belong to more than 32,000
clubs in more than 200 countries and regions.
(China Daily September 22, 2007)
