At the Sunshine Eggshell Cake Shop in the West Courtyard of Shiqiao Street, each exquisite cake sold will be accompanied by a warm "Qi Birthday Donation" card, which is not only a clever combination of deliciousness and kindness of the store, but also a vivid epitome of the Shiqiao Street Charity Project (hereinafter referred to as the "Charity Project").
Charity Convergence explores a new path of community charity
How to inject new vitality into philanthropy at the community level? The Charity Remembrance Project demonstrates a new approach.
On May 20, 2023, the launch of the Shiqiao Street Community Charity Project and the Charity Bazaar for the Inclusion of the Disabled was held at the Charity Space of Xifang Compound. Under the guidance of the Panyu District Charity Association and the Shiqiao Sub-district Office, the Charity Project was jointly initiated by the Shiqiao Street Charity Association, the six communities in the western area, and the Puai Social Work Service Society of Panyu District, Guangzhou.
A certificate of charity participation was presented at the launch ceremony
Charitable Remembrance projects are designed to maximize the value of every penny and ensure that they directly serve the community. Specifically, when residents purchase the goods they need, part of the funds will go directly to the community charity fund, ensuring the transparency and traceability of the funds. Compared with traditional donations, this method allows residents to participate in charity while spending, which improves their willingness and satisfaction to participate.
Importantly, these donations end up in their communities and can be used to support community governance, help people in need, or solve public problems. This "from the people, for the people" approach allows residents to truly feel the role their donations play in improving the community environment and improving the quality of life of residents.
At present, 39 enterprises have signed long-term cooperation agreements with 18 villages. Since the launch of the project, 10 charity fairs with different themes have been held, mobilizing more than 90 businesses to participate, and raising more than 400,000 yuan.
Charitable businesses participate in community charity bazaars
The five societies work together to activate community charity resources
"Five Societies Linkage" is the core mechanism of the Charity Convergence Project. The "five societies" here refer to the community, social workers, community social organizations, community volunteers, and social resources. Through this mechanism, the Charity Remembrance Project has successfully broken the limitations of traditional philanthropy and brought all parties together closely.
Li Yumei, secretary of the Yushan community, has been emphasizing the close connection between the community and commercial enterprises in the interview. She said that the community has always played the role of a "connecting bridge", connecting business enterprises and community residents, and promoting community philanthropy and governance. Talking about the progress of the charity project, Secretary Li excitedly mentioned that recently, the community has successfully signed 4 charitable enterprises, and more businesses have expressed their willingness to participate. In the process of promoting the project, the community will tailor cooperation plans according to the actual situation and needs of different enterprises to ensure the smooth progress of charity activities.
Chen Huibo, a social worker who participated in the project, was deeply touched. Social workers are responsible for mobilizing businesses in the community to participate in projects and planning and organizing public welfare activities. Their daily work is not only to find suitable businesses, but also to let more people know about and participate in charity by organizing fairs and promotional activities. First of all, the social work station attracts more community resources to participate by enhancing the brand image of the project. A good example of this is the Charity Bazaar, which not only engages businesses on the sidelines, but also fosters long-term cooperation with the community. Secondly, the social work station attaches great importance to the promotion of the project, in addition to designing unique project logos and leaflets, it also enhances the image of the project through media reports and small videos of activities, so that more people can understand and pay attention to charity. Finally, during each activity or project advancement, the social worker will sort out the existing resources in advance and analyze the required resources.
From community residents to individual businesses, from local organizations to social workers, every enthusiastic heart is adding bricks and tiles to the edifice of charity and building a warm community network.
Philanthropic businesses share their experiences and exchange ideas with each other
Cross-border inclusion, business enterprises work together to promote charity
Different from traditional charity projects, Shiqiao Street's charity project has not only received extensive support from community residents, but also attracted the active participation of a large number of businesses and enterprises. Shiqiao Street promotes the establishment of community charity business enterprise associations to build a communication platform and effectively gather various information resources such as community business enterprises, residents and communities. These businesses and enterprises, according to their own business characteristics, combined with charity and business, have launched their own unique donation methods: some merchants donate part of the proceeds of goods to community charity funds by positioning charity products, some businesses set up monthly fixed donations, and some businesses adopt the method of setting donation ratios for each consumption......
The Shiqiao Street Community Charity Business Enterprise Association was unveiled
Sunshine Eggshell Cake Shop is one of the merchants participating in the charity project, and it is also an "old friend" of Shiqiao Street. Han Qili, the person in charge, said that they first learned about and joined the charity project through some charity activities in the community. After learning about the project's philanthropic philosophy, they were deeply moved and decided to support community philanthropy with practical actions.
In order to let customers know more intuitively about this charity project, Sunshine Eggshell specially made a small card with the theme of the event and donation information written on it. Whenever a customer buys a cake, the clerk will attach such a small card and inform the customer that one yuan will be donated to charity for each cake purchased, so that customers can feel the warmth of charity while tasting delicious food.
Sunshine eggshell with the cake attached to the small card of "Qi Celebration Birthday Donation".
Through this model, it becomes easier and more natural for residents to participate in charity, without the need for large donations, without the need to participate in a specific charity event, and simply by buying a piece of cake.
In addition to raising funds through the sale of products, Han Qili also used her social circle to actively mobilize her friends to join the charity project, further expanding the influence of the project.
Han Qili said that participating in the charity project not only gave them more opportunities to do charity, but also made them deeply understand the power and significance of charity. They hope that through their own efforts, more people will pay attention to and participate in charity, and jointly contribute to the development of the community.
In the charity project, there are many more businesses like Sunshine Eggshell. As members of the community, they support the community's philanthropic efforts by integrating philanthropic concepts into their daily operations in their own ways. Their participation not only enhances the social image of the business, but also narrows the relationship with the community and contributes to the harmonious development of the community.
Continue to grow and create the future of the community
In the past year, from the initial 6 to 39 cooperative enterprises, the charity project has continued to grow.
Looking forward to the future, the Shiqiao Street Charity Project will continue to adhere to the "Five Societies Linkage" model, further deepen cross-border cooperation, improve fund transparency, and continue to explore new forms of activities. Secretary Li expressed her deep expectations for the project, and hoped that the charity project would not only help families in difficulty and the construction of community governance, but also spread the loving atmosphere of the community. She hopes that businesses and residents can participate together, integrate charity into daily life, and achieve long-term cooperation and support.
Li Yuxia, director of the "Double Hundred Project" East-West Social Work Station on Shiqiao Street, added that the charity project will strengthen publicity work in the future, so that more people can understand and participate in charity, and at the same time, through regular evaluation and feedback, we will continue to optimize the project strategy and find more innovative ways to participate, so as to enrich the form of charity activities and make charity truly a part of the community culture.
The Charity Project is not only a charity event, but also a long-term spread of charity culture. Through the "window" of the charity project, community residents can directly feel the warmth of charity and see the direct impact of their actions. Starting from the community, the charity project is gradually watering a more stable and inclusive social welfare ecosystem.
Text: Panyu financial media reporter Chen Ziyin correspondent Pan Ci
Photo: Courtesy of the Social Worker Station of the East and West Sections of Shiqiao Street