The Amity Foundation

Inspection tour to orphan projects

For a number of years, the Amity Foundation has organised field trips to Amity project sites for people who are interested in finding out more about the situation in China far from the big cities and in the work Amity is doing all over the country. Members of the groups which go on such field trips, or inspection tours, pay for all their expenses themselves. The latest group has just returned from a trip named “On the Road – the 2010 inspection tour to orphan projects in the Yimeng mountainous area”. From Nanjing, the group travelled to Yishui and Linshu Counties in Shandong Province, where they spent three days visiting orphan projects.

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Giving the gift of Loving Heart Chocolate

The “Loving Heart Chocolate” campaign on Amity’s Chinese website has found strong resonance and has been supported by people from all walks of life. A lot of Nanjingers phoned in to order chocolates made by the disabled young people working at the Amity Bakery and to help make their dream of professional training come true.

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Flutists help orphans

Linda Mintener, of the First Baptist Church in Madison, Wisconsin (USA), and Amity long-term teacher Judy Sutterlin presented a compact disc with fine flute music to Ms. She Hongyu of the Amity Foundation. The presentation took place on 7 July during the conference of SEP teachers. The compact disc has an interesting story.

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Playing the zither, caring for orphans

teacher Ma Jie with a student

Thirty-seven students have been selected to receive three months of zither lessons as part of the Amity-sponsored “Guqin Children Volunteer Action”. Under this scheme, which is cosponsored by Nanjing Foreign Language School, CNY 500 from each participant’s tuition fee will be passed on to “Action e 10,000“, Amity’s web-based fundraising effort for orphans.

The guqin is a seven-string musical instrument with a history of several thousand years. On 24 February, Mr. Ma Jie, vice-president of the China Guqin Association and a well-known guqin player, introduced students to the history and cultural background of the instrument. A practical lesson followed after that.

“Friends of Amity” Christmas Bazaar held in Shanghai

Zhu Xuelian, of the Friends of Amity, was the main organiser of the bazaar.

More than 200 people took part in a charitable bazaar held by the “Friends of Amity” in Shanghai on 14 December. CNY 400,500 (ca. US$ 58,600) were raised at the occasion; the proceeds will go to Amity’s “Action e 10,000“, whose aim it is to support 10,000 orphans in China’s rural areas. The items on sale at the bazaar were donated by members of the Shanghai-based “Friends of Amity” organisation, the CEIBS Alumni Association and people from all walks of life who support Amity’s cause of helping the poor and marginalised in China.

The funds raised at the event will be enough to cover the living expenses and study costs of 270 orphans in the Chinese countryside – these children are receiving a truly valuable Christmas present this year.

Sichuan Earthquake Relief Update, May 18

The situation changes day by day. We just heard from the front line that many medical squads and groups have swarmed into Chengdu from both home and abroad. The rescue office says that with the medical force available on the ground, basic medical needs are met. (more…)

Sichuan Earthquake Relief Update, May 15,16

SICHUAN EARTHQUAKE APPEAL: Donate

Since the disastrous earthquake of May 12 in Sichuan, we have witnessed a great outpouring of concern and compassion around us. The donation boxes we have set up at our headquarters’ street entrance on Hankou Road in Nanjing has continually been approached, receiving 1000, 1800, 4800 Yuan from individuals. (more…)

The last donation of 2007

The end of the year was exceptionally cold in Nanjing, with the air so cold that even the rare sunshine made little difference: once the warming rays were gone, you felt just as cold as before. People wrapped themselves in many layers of extra-thick clothes and huddled themselves together, trying to lose as little warmth as possible.

On New Year’s Eve, it was very quiet at Amity headquarters, just two of us were there. Suddenly, the phone rang, piercing the silence …
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Charitable concert for orphans

China Merchants Property Development Co. Ltd., a real-estate investment company, sponsored a concert of the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra at the Great Hall of the People in Nanjing on 30 December 2007. This concert was a charitable event: part of the price of every ticket has been donated to “Action e 10,000“, Amity’s project which aims at supporting 10,000 orphans in the Chinese countryside.

Well on the way to supporting 10,000 more orphans

Action e 10,000 was officially launched on 17 November by the Amity Foundation and a group of volunteers. Action e 10,000 is an effort to use the internet as a tool to make more people aware of the situation of rural orphans in China and to raise funds for their support. Almost 6000 orphans have profited from Amity’s work since 2002. The concrete aim of Action e 10,000 is to provide support for an additional 10,000 orphans in the Chinese countryside.

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