Our Club conducted our first-ever online meeting on Zoom on April 9. This is in part a response to government’s social distancing guidelines and recommendations on avoiding large group meetings, and in part a response to Rotary International’s recommendation on moving all physical meetings to online platforms. It turns out that many of our members are already quite familiar with the platform, and most had no issues logging on and joining the meeting. After the meeting room opened at noon, members started trickling in. Some arrived early to make sure that audio and video issues were addressed before the official start of the meeting at 1pm. Others just joined early to chat, just like our fellowship time before our physical lunch meetings. The Zoom meeting followed our usual agenda items, with members taking turns to report items of which they are in charge and/or managing. President Mark reported on the statuses of various District and Club events. Past President Grace explained and reported on the treatment of Annual Dinner Gathering Fund already received from members. Past President Webster explained the mechanics of Amity’s Walk for Living Water 2020, and reported that he already started to engage our youth to participate.…
Amity Foundation has launched “Walk for Living Water 2020”. The Walk aims to: (1) encourage exercises even as we stay home and/or keep social distance; (2) increase awareness of potable water shortage around the world; (3) raise funds for Amity’s future projects. One can participate in one of the following two ways: (1) Register as a participant in the walk. The participant then records and uploads a day’s activity to Amity’s Whatsapp account or Facebook. Those who register enough “steps” win certificates, while those with the most “steps” win prizes. There is no restriction on where to walk, when to walk and/or with whom to walk, except where government social distancing guidelines and restrictions apply. To register, please click here. The deadline to register is April 24. (2) Donate directly to Amity’s fundraising campaign. Our Club has a main fundraising campaign, while Past Presidents Webster and Lily have set up their own fundraising campaigns. If you are donating, please donate to any of these campaigns so that we can track how much our Club, as a whole, is contributing to this event. The deadline to donate is June 15.
Amity Foundation, our service partner for many years, approached our Club as they started to plan their annual fundraising walkathon. In past years, their walkathon “活水行” was a well-attended event with hundreds of competitive participants and many more spending a day at the fun fair set up at the finish line. Due to government-mandated social distancing guidelines, however, the event has to be cancelled without a rescheduled date. The cancellation significantly impacts Amity’s operations as they plan projects based on how much they raise each year, and the walkathon is usually their largest fundraising event of the year. Undeterred, Amity proposes a “virtual competition” whereby participants do “walks” at their time of convenience, log the walk via smart devices, and submit their walk record to Amity. There is no restriction on where to walk, when to walk and with whom (though large group walks are not recommended). The competition is judged by how many steps one can do on any particular day during the competition. Our Club has agreed to be a supporting organization of the event, help to recruit participants, and help to contribute to their fundraising campaign. Our Club shall also recruit Interactors and Rotaractors to join the…
Club Assembly was held today to update members the status of our various service projects, global grant applications etc. Before the meeting, Rotariannes gathered to repack masks from boxes into smaller bags. A simple instruction on how to properly wear a mask was inserted into the bags. These bags were then picked up by Rotarians, spouses and guests and brought back to their own neighborhood communities for distribution to those they deem in need. The masks were donated by President Mark, while the repacking and distribution were the collective effort of Rotarians and spouses. The project benefited approximately 40 individuals.
On March 7, President Mark and Catherine, Past President Grace, Rotarian Jason and Sara helped at Holy Cafe to distribute hot meals to the elderly. Mrs. Maria Sung, the owner of the Cafe and the 2019 winner of The One Hong Kong Humanitarian Award, started distributing meals to her neighborhood when she realized that many elderly did not have a proper hot meal in the weekends. The pandemic exacerbated the problem because some of these elderly who might have visited their relatives or might have received visits from their relatives in the weekends were forced to be on their own as people avoided going out. On occasion, our Club donated some masks to Holy Cafe, a social enterprise, so that those elderly served by the Cafe could receive some extra masks. Our Club’s plan is to set up teams to help Mrs. Sung with her weekly hot meal distribution.
Led by our Rotaractors at the Rotaract Club of HKU Lap Chee College International, care packages were prepared and delivered to Shun Lee Neighbourhood Elderly Centre (順利長者鄰舍中心) at Shun Lee Public Housing Estate on February 29. Each care package included a bottled drink, snack items, cooking condiments and other sanitation supplies. The food items were specially sourced to invoke memories of the tastes of a bygone past. In order to minimize cross infection during the current Coronavirus outbreak, the care packages were not delivered directly to the elderly, but instead dropped off at the centre for later distribution as the elderly slowly returns to the centre in the coming weeks. The centre staff thanked our Rotaract Club and told us that some elderly were already notified about the package and were elated to know that youngsters such as our Rotaractors think of them.
Club members and spouses delivered 2200 masks and sanitizing supplies to Yuk Chi Resource Centre and Home Care for Girls, two of our service partners. The supplies were then distributed via our service partners to their service targets, benefiting over 200 families. The masks were generously donated by donors to our District’s “Giving Masks, Rotary’s Task” program and then subsequently allotted to our two service partners. 300 bottles of alcohol sanitizers were also bought by our Club and donated to our two service partners.
On February 27, our Club met despite the current Coronavirus outbreak. Members wore masks throughout the meeting except when eating or speaking. Some members and spouses arrived early to mingle and share stories about how to pass time in the past few weeks when most social events, including Rotary events, have been postponed or cancelled. Some members continued to share stories about how they managed to donate/distribute extra supplies to those in need around them. Master Au came to our Club as speaker to talk about the Year of the Rat in 2020. He gave his insights on various current events, including the current Coronavirus outbreak. The topic could not be more appropriate considering that it is the number one thing on everybody’s mind during this difficult outbreak period. Master Au also gave some insights on the stock market, Hong Kong real estate, China trade, and general business climate. Finally, he also made a swift prediction about the 2020 US Presidential election, the outcome of which most certainly has generational consequences not just in the US but around the world.
The Coronavirus outbreak has affected everyone in Hong Kong, but especially street cleaners and sanitation workers who are usually paid petty wages and can ill afford to use a fresh mask every few days, never mind a fresh one each day. Responding in part to society’s cry for help as well as to our District Governor’s “Giving Masks, Rotary’s Tasks” campaign, Club members and their spouses donated and distributed boxes of masks and hand sanitizers to street cleaners and sanitation workers in Causeway Bay. Donning masks and gloves, Club members and spouses packaged masks inside a sealable bag together with simple instructions on how to properly wear a mask, and then sealed the bag to minimize chances of contamination during transportation and distribution. The bags were then brought to various refuse collection points and wet markets near our meeting venue in Causeway Bay and promptly given away. Service targets were street cleaners and sanitation workers, most of whom earn low wages and can ill afford fresh masks even though they work in conditions very likely to be laden with germs, bacteria and viruses. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers were also passed to those in need. The service project benefited approximately 40 street…
On February 13, our Club met for the first time after Chinese new year break. President Mark began the meeting by offering a very special welcome to all members and Maurice. President Mark then detailed the new arrangements of various Club and District events that are postponed or cancelled as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak. Members then shared their stories of how they struggled but eventually managed to secure their own health supplies. Some members also shared their stories of how they managed to source thousands of masks from all over the world and personally donate to charities. Maurice made an impassioned and heartfelt plea to help refugees in Hong Kong who were just as neglected and in need of help as any group in Hong Kong. Past President Angela and Rotarian Jason shared stories about how Rotaractors came together as private citizens to help out those in need. Immediate Past President Lily also shared how she managed to buy boxes of masks while visiting Turkey during her annual vacation, and promptly donated a few boxes, in our Club’s name no less, to our District’s “Giving Masks, Rotary’s Tasks” campaign. It was also during the meeting that the idea…