In Shanghaiist's new Philanthropist feature, we highlight individuals and groups doing interesting things to make the world a little bit of a better place. This week we talk to the organizers of the 8th Annual Charity Carnival.
With Halloween days away, we know it's hard to think about anything besides the awesome costumes and parties that lay ahead. So here are some suggestions to make the days go by faster this week, including jazz nights, handball, and of course, the Scrabblelicious Shanghaiist Happy Hour!
If you're feeling warm and generous, there's multiple chances to give back to the community this week, be it through flea market shopping, beer drinking, or wine tasting. After you stimulate the social economy a bit, indulge your international side with writers from Ireland, a comedian from New Zealand, and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
Did you know today is the International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction? The UN designated it back in 1989 as a day to "promote a global culture of natural disaster reduction, including disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness." In this vein, Element Fresh has partnered with environmental organization Roots & Shoots so that for every smoothie sold today, Element Fresh will to donate one tree to The Million Tree Project. Every one of these trees planted helps offset China's greenhouse emissions and combats the desertification of grasslands in northern China.
On a totally unrelated note to China, for those of you that are wondering what you can do to help victims of the tropical storm Ondoy (Ketsana), Red Cross Philippines is now accepting donations via Paypal at give@redcross.org.ph. And if you specifically wish to help children, donate online via UNICEF USA.
If we're going to call a winner on this week, it's not the 60th anniversary on Thursday. It's Yuyintang, banging out three solid nights in a row of electro, punk, and more electro. The kind that looks legit and actually fun, too, not the crappy need-to-be-drunk-to-enjoy-this electro.
Music: The soulful sounds of Carlton J. Smith and some American tunes besides.
For the past year, the non-profit and non-governmental organization Hands on Shanghai, with the help of ad agency TBWA and Kodak, has been putting cameras in the hands of children from migrant families and teaching them principles of photography both inside the classroom and out in the field. Several of the photos taken by the kids through this learning program, called "Shutterbugs," will be on display and up for auction this Sunday at Glamour Bar, with the proceeds going towards expanding the program in Shanghai and Chengdu.
It's only two weeks before we light the candles, break out the red, white and blue and begin celebrating the birthday of the United States of America (be sure to slur “meri” to “murr” for added authenticity). Since we at Shanghaiist are never ones to let a good party opportunity go to waste, we’ve partnered up with The Boxing Cat Brewery to host a good ol’ Fourth of July bash.
We posted about Abigail Washburn and Dave Liang of the Shanghai Restoration Project's album of songs about Sichuan, Afterquake. The project hopes to raise awareness of the ongoing efforts to rehouse people effected by the earthquake and a portion of the proceeds from the EP will go to Sichuan Quake Relief.
American folk singer Abigail Washburn has teamed up with Shanghai Restoration Project producer Dave Liang to create Afterquake, an album of songs put together in aid of Sichuan Quake Relief.
It's crazy right? Not to say that Shanghai isn't in a charitable mood most of the time, but this is the first instance we've seen of an entire three day stretch dedicated to not one... not two... but four FIVE different charitable events. It's as if the charity heavens opened up and decided this weekend was the day to rain torrents of giving.
Second Chance Animal Aid, that awesome organization that helps stray or abandoned pets find loving homes in Shanghai needs you... to get creative! They're calling all artists - of any age - to submit work for the 2009 SCAA Art Contest.
Chinese volunteers have organised a charity event and donated over 100 tonnes of rice to Sarah Obama, the relatively poor step-grandmother of US President Barack Obama who "only recently got electricity in her metal-roofed shack" in Kenya. The rice was for her 82 adopted orphans aged between four and 18 most of whose parents have died from AIDS, as well as other impoverished, starving Kenyans. Said Julius Ole Sunkuli, Kenya's ambassador to China, "She will be very happy to see the support from China after she returns from Obama's inauguration."
Thomas Crampton points us to a special fundraiser held Friday night in Shenzhen by the American Chamber of Commerce in South China to benefit orphans. Star of the evening was none other than Presidential-elect Barack Obama's half-brother Mark Ndesandjo. The media spotlight was firmly on him as reporters turned up in full force to get close to Ndesandjo.
A 16 year old Sichuan schoolgirl has been invited to attend the upcoming inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama on January 20. The girl, Li Zizi (李紫子) was actually born and raised in Japan but returned to her family home in Sichuan to attend the Chengdu Experimental Foreign Language School, close to some of the areas hit hardest by the great Sichuan earthquake in May.
Eriksson) would rather watch rainbows and musicals than be at school and is infatuated with his athletic classmate and neighbour Ste (Derek Kwan) who has to deal with a drug-dealing brother and abusive, alcoholic father at home. Their sassy neighbour Leah (Sophie Lloyd — formerly fashion editor of SH Mag) has been kicked out of every school in the area, has a drug problem and can't stop listening to her mom's Cass Elliott records. Meanwhile, Jamie's feisty mother Sandra (Christy Shapiro) juggles her job as a barmaid and her ever-changing string of lovers, the latest of whom is Tony (JP Lopez) who is younger than her and a neo-hippie.
A British couple, Scott and Cecile Spirit, has donated RMB400,000 to the Shanghai Children's Hospital to jumpstart the Foundation for Newborns with Respiratory Diseases in the memory of one of their twin sons who died four weeks after they were born prematurely. The Shanghai Children's Health Foundation will donate a further RMB100,000 to the fund which aims to help poor parents seeking treatment for their babies born with respiratory diseases — the cause of 15 percent of neonatal mortality in China. Scott Spirit moved to Shanghai late 2006 and is the China Strategy Director for the advertising group WPP. [Source]
Here's a good new way to help out a local charity, and avoid paying the scandalous prices some businesses are now charging for carrier bags (we're looking at you Waga's...)
Anyone who's ever seen one of those fancy digital SLR cameras probably knows that professional photography ain't child's play. Right? Well, maybe not. Some friends of Shanghaiist marched into rural Sichuan a few months ago, and started up the Malafi Photo Initiative by handing out reloadable point-and-shoot cameras to a small army of volunteers. Oh, sorry; when we say small army, we really mean 14 little kids. And when we say reloadable cameras, we mean the ones that actually use film. You remember those, right?
Cisco announces a three-year $45 million (RMB300 million) commitment to helping rebuild in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake that left nearly 5 million people homeless. The memorandum of understanding signed by both Sichuan Governor Jiang Jufeng and Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers was the result of several weeks of meetings between the Cisco team and officials from all levels of the Chinese government to gain a better understanding of the current situation. Corporate Social Responsibility News (CSRWire ) brings us the detailed story here.
Bill Gates has quit from his day-to-day role at Microsoft Corp, but he's not exactly "retiring" — the 52 year old is dedicating himself to full-time philanthropy through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's largest charitable foundation with a war chest of US$37.5 billion, four times the size of the next largest foundation. The amount is set to rise to US$100 billion by the end of Gates' lifetime (Note: The US philanthropy sector is now at US$300 billion).
A month after the tragedy in Sichuan you’d be forgiven for feeling a little compassion fatigue. Whilst the focus of the recovery process has changed from the desperate speed of the first few days, there is still a lot of work to be done repairing damage both physical and emotional.
Tonight is the first public screening in Shanghai for Boomtown Beijing, a documentary by Singaporean filmmaker Tan Siok Siok which debuted in April at the 21st Singapore International Film Festival. The production is a very commendable effort by Tan and her students at the Beijing Film Academy which she got to know as a visiting lecturer there. In the film, she follows the Olympic dreams of three ordinary Beijingers. A 11 year old boy wants to become an Olympics torch-bearer even though the regulations say he is too young, an old road sweeper dreams of staging his own mass Olympics countdown performance, and a blind athlete makes one last stab at a Paralympics medal before he retires from sports altogether. Do they get their dreams fulfilled? Find out tonight at Arch, and if you miss tonight's screening, there's another screening this Saturday again at Arch.
Tonight (Tuesday, 3 June) "Hip-Hop" group the Black Eyed Peas are playing a hastily arranged benefit gig for around 700 people at the Shanghai Concert Hall.
Photo from shanghaistreets
The turnout last night was phenomenal! The lines flowed out the door and onto the streets, the beer taps ran dry, no could hear the raffle winners’ names, and the BBQ queue was unbelievable… but, beautifully, no one seemed to care.
PSA: Beware the cat snatchers
Book Review: Undress Me In The Temple Of Heaven
Life in the longtangs: Chicken delivery
At the Barbie Shop: Entrance to a world of feminine mystique
Photos: Harmonized graffiti in Luwan
add to digg
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
email this
add to facebook
