LENDING A HAND

By Lu Yan

Community social worker Lu Jiaxin and her colleague have recently received many kindnesses from caring people.

In September， they collected donations for impoverished local households living in apartments in dire need of renovation in Zhongnan Subdistrict of Guangzhou， capital city of Guangdong Province.

They handed out flyers， called on shop owners and visited company buildings to reach out to potential donors.

Though the donations they received are mostly small in amount， they can help many households complete some indoor upgrades， according to Lu.

The activity was organized during the citys first Month of Charity， an annual event celebrated every September and initiated jointly by the municipal government and philanthropic organizations.

As of late 2020， China had 9，480 charitable organizations， with net assets totaling at nearly 200 billion （$30.92 billion）； and 209 million volunteers， representing an almost tenfold growth in the past decade， according to data released in September by the Ministry of Civil Affairs （MCA） at a press conference.

“Many a little makes a mickle. Philanthropy is not just practiced by the wealthy and successful， but also by ordinary people who are willing to help out those in need，” said Wu Jiadi， an official with Zhong Shan Charity Association in Guangzhou.

Steady progress

Overall， people have become more willing to help those in need and offer assistance in recent years， said Wang Zhenyao， President of the China Global Philanthropy and China Philanthropy Research Institutes with Beijing Normal University. “This has laid the groundwork for the further development of public welfare and philanthropy，” said Wang.

For example， when Henan Province in central China was hit by severe rainfall and floods in July， tens of millions of yuan from local governments， nonprofit organizations， companies and individuals poured in through various charity platforms， including 1.84 million donations via online platforms as of August 10， according to the Chinese Red Cross Foundation （CRCF）， a national public foundation supervised by the Red Cross Society of China.

With the advancement of

technology， including wireless coverage and the popularization of mobile payments， more Chinese are doing their bit for charity through the Internet. Chinese charity groups registered a 20-percent annual growth in donations in recent years across the 20 online charity platforms approved by the MCA， said Wang Aiwen， Vice Minister of Civil Affairs， in May.