After two year's preparation, Yiwu Charity Associations of all 13 towns and streets finally come into being. From now on, people in straitened circumstances in Yiwu can go straight to the charity agencies of town governments or street offices to apply for charity relief.
Charity Associations become a relief platform
It is reported that, Yiwu has a strong economy though; it has a considerable number of people struggling in financial difficulties. At present, the city has more than 40,000 disabled people, more than 8,000 households with minimum subsistence guaranteed, more than 1,800 people with serious diseases, and more than 140 poor college students annually. In addition, there are more than 50 patients with leukaemia and more than 140 patients with uremia. Therefore, the city started the preparation of setting up Charity Associations in 13 towns and streets 2 years ago, with a purpose of building a platform for future charity subsistence and collection of relief fund in towns and streets.
The president of Yiwu Charity Federation Gong Huiwu introduced that the establishment of Charity Associations of towns and streets enables them to contact the masses much more closely, understand the difficult situations at the grassroots level much more clearly and concretely, pick out needy people much more accurately and timely, so as to enhance the public credibility of Charity Associations.
It is reported that a Charity Association of a town or street is an organization enjoying the qualified status of an independent legal person, and running with full autonomy. Besides the relief from Yiwu Charity Federation, towns and streets can arrange their own relief, which serves as a supplement and consummation of Yiwu charity relieving system. The work of Charity Association mainly consists of two parts: one is raising fund from society, the other is the expenditure of relief fund.
Charity Associations of towns and streets can raise fund from enterprises, individual proprietors, or warm-hearted individuals in the society. It can also serve as a platform to collect social donations at the mean time. As to expenditure, it can provide relief to general disadvantaged groups, with an emphasis on the management of emergency incidents and the relief of people with serious diseases who can receive assistance combined concentrated relief with emergency relief.
Charity relief can be applied at the doorway
Choujiang Street of Yiwu has totally 188 households with minimum subsistence guaranteed, 185 low-income families and 336 low-income people, and 728 disabled people. The Charity Association of this street was established in July 2007, the first one among all the 13 towns and streets.
Over the past two years, Choujiang Street Charity Association raised charity funds, collected donations for Sichuan Earthquake, and conducted the "deliver warmth, deliver love" activity initiated by Yiwu Municipal Party Committee. It also carried out charity relief to people in straitened circumstances under their scope, and facilitated them to apply for relief just at their doorway.
According to statistics, Choujiang Street Charity Association has organized 3 relief activities so far. 1.413 million Yuan has been dispensed and 487 people in straitened circumstances have received their subsidies.
"After the establishment of the Street Charity Association, we open charity relief registration offices in subdistricts and communities, and establish charity relief liaison man in villages (neighborhoods) step by step. We try to cover all the towns and streets with our charity relief working team, to ensure love can be timely delivered to disadvantaged groups, to those who need it most." said Zhu Fuming, deputy president of Choujiang Street Charity Association.
It is reported that the relief receivers of Charity Associations of towns and streets mainly include families and individuals under the scope suffering in their daily life (including education, medication, etc.) due to reasons cannot be overcome by themselves like disaster, isolation and aging, illness and deformity, who have no choice but to ask for relief or need more relief even with government assistance. These receivers specifically include miserable ones among people with minimum subsistence guaranteed, miserable ones with low income but without minimum subsistence guaranteed, those suffering irresistible disaster, those suffering social isolation, aging, illness and deformity in their daily life (including education, medication, etc.), and those who need relief in social welfare organizations. Relief fund can also be offered to importing workers suffering specific difficulties. People in straitened circumstances can go straight to charity agencies established by town governments or street offices to apply for charity relief.
Gong Huiwu says, in order to guarantee relief fund of Charity Associations of towns and streets being conducted in a “Open, Just, Fair” way, a series of open and clear procedures like personal application, investigation of villages (neighborhoods), examination of Association Secretary Office, pressing notice of the media, signature of president and chief executive, etc. is required to guarantee the specific relief fund being used for its specified purpose only.
