Who says you need tons of money to become a philanthropist?
The key factors needed do not come with a price tag: the desire to help others, a good idea and the will to make your plan happen. This has been demonstrated by some people who run charity stores and charity events in local communities.
The community shops sell at a low price items such as brand-name clothes and bags donated by the owners’ friends, residents or complete strangers. Profits are then given to charity organizations that work with impoverished rural communities. In this way, the businesses serve s a bridge between charity organizations and people who want to share their resources.
At the charity events, the organizers do not simply pass around a box where you throw in a few bills: they display handicrafts made by women in poor rural areas to help the manufacturers expand their market.
Brand Nü idea of charity wor
One warm afternoon in September, people gathered at Saffron restaurant in the Wudaoying Hutong for the opening ceremony of an extraordinary painting exhibition. Hanging on the walls of the restaurant’s basement bar were 20 paintings made by Wang Hongfeng, a 36-year-old mentally disabled student at Beijing Huiling Community Services, an rganization for people with learning disabilities.
Wang sat in one corner of the room accented with candlelight, staring at the guests ?mostly friends of Saffron’s owner Li Yang and the co-organizer Xiangzi – but strgers to him.
