Shanghai sees boost in philanthropy, tackling social issues
A slew of activities from group weddings to charity bazaars will be held across Shanghai from Monday to mark the annual Shanghai Philanthropy Week.
The group wedding ceremony for 50 couples will be held at Minhang Culture Park on Saturday, with a charity bazaar hosted alongside as part of the philanthropy week.
Funds raised from the bazaar will be donated to help needy and abandoned children.
Handicraft work made by children at child welfare institutions will be featured at the bazaar.
A report on the city's development of philanthropic causes, released on Monday.
Also part of the weeklong events, a report on the city's development of philanthropic causes was revealed by the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau on Monday.
It said Shanghai's welfare lottery tickets saw its sales reach over 3.4 billion yuan (US$468 million) last year, with more than 1.1 billion yuan collected as public welfare funds.
The city's welfare lottery funds are used to support the elderly and disabled, orphans and other needy people. Lottery sales also cover jackpots.
Also according to the report, the city registered 366 new social organizations last year, with 44 of them with philanthropic purposes, up 4.92 percentage points from a year earlier to make the total number of philanthropic organizations to 600.
"Shanghai's philanthropic causes have been developing vigorously in recent years, delivering a warm touch to the international metropolis," said Jiang Rui, director of the bureau.
She said efforts will be stepped up to cultivate and support the development of social organizations in the city.
A forum focusing on the psychological problems and concerns of women is held over the weekend.
Meanwhile, a forum was held over the weekend to raise awareness of the psychological health of women.
As part of a charity program hosted by the Shanghai Charity Foundation and the fund Endless Love, the forum created a platform to share issues related to woman's' psychological health, giving them an outlet to be heard, understood and cared for.
It gathered Jin Haiyan, a doctor from Ruijin Hospital, Processor Luo Yuming of Fudan University, senior psychological consultant Ma Jingwen, and actress Wang Lemon to discuss the topic.
"The rapid development of modern society has led to increasing psychological challenges for women, which calls for more care and awareness from society," said He Xiaolin, deputy director of the program development department of the Shanghai Charity Foundation.
Attendees discussed topics such as the causes of psychological problems, their judgement, and methods to ease emotional and psychological concerns and problems.
