The Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC) Charity Fund and Po Leung Kuk share the same vision of
providing better education to underprivileged children so as to make a change in their lives. Since
2002, the FCC Charity Fund committee has organized the annual charity ball to raise funds for the Kuk.
Proceeds go directly to finance the operation of the Language Training Programme and the Children’s
Learning Centre as well as the Scholarship Fund for the benefit of children and youngsters in need.
The FCC Charity Fund and all benefactors have become the major funding source of these worthwhile
charity projects. With their generous support over the years, the projects have seen tremendous
growth with increasing numbers of beneficiaries. The Language Training Programme (LTP) funded by
the Charity Fund and J.P. Morgan has stepped into its fifth year. The Centre provides an ideal learning
environment for 300 Kuk’s children every year in strengthening their language proficiency in English and
Putonghua. Such capability helps them tremendously in their studies and finding a job in the future.
The Children’s Learning Centre, with the complementary Children’s Development Programme, is located
at Lei Muk Shue, Kwai Chung. It is a newly established facility jointly founded by the Charity Fund, Merrill
Lynch Asia Pacific, UBS and the Kuk. This centre, operational in July this year, is a continuation and
expansion of the LTP providing language training to children of the underprivileged families. Kwai Ching
has been chosen as the base of the project in view of the large number of needy families in the vicinity.
The operations of the centre are two-fold – to provide English and Putonghua language instruction
to some 200 children a year; and to provide social work support to these children and their families
through its Children’s Development Programme. We aim to improve the language skills and learning
needs of these children as well as to work with their families to promote harmonious family relationships
as a whole.
Furthermore, riding on the contribution from the major donor Mr. Henrik Nielsen among others, the
Charity Fund has granted over $7.7 million to support students of Po Leung Kuk affiliated schools and
discharged residential children with financial difficulties in their pursuit of higher education.
We are most thankful to all committee members of the FCC Charity Fund who have contributed so
much of their time and efforts in making the projects a distinct success. Our heartfelt appreciation also
goes to all donors and partners which have made significant contributions to enrich the charity fund. In
this difficult time, Hong Kong people especially the underprivileged have been hard hit by the economic
crisis. May I appeal to all of you for your continued support so that together we can help improve the
lives of the people in need.