Some of our activities are essentially informal social ventures. They have created employment for and given dignity to HIV-positive mothers, provided vocational training/job placement for some students, generated income to Chi Heng Foundation, and expanded awareness of Chi Heng and our cause. There is potential for future expansion given management focus and skills. We therefore institutionalize such activities by turning each into a social enterprise using funds designated for such activities. We provide these social enterprises with organizational structures and management, to give them the chance to grow and therefore develop more financial resources to support the long-term development of Chi Heng Foundation.
Village 127
This is a French bakery and cafe in Shanghai selling and serving high quality baked goods with pastry chefs trained by Shanghai Young Bakers, another social innovation developed by Chi Heng Foundation. It provides employment to graduates of SYB, demonstrates to the public that underprivileged children can achieve impressive skills when given the chance, promotes the cause of Chi Heng Foundation, and donates its operating profits towards Chi Heng’s charitable work.
Please follow us on Village 127 Facebook.
Eco Bag Workshop
This is a program to empower communities stricken by HIV/AIDS and extreme poverty.
The workshop employs women suffering HIV/AIDS who can no longer do manual labour, to make Eco Bags for sale. This way, they can earn an income and live their lives with dignity. Their income can also subsidize the education of their children.
Eco Bag designs are artwork painted by our sponsored AIDS-impacted orphans. This way, the workshop provides synergy with our Art Counseling Program, which allows AIDS-impacted orphans to express their inner feelings and aspirations through art and writing.
The Accor Group in France provided the seed money to launch the project and bought the first annual orders of 50,000 Eco Bags for their hotels.
Starfish Workshop
Gift items such as mirrors, cups, and starfish ornaments are created using our sponsored students’ paintings. They are sold at our fundraising events and on Taobao to raise funds for Chi Heng Foundation.
The workshop also designs and promotes Chi Heng eco bags and develops other merchandising deals to generate revenue.
Voluntourism
Trips to the villages for individuals, companies or schools are conducted to enable them to learn about the peasants’ lives and living conditions as well as Chi Heng’s work there, as a way to explore “another side of China” and contribute to the communities. This program is designed to promote awareness of the plight to AIDS-impacted children, to facilitate interaction among people from different backgrounds, while generating funds to finance our scholarship programs and developing local employment in the long-term.
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