Annual fundraising drive Operation Santa Claus (OSC) raised a substantial HK$13.2 million (US$1.7 million) in the last two months of 2024 to improve the lives of more than 11,000 underprivileged Hongkongers through 11 charities. Contributions to the 37th edition of the initiative, jointly organised by the South China Morning Post and public broadcaster RTHK, brought…
A Hong Kong charity that has designed courses for children and young people with special education needs (SEN) and workshops for their families to strengthen their mental, physical and social health will be able to serve more of those in need, thanks to extra support from an annual fundraising drive. Starting next year, the charity,…
Sakshi Vasudev used to be a “very shy B or C student” before she joined Kids4Kids, the Hong Kong charity that she said changed her life and gave her what the city’s education system could not. Now 23, Vasudev said she found encouragement, mentoring and support at Kids4Kids when the local education system focused on…
Nearly 1,500 Hong Kong school pupils will be offered psychological counselling services on campus if they suffer from depression or anxiety under a new initiative to improve support networks by expanding the pool of counsellors. With support from annual fundraising drive Operation Santa Claus (OSC), local charity Mind HK will launch the Improving Access to…
A charity which has served more than 10,000 deaf and hard-of-hearing Hongkongers for nearly three decades will expand to meet the mental health needs of clients and carers. Silence aims to launch a project to provide counselling, mental health talks, museum visits and forest outings for its beneficiaries next year, with funding from annual fundraising…
Annual fundraising drive Operation Santa Claus (OSC) will support 11 beneficiaries this year including organisations providing care for elderly members of ethnic minority groups and children with special education needs in Hong Kong. The fundraiser, jointly organised by the South China Morning Post and public broadcaster RTHK, raised HK$14.9 million (US$1.9 million) for 16 charitable…
Youth mental wellness has emerged as an important public health concern, particularly given the worrying rise in Hong Kong’s youth suicide rate between 2019 and 2022. A slight rise in the rate year on year was recorded in 2023. Over half of suicides among Hongkongers under 15 years were linked to broken families, underscoring the…