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2006-11-29 | Beijing

Orphans’ Lives Touched by Charity Dinner

The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China hosted the 6th Annual Charity Gala Dinner: Touch an Orphan’s Life, in the Kempinski Hotel, Beijing. The event was organised in partnership with China Charity Federation (CCF), EU-China Managers Association and Operation Blessing.

Hundreds of participants gathered in the foyer of the Kempinski Hotel on Friday 8th December to enjoy a charitable evening and raise awareness of the challenges facing the less fortunate in China.

This year the event raised over one and a half million RMB and still counting! This healthy figure was a considerable improvement on last year’s total. This was a result of the European Chamber’s continued policy of donating all post-expense profit directly to the beneficiary charities. Recipients this year are Operation Blessing who provide life saving surgeries; Bethel House, a foster home for blind orphans, who receive care and are educated to lead independent lives; and Braille Without Borders, a Tibetan charity, who care for blind orphans and teach specialised Braille in their local language.

The evening was kick started by cocktails by ASC Wines and canapés from Morel´s. Guests then viewed a photo exhibition by Ben McMillan featuring an interesting variety of images from Beijing architecture to migrant workers with a view towards Corporate Social Responsibility.

After the ballroom doors had opened the hostess for the evening, Ms. Rita Zhao, CCTV9 anchor, welcomed everyone to the special event. The night continued with moving speeches by the President of the European Chamber Mr. Serge Janssens de Varebeke; Mr. Liu Guo Lin from CCF; Mrs. Kara Waddell from Operation Blessing; Mr. Guillaume Gauvain from Bethel House and major sponsors; Dr. Maximilian Kellner from BMW and Dr. Alex Westlake from ClearWorld. 

After guests enjoyed a seasonal feast of roast goose it was time to take to the dance floor. The band for the evening, The Instant Noodles, was an ensemble of enthusiastic ex-pats from eclectic backgrounds. They encouraged guests to fill the floor with a combination of easy listening jazz, cover songs and latin beats.

The highlight of the evening, especially for the lucky winners, was the raffle. Up for grabs were a number of prizes in bronze, silver and gold categories with amazing prizes ranging from romantic dinners in luxurious Beijing restaurants to Nokia phones, BMW driving experiences, return flights to Europe and fabulous 5 star hotel breaks.

It is with pleasure that the European Chamber has contributed to helping Chinese orphans through this event. However, this would not have been feasible without the cooperation of our guests and partner sponsors. The European Chamber would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved with raising donations and organising the Charity Dinner.

Congratulations to all who have helped us to positively impact on and touch an orphan's life.

Please click here to view the impressive video from Operation Blessing.

Thanks to our sponsors for supporting this event.