The Changing Young Lives Foundation, a charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children in Hong Kong and mainland China, has announced the launch of a special festive-season appeal to help raise 1,000 Christmas presents for underprivileged children living in Hong Kong.
The campaign will be chaired by James Thompson and Doreen Pao, and is being supported by the charity's Goodwill Ambassador Maria Cordero who will be in attendance at the launch reception. In addition, acclaimed child
pianist, ten-year old Aristo Sham, will perform at the launch party planned for the evening of November 27, 2006 in his first appearance as the Changing Young Lives Foundation's newly-appointed Child Ambassador.
"There are 260,000 underprivileged children in Hong Kong alone, and our appeal will bring joy to some of them and enable them to open a Christmas present," said Marcia Aw, the Foundation's Executive Director.
She notes that this year's appeal focuses on the almost 25% of children under 15 living in the Special Administrative Region who are still officially classified as living in poverty. This means that an overwhelming number of Hong Kong youngsters cannot afford a regular hot meal and other basic necessities, and some may not even have a roof over their heads.
