Expats with big hearts help Pingsha pupils in need

Come Together Community (CTC) donated school fees and Love Packs worth 82,500 yuan ($12,950) to 50 underprivileged students at Pingsha Experimental Primary School in the Gaolan Port Economic Zone of Zhuhai on May 8.

The funds were raised at Come Together, South China's premier charity music festival, last November. It was staged at Lets Cultural District in Qianshan, and organized by C2W Group, San Jiao Ling PR Services, MindSparks, and InternChina, among others.

The school visit was joined by volunteers from the Charity Promotion Association of Zhuhai (CPAZ). Love Packs, each including a backpack, globe, notepads, stationary, and more, were presented to students in need.

CTC members, volunteers, and recipients [Photo by Kang Zhenhua / Zhuhai Daily]

Donors and volunteers visited some of the students' families afterward, and were told stories of hardship and then treated with organic tomatoes.

This year marked CPAZ's 12th and CTC's fifth year aiding children from low-income families in Pingsha. The CTC group was founded by like-minded expats to motivate and inspire people to give back to the community.

The founders of CTC have lived in Zhuhai and China for collectively over 40 years; they love it here and consider it home. Therefore, they want to give back to the community and help make it a better place for all residents, according to Mark Clayton, a Brit and co-founder of CTC.

"The Come Together mentality is grounded in supporting our city and its people by uniting the expat and local communities to fundraise for 100 percent charitable causes which help out our local philanthropies," he said.

Each year, CTC hosts the Come Together, bringing people together from all cultures and different walks in life to celebrate music while also raising funds for charity.

Organic tomato handout [Photo provided by Mark Clayton]

CPAZ is a registered Civil Society Organization in China. Its range of projects provide compassionate assistance to vulnerable sectors of society. This includes supporting the morally and financially destitute, disadvantaged people, and particularly young students who are orphans or live with single parents.

Currently CPAZ's largest project sponsors 600 students who have lost mothers or fathers and struggle to stay in school. Sponsorship supplies them with tuition fees, books, uniforms, and necessary equipment to have an equal start in education, explained a CPAZ executive.