MCC Community Charity Work
Glad to give to charities乐善好施
The Chinese in the Community display good human qualities such as sympathy, justice, sharing, kindness, and enthusiasm; those are the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation.
Each year MCC welcome donations of hot and dry food from the parents of the children who attended the Chinese school, as well as kind donations from the takeaways and restaurants in Chinatown. This soon built up a large bank of food and clothes donations that are given to homeless food banks, shelters and homeless outreach support organizations to distribute. (see 2015 and 2021 Chinese New Year reports)
The Chinese community generously donate aid and food to support local communities in need. For years, we have been working with
- Tung Sing Housing Association
- Chinese Health Information
- Chinese Church
- Coffee for Craig (Cofe4Craig), Unit 5, 153 Great Ducie St, Manchester M3 1FB
- Highway Hope Church, 1 Matthews Lane, Manchester M12 4QW
- Chinese Temples, 12D Dewey St, Openshaw Manchester M11 2NT
- Brunswick Church, Brunswick Street, Manchester M13 9SX
Community Integrating Charity Work
Fundraising for Christie’s hospital
The Charity Chinese Educational workshop was held at the Chinese New Year stall outside the Manchester Town Hall. Organised by Jenny Wong, Manager of the MCC, explained, “The MCC has always seen itself as an outreach Centre working in the communities here in Manchester, not only the Chinese community. It is our aim to extend our work as widely as possible, and how wonderful to share and exchange our rich cultures in the process!”
The MCC supported Christie Hospital Cancer Research for many years by providing Chinese interpreting at Christie hospital and fundraising funds to support the hospital.
In aid of Christie Hospital Cancer Research, the MCC joined forces with the Manchester Grammar School (MGS) and the Manchester China Forum to host a charity gala at the Manchester Grammar School’s auditorium on the 27th of March 2015 to celebrate Chinese culture; the event was titled “Chinese Elements Charity Evening Gala”. MGS students in Chinese GCSE class used the Chinese language to perform a Drama.
2015, Manchester Grammar School (MGS) students in Chinese GCSE class use the Chinese language to perform a Drama (Please see CHINESE ELEMENTS CHARITY EVENING GALA REPORT)
NHS Manchester Children's Hospital
MCC has worked with Manchester Children's Hospital Cancer Ward. MCC volunteers reached out to the hospital to play with the children during the Chinese New Year. The volunteers provided the children and families with free Chinese arts and crafts, Dance performing and Lion dance workshops. It was fun for the sick children to take part in the Lion dance and learn to play the Chinese drum. According to Chinese tradition, it is believed that the Lion spirit could bring new hope to families. In addition, it also helps those sick children with special needs, such as phobias and autism, to ease boredom, to be calm, aid recovery, and to make the hospital a children-friendly environment. All in all, MCC volunteers, through their activities, help make the hospital a good fun environment and a positive experience for these sick children.
MCC volunteers are very proud of their achievements at the Manchester Children's Hospital.
2020 Covid-19 MCC NHS Fundraising for Manchester Foundation Trust
Manchester Foundation Trust Charity
“At the beginning of April 2020, the NHS will not accept medical resource donations. So we call the Chinese community to donate funds to help the NHS. Tony Taolue Chen (陈韬略) led the Chinese Community fundraised £13,575.50, and Manchester Chinese Centre, Jenny Wong, led the students’ parents to fundraise £3000. Total £16,575.00 donation to the Manchester Foundation Trust Charity, organised by Donna O’Reilly, Senior Community Fundraising Officer. In May 2020, NHS ran out of PPE, so the community searched for medical PPE for the NHS.
Racism attack
In January and February 2020, there was an increase in hostility towards Chinese people, highlighted in this article by the Manchester Evening News: https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/keep-away-poisoned-manchesters-chinese-17701894
It was about the racism that Asian people faced in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. Chinese children have been bullied in schools. Chinese takeaways and restaurants were attacked. There were racism banners attached to the streets, public trains and buses. British values was lost overnight. It was heartbreaking to see how the reaction of the community due to coronavirus.
“This coronavirus outbreak was not caused by the Chinese and had no scientific basis at all. We hope this fundraising can help the local community to understand the Chinese Community is not a coronavirus. We are standing together shoulder to shoulder to fight this coronavirus with you. “Jenny Wong, Manager of the Manchester Chinese Centre.
The story in the MEN on the 15th April 2020, see the link below
Covid-19 Pandemic
Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, in April 2020, the whole UK was short of PPE, our community volunteers are working as fundraisers and looking for PPE. We helped organisations by fundraising and food delivery to the Chinese elderly. Our volunteers were fighting every minute of the day.
Manchester City Council's homecare and care support staff were facing the Coronavirus outbreak without PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). The City Council’s staff go into people's homes and look after some of the city's most vulnerable people, particularly those working for social care and nursing care in the community. PPE kits were running out quickly; it was especially anticipated that the following two months would be critical and an expected "surge" in the care sector's demand would peak in about 2-3 weeks' time.
MCC had received many requests, but we were reaching out to our friends and partners for mutual aid and donations of PPE in line with the WHO standards. We organised volunteers to look for masks, aprons, gloves and visors/goggles across Manchester Chinese Warehouses. Our volunteers worked day and night to look for PPE and medical resource donations.
We worked with Donna O’Reilly, Senior Community Fundraising Officer, the Manchester Foundation Trust Charity; Penny Shannon, Communications Business Partner, Health and Social Care and Lee O’Neil, Receipt & Distribution Supervisor and Procurement & e-Commerce Department.