Warming the islands

THE city's annual charity event called "sending warmth to three islands", held January 14 for the first time, saw the participation of foreign faces. The event, co-organized by Shanghai Charity Foundation and Shanghai Women's Federation, has for the fourth time opened its "mobile charity store" to people from the city's three less developed islands - Chongming, Hengsha and Changxing.

A total of 4,000 impoverished families on the islands benefited from this year's event.

According to the organizers, each family was given a 200-yuan (US$24) voucher to use for purchases of food, shoes and quilts in the mobile store. Huang Meili was among the many who arrived at the Chongming site very early that morning.

"I want a quilt and some sugar," said the old lady with the "loving" voucher. "I couldn't have afforded to buy these if there was no such charity store."

Aaron Randolph, a young man from the United States who has been living in China for two years, was among the dozen or so of foreigners who participated. They donated some 80,000 yuan (US$9,639) for this year's event.

"I'm very glad that we can lend a hand to local people," said Randolph. "I'm a foreigner, but I'm also a Chinese after living and working here for so long."