(Hong Kong, 18 December 2010) More than 400 awardees representing the 177 projects voted in by the public and selected by Mr Li Ka-shing gathered today to share their work and aspirations with each other and representatives from The Hong Kong Council of Social Service and St James’ Settlement.
Mr Li Ka-shing, Chairman of the Li Ka Shing Foundation, also made an ad hoc appearance to express his heartfelt appreciation towards the philanthropic effort of the awardees. Mr Li said that the overwhelming response from the community in support of the “Love Ideas, Love HK” programme not only showcased the creativity of the Hong Kong citizens but more importantly, how much they care about their community. Mr Li quoted former United States President Theodore Roosevelt’s speech, In the Arena, delivered at the Paris Sorbonne University in 1910 that “The credit… belongs to the man who does actually strive to do the deeds.” Mr Li said the credit belongs to the men and women who served to make a positive impact to make a difference.
Mr Li also thanked the social services and welfare organisations that offered valuable support and advice to the programme.
Chief Executive of The Hong Kong Council of Social Service, Ms Christine Fang, said HKCSS was delighted that the programme connected and mobilised the compassion of the public to be more thoughtful to those in need.
Ms Fang said, “The support of the enthusiastic voters together with the successful implementation of the projects will surely have a positive impact to those in need. We want to congratulate all elected applicants and we do hope that their projects could all be rolled out smoothly and their collective effort powering improvements to our community.”
Chief Executive Officer of St James’ Settlement, Mr Michael Lai, JP, said the “Love Ideas, Love HK” programme advocated care for the community and encouraged creativity, which dovetailed nicely with SJS’ objectives.
“One of SJS’ objectives is to be aware of new challenges in the community and to devise and carry into effect new approaches to meet these challenges. We are pleased to see that this LKSF programme has attracted a lot of creative ideas, especially those from individual applicants. Such an enthusiastic response reflected the tremendous success of the programme from inception to execution,” Mr Lai said.
Launched on 15 September, “Love Ideas, Love HK” programme received a total of 1,029 project applications, amongst which 674 eligible projects were uploaded for voting between 1 November and 21 November. The number of elected projects totals 177, including 169 projects elected by public and 12 projects chosen by Mr Li.
In view of the overwhelming response, LKSF has decided to launch the second round of “Love Ideas, Love HK” in April next year. Details will be announced later.
“Love Ideas, Love HK” is the first initiative of LKSF’s HK$300-million public philanthropic campaign “Love HK Your Way!”, an effort to engage Hong Kong citizens to improve our community on issues they deeply care about. Combining the powers of technology, charity and community awareness, “Love Ideas, Love HK” encourages Hong Kong residents to vote for projects they believe are beneficial to their community and should receive LKSF grants.
