As the Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children celebrates its 90th anniversary this month, the outgoing fundraising chief talks about the cause closest to her heart
Photography by Michaela Giles
We take care of 3,000 children every day,” says Jacqueline Chow, underlining the importance of the charity for which she’s been a volunteer for 14 years, the Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children (HKSPC). She’s in her third and final year as chairwoman of its fundraising committee, and her team is honing preparations for the society’s biggest fundraiser of the year, the HKSPC Ball, which takes place on November 11.
The gala is especially significant this year as it marks 90 years since Thomas Maynard Hazlerigg, a former British army officer, founded the society to promote the welfare of children. After a hiatus imposed by World War II, the society opened its first baby health centre in 1951 and has since evolved to operate 27 crèches and nurseries, providing shelter, education and health services to orphaned, abandoned and underprivileged children.
The Society operates several nursery schools in Hong Kong
Jacqueline with guests at the 2014 Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children Gala
The Society's Science Wonderland offers a series of creative classes for children
While Jacqueline wears many philanthropic hats—she’s also on the board of the YWCA, is a member of the Hong Kong Ballet Guild and is an independent school manager at the Ebenezer School and Home for the Visually Impaired—the society is closest to her heart, perhaps because her late great-grandmother May Woo, one of her biggest inspirations, was among its founding members.
“My great-grandmother, together with a group of British ladies, began by helping children in the neighbourhood and giving out food to hungry people,” says Jacqueline. “They cared so much for the community, and their work is what makes the HKSPC what it is today.” Jacqueline’s own deep regard for the community was ingrained early, as her mother was an active member of the society for more than 20 years. “I was raised to understand the importance of giving back,” she says.
Raising the public’s awareness of the society is one of Jacqueline’s proudest accomplishments, she says. “Despite being the oldest children’s charity in the city, we were able to bring in new blood to help with fundraising and explore more partnerships that boosted awareness for our cause.”
The society partnered with Hong Kong Tatler and Louis Vuitton in 2014 for the Women of Wonder project, which helped Jacqueline’s team—about 30 people from all walks of life—realise how the media can help raise public awareness of organisations like theirs. “There were a lot of arguments in the beginning about whether we should partner with a brand or not, but in the end it worked out to be beneficial for us,” says Jacqueline.
Working with the charity has also helped Jacqueline in her own life. “Since I went through a divorce, being devoted to this charity balanced me out a lot. Pouring my efforts into helping our children become happy and healthy has become a mission in life.” She has also learned a great deal about what children need. “We don’t want to stop at the basics. In this digital age, we want children to be exposed to computers and technology.” To that end, the society has set up a room called Science Wonderland and an IT Learning Centre at its headquarters in Mong Kok. The former offers a series of creative and investigative experiences to foster children’s skills of observation and exploration, while the latter provides tailor-made computer activities.
It’s been a big year for Jacqueline’s team, starting in February with a party to kick off the 90th anniversary year, followed by an exhibition dinner and flag day, both in May, this month’s gala and the society’s first walkathon, to be held at Clearwater Bay Golf and Country Club next month. “Perhaps the best part of being involved in the foundation is that I constantly try to better myself,” says Jacqueline, who takes on each new task with a smile. “These experiences help me become a better mother and remind me and my daughters to not take anything for granted.”
As for this month's gala, to be held at the Glass Pavilion at Kitek, Jacqueline is proud that all 34 tables were snapped up months ago. Some 350 of the city’s philanthropists and business leaders will attend, including Hopewell Holdings managing director Thomas Wu and former HKSPC president Elizabeth Bosher. “The Never-Ending Story” is the theme, and Jacqueline’s team is sparing no effort in creating a fantastical scene with party supremo Silvio Berge. With 90 years under its belt, the Society for the Protection of Children is, indeed, a never-ending story.
An Open Day at the society’s Mong Kok headquarters on January 14 is open to the public. For more information, go to hkspc.org