Yangcheon-gu, 2021 Hope Ondol 'Warm Winter' Fundraising Starts

Fundraising for Vulnerable Neighbors through Public-Private Partnership with Community Chest of Korea... Love Fruit Ribbon Campaign on November 24 and Special Fundraising Live Broadcast Event from 10 AM on December 18 to Encourage Donations

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Yangcheon-gu (Mayor Kim Soo-young) is intensively promoting the 2021 Hope Ondol Warm Winter Fundraising Campaign from November 16 to February 15 next year to help vulnerable neighbors spend the cold winter warmly.

The Warm Winter Fundraising Campaign is a representative winter neighbor-helping project carried out through public-private cooperation by the 25 autonomous districts of Seoul and the Seoul Community Chest of Korea. It is a project where local residents collect donations and goods (rice, kimchi, briquettes, etc.) bit by bit to donate for vulnerable neighbors in the community.

The funds and goods collected through the project are used for heating costs and living expenses for vulnerable groups and families in crisis during winter. In the ‘2020 Warm Winter Project’ conducted last winter, about 880 million KRW worth of donations and goods were collected through the active participation of Yangcheon-gu residents. These were used throughout the year for living expenses, medical expenses, housing costs, and were effectively utilized to stabilize the lives of families in crisis who were in welfare blind spots and to promote community welfare.

First, the district will hold a Love Fruit Hanging Campaign on the 24th to announce the start of the project and ensure its successful promotion. The event will include the unveiling ceremony of the Love Thermometer Tower, the Love Fruit Hanging and Fundraising Relay event, and the delivery ceremony of love scarves and heating tents.

The Love Thermometer Tower sets the hottest love temperature of the residents at 100℃ and visualizes the fundraising status toward the goal of 850 million KRW to encourage voluntary participation from local residents. The unveiling ceremony of the Love Thermometer Tower marks the kickoff of this fundraising activity.

The Love Fruit Hanging Relay event will be led by Mayor Kim Soo-young as the ‘No. 1 Sharing Celebrity,’ where employees will hang fruits on each other and carry out the fundraising relay.

Also, the hand-knitting employee club ‘Sonmoahoe’ will donate 160 scarves and 40 scrubbers made with love throughout the year. Lee Hee-sook, head of Mok 4-dong and president of the club, said, “We gathered the members’ year-long devotion with the hope that all neighbors around can spend a warm winter.”

Morning Ae Morning Ae (CEO Kim Min-ho) and Grace Bridge Wide (CEO Yoon Il-ho) also donated 100 love heating tents and 5,000 masks through the Yangcheon Love Welfare Foundation. Additionally, Min Ga-hyun, an official from Sinwol 5-dong, will donate her talent by performing piano, continuing various donation efforts.

Furthermore, on December 18, a special fundraising live broadcast will be held for two hours from 10 a.m. on the official Yangcheon-gu YouTube channel ‘Yangcheon TV,’ where real-time fundraising events will also take place.

Residents who wish to participate in the Warm Winter fundraising can deposit money into the dedicated Yangcheon-gu account (Woori Bank 010-176590-13-532, Seoul Community Chest of Korea) or donate money or goods at the ‘Warm Winter Counter’ at the Yangcheon-gu Welfare Policy Division and local community centers.

Especially this year, due to COVID-19, a non-face-to-face fundraising method has been introduced, allowing small donations via mobile payment by scanning a QR code with a smartphone. All donations will receive donation receipts, so donors can also benefit from tax deductions.

Yangcheon-gu Mayor Kim Soo-young said, “Although it is a chilly morning commute and a time when it is difficult to share a warm cup of tea nearby, the relay of various donation efforts will continuously warm our hearts. Thanks to the residents who generously deliver love to those more in need despite difficult and challenging circumstances, we expect to easily achieve the love temperature of 100℃ again this year.”