HONG KONG (SE): Caritas-Hong Kong held a closing ceremony of its 2018 fund raising campaign on May 30 at Caritas Hall, Caine Road at which it announced that a record-high $35.5 million was raised in the last year. 
 
Among those present at the event were John Cardinal Tong Hon, apostolic administrator of the Hong Kong; Father John Baptist Tsang Hing-man, chairperson of the Caritas Council; Father Joseph Yim Tak-lung, chief executive of Cartias-Hong Kong; Peter Leung Ming-hym, deputy chief executive of ICBC (Asia) as well as other guests.
 
According to the fund raising report released by Caritas, around $6.9 million was raised by its charity bazaars, $13 million by charity raffle tickets; $8 million by the Friends of Caritas; $7.5 million by donations from various sources.
 
Father Tsang said during his welcoming message that the success of the campaign can be attributed to the support of the people of Hong Kong rather than the strength of Caritas. He hoped that the support would continue to that it could continue its mission of “love in the service of hope.”
 
Awards for around 30 organisations, including schools, parishes and service groups were presented.
 
The ceremony concluded with a prayer of gratitude led by Cardinal Tong.
 
In related news, the Caritas Charity TV Show, organised by the Friends of Caritas, was broadcast on TVB Jade on the evening of June 22 and successfully raised over $15 million. More than just a fund raising event, the show is an effective platform through which the public can better understand the diverse services provided by Caritas-Hong Kong.
 
The show kicked off with an opening ceremony officiated by Cardinal Tong together with Law Chi-kwong, secretary for labour and welfare, and Andrew Chan Tak-kun, chairperson of Friends of Caritas, along with other guests.
 
The show featured a performance by a band formed by the members of Caritas Wong Yiu Nam Centre, which provides drug addiction treatments, as well as the first graduation ceremony of the bachelor of nursing programme at the Caritas Institute of Higher Education.