Operation Santa Claus helps Hong Kong’s Shaw Foundation uplift smaller charities

One of Asia’s largest philanthropic organisations, the Shaw Foundation, has pledged to continue supporting small charities in Hong Kong and urged the public to do the same, after making a generous donation to victims of last month’s catastrophic fire in Tai Po.

The foundation made a HK$20 million (US$2.6 million) contribution to help victims of the Wang Fuk Court fire, which broke out on November 26 and raged for 43 hours. The deadly fire killed at least 160 people, injured 79 others and displaced around 5,000.

Raymond Chan Wai-man, the foundation’s chairman, said he was encouraged to see the response from the community in the aftermath of the fire.

“In the past, we were often one of the first to provide support. We’ve set a leading example. Now, many organisations don’t wait for the government’s appeal; they respond immediately when disaster strikes. I’m happy to see this,” Chan said.

But while “everyone has done more, it’s never enough,” he stressed, adding that there are always more challenges that need to be addressed in society and lesser-known charities that still need support.

“We hope we can play a leading role. If we take the lead, society will pay more attention to them, so we hope to use our influence to support the charitable projects that might not get much public attention,” Chan said.