2020/04/29

SAVE THE CHILDREN HONG KONG AND PATRON CATHY LEE LAUNCH #SAVEWITHSTORIESHK TO HELP CHILDREN LEARN DURING CORONAVIRUS SCHOOL CLOSURES

With prolonged school closures due to the coronavirus outbreak, Save the Children Hong Kong and its Patron, Mrs. Cathy Lee, today announced the launch of #SaveWithStoriesHK to help kids learn while they are out of school. In Hong Kong, one in four children live below the poverty line. Children from under-privileged families are being left behind with online schooling, as the social and economic situation impacts their access to education.

The #SaveWithStoriesHK campaign invites Hong Kong’s top celebrities, including Ambassador of Save the Children Hong Kong, Mr. Donnie Yen and his wife Cissy Wang, to read popular children’s stories on social media, while raising awareness and funding to support vulnerable local children during this challenging period. Save the Children is committed to giving children a brighter future, and will donate books and learning resources to families in poor communities in Hong Kong with the proceeds from this campaign.

“When I first learned about this campaign, I knew we should do something similar for the children in Hong Kong. I reached out to my friends and their response has been amazing,” said Cathy Lee, Patron of Save the Children Hong Kong. “As a mother myself, it is heartbreaking to see many children falling behind in their studies because of lack of resources during online learning, therefore my family’s Henderson Development Anti-Epidemic Fund recently donated laptops and data service to under-privileged families in Hong Kong. Now with the
#SaveWithStoriesHK campaign, we can mobilise many more people to contribute to relief efforts. It’s important that the community responds to their needs and gives them the support they deserve. I am truly thankful to all those who are participating in this initiative!”

#SaveWithStories was first launched by actress Jennifer Garner and Save the Children US. Since its launch, #SaveWithStories has expanded to meet the needs of children around the world during the global pandemic, and is being rolled out in countries including Australia, India, the Netherlands, South Korea and the U.K.

“Every child deserves the right to quality education. Our global movement started this campaign as a fun and engaging way to inspire children during this difficult time, while providing much needed support to the most vulnerable children around the world,” said Carol Szeto, CEO of Save the Children Hong Kong. “I’m thrilled by the incredible support of our Patron, and all the celebrities who are joining this campaign. We hope our #SaveWithStoriesHK will lift the spirits of children in Hong Kong and help ensure that no child is left behind.” In addition to donating needed supplies to the communities, Save the Children Hong Kong continues to provide tips and resources to parents and children to help them cope
with the challenges of the pandemic. #SaveWithStoriesHK is the latest initiative to further its support to the communities in Hong Kong.

For more information on Save the Children Hong Kong’s coronavirus relief efforts, please visit: https://savethechildren.org.hk//en/you-are-not-alone/

We thank the following celebrities for participating in #SaveWithStoriesHK:
(last names are in alphabetical order from *)

Donnie Yen (Save the Children HK Ambassador) and his wife, Cissy Wang
Jonathan Wong (Save the Children HK Child Sponsorship Advocate)
*Aimee Chan
Sammi Cheng
Cecilia Cheung
Alex Fong
Leo Ku
Gigi Lai
Emily Lam
Karena Lam
Philip Lim
Byron Mann
Richie Ren
Charlie Siem
Natalie Tong
Linda Wong
Michael Wong
Jason Wu
Myolie Wu
Qiqi and daughter, Ella Yam
Joey Yung

We also thank the support from Scholastic and Taosheng Publishing House in securing numerous English and Chinese titles from their highly regarded libraries respectively to be featured as part of this campaign.