Shangri-La sponsors fundraiser for kids with hip dislocation

A bicycle riding charity event, co-launched by 30 Shangri-La hotels, kicks off on Saturday simultaneously in three Chinese cities to raise funds for 100 children with congenital hip dislocation.

A total of 32 riders, recruited by the hotels via social media channels to participate in the event called Ride for Hope, will cycle an accumulative 5,000 kilometers in the next 15 days to reach the respective destinations on Nov 3.

The three routes will run from Nanchang in Jiangxi province to Shanghai, Xiamen in Fujian province to Shanghai and Beihai in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region to Hong Kong, according to Shangri-La. A fourth route circling Hainan is due to start on Oct 29.

The event is expected to attract 5,000 public participants to cycle with riders in 25 cities along the four routes where the 30 hotels are located, according to the organizer.

“By riding through more than 25 cities on the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, and through various social media channels, we want to raise wider public awareness of these special children’s needs,” said Charlie Dang, Shangri-La’s executive vice-president who oversees operations in East and South China.

The hotel group is partnering with the Ai You Foundation, a top-level charity organization based in Beijing that is engaged in child healthcare and child welfare, to assist at least 100 orphaned or poverty-stricken children with developmental dislocation diseases under the Ai You Morning Star Project.

“The Ride for Hope event will enable our children in need to receive effective treatments and lead normal lives afterwards,” said Luo Zhenzhen, assistant secretary-general of the foundation.

“We appreciate the opportunity with Shangri-La to explore such an innovative way of improving the lives of vulnerable children and partnering with companies and the public to solve social problems together,” she noted.

According to Luo, each child will require surgery costing at least 30,000 yuan ($4,324).

At the end of September, Shangri-La organized an auction that raised 1 million yuan for the project.

The Ride for Hope event, initiated by Futian ShangriLa, Shenzhen, was held in 2013 and 2015, raising charity funds of 343,000 yuan and 850,000 yuan, respectively. The money has been used to build water cellars for 26 families and five schools in poverty-stricken areas with water shortages. The move has benefited 2,200 teachers and students, according to Shangri-La.