BJ FOoDIES: ‘Shelter’ Charity Meal @ MARE

One of my favorite regular dining events, BJ FOoDIES is kicking off 2011 with a ‘Shelter’ Charity Meal at Mare Spanish restaurant featuring a very generous multiple-course meal with a selection of their very best tapas for all to taste!

BJ FOoDIES “Shelter” Charity Meal

Cost: ￥120/head includes dinner + glass of wine, sangria or beer

“Indulge for a Cause”

Event Details:

• Date: Sunday, January 16, 2010
• Time: 7:30-10:30
• Location: MARE
• Address: E-tower, Chaoyang District, CBD 朝阳区光华路9号数码大厦一层
• Cost: RMB 120 includes dinner menu + drink
• RSVP: E-mail BJ Foodies Team - bjfoodies@gmail.com

January Charity Theme: ‘Shelter’

About BJ Foodies Group:

Organizing monthly group meals at about RMB 100/head with food/drinks included, this group of dedicated foodies is all about “satiating their inner-foodie appetites for good quality food, conversation & fine wining/sake-ing/cocktailing/beering while indulging for a cause.”

BJ FOODIES PURPOSE:
1. Just to eat a nice meal & catch up with real people & friends outside the clubbing-disease we all suffer from called Vics/Mix.
2. Opportunity to contribute our little bits to society while doing something we love – EATING. The Charity aspect is a supplementary & added bonus BUT NOT the main purpose of the group

LumDimSummary: Rotaract Food Drive 2010

On Saturday, November 27, Rotaract Beijing organized a food drive together with four Carrefour shopping marts to collect both food and donations from shoppers to be delivered that same day to Guang Ai Orphanage to help them get through these coming harsh winter months.

LumDimSummary of Rotaract Food Drive 2010:

Result: “The kids at the orphanage went crazy when the vans arrived.”  – Kevin Lee (key organizer of Rotaract Club Food Drive)

LumDimSum Photo Gallery:

About Rotaract Club:

Rotaract Beijing collaborates with existing volunteer organizations in order to provide the community easy access to a variety of ongoing volunteer opportunities, with the added benefits of professional development and networking.

Previous events include everything from clothing drives to a Christmas Charity Bazaar, soup kitchen and speed dating.

BJ Foodies: ‘Autism’ Charity Meal @ TERRA

The last event of 2010, BJ Foodies‘ “Autism” Dinner will be treating foodies to feast on South American dishes at TERRA, a contemporary cevicheria by the same owners of SALT.

BJ Foodies “Autism” Charity Meal

Cost: ￥100/head + Alcohol tipple’

“Indulge for a Cause”

Event Details:

• Date: Sunday, December 12, 2010
• Time: 7:30-10:30
• Location: TERRA
• Address: 1 Sanlitun Nanlu, 三里屯南路1号
• Cost: RMB 100 includes 5-course menu + Drink
• RSVP: E-mail BJ Foodies Team - bjfoodies@gmail.com

December Charity Theme: ‘Autism’

Care for Children’s Carols by Candlelight

This year’s annual Christmas event, Care for Children will be having a Carols By Candlelight event to be held at their Training Center next to Beijing Riviera Shunyi.

Featuring a children’s choir, mulled wine & hot cocoa, mince pies & gingerbread men, guests will all be encouraged to buy Christmas baubles for the Care for Children Christmas tree and donate Christmas presents for a boy or girl under 12, which will be delivered to Shijiazhuang Orphanage the week before Christmas.

More than just an opportunity to gather and be merry, your support is what makes organizations like Care for Children bring sunshine into many people’s lives.

Event Details:

• Date: Sunday, December 12
• Time: Starts 6PM
• Location: Care for Children Training Center (by Beijing Riviera, Shunyi)
  
• Info: http://www.careforchildren.com
• Contact: jason@careforchildren.com.cn
  

Drink for a Better World with Wokai

This Tuesday, December 7, Wokai will be organizing their monthly event – Drinks for a Better World (DFBW) @ Nearby the Tree.

This month’s Wokai event will be introducing Mr. Shawn Shieh, a visiting professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University.  Discussing NGO/Civil Society in China, he will focus on the recent developments in the NGO field in China especially in relation to the recent 12th Five Year Plan.

His most recent publication (State and Society Responses to Social Welfare Needs in China: Serving the people):

“Based on current research, this book engages existing debates over state-society relations offering a new thematic framework to evaluate this relationship. Drawing on the framework, each chapter explores a particular aspect of social service provision including orphan care, migrant labor protection and infectious disease control. An interdisciplinary line up of contributors explore this dynamic, and how it affects the state-society relationship and the quality of social services provided in contemporary China.”

Event details:

• Date: Tuesday, December 7
  
• Time: 7:30PM-9:30PM
• Location: Nearby the Tree
  
• Address: 32A Sanlitun Bar Street Xi Jie, Chaoyang District, Beijing  (Behind 3.3) 三里屯酒吧街西街 32A
• Tel: 64131522/87

*DFBW is a bi-monthly speaker and networking event organized by Wokai to bring together like-minded people to discuss social issues in China.

Wokai Background:

Wokai is a not-for-profit organization committed to alleviating poverty in China. Wokai (wo3kai1 我开 in Chinese) means “I start” and refers to the the opportunity that our organization provides to Chinese micro-entrepreneurs to start small businesses, start change in their own lives, and lift themselves and their families out of poverty. www.wokai.org

theBeijinger Ultimate Quiz

In the spirit of giving, theBeijinger is hosting a charity quiz night at Hard Rock Cafe on Sunday, December 5 from 6PM onwards (quiz starts at 7PM).

Congregating Beijing’s top quizmasters, this ultimate quiz is not-to-be-missed by all trivia wizards.

Each participant will be asked to contribute RMB 50 as an entry fee, which will be donated to Ping An Medical Foster Home, a charity that strives to help Chinese orphans born with disabilities or diseases which require surgery.  Click here for more information and see the amazing miracles they are giving to these children.

For this event specifically, Hard Rock will be slashing prices on both food and drinks, and there’ll be great prizes for the winners of each round.

Event Details:

• Date: Sunday, December 5
• Time: Doors Open 6PM, Quiz starts 7PM
• Location: Hard Rock Cafe
• Address: On the 3rd Ring Road south of LiangMaQiao, Landmark Towers, 8 Dongsanhuan Bei Lu. 东三环北路8号亮马河大厦西大堂
• Tel: 6590-6688 ext. 2571
  

SALT Turns Three

Celebrate with SALT as they commemorate their 3 Year Anniversary this Thursday, December 2 at 7:30PM!  Enjoy drinks, tasty canapes and good times!

Note that proceeds from the RMB 150 entrance fee will be donated to UNICEF.  RSVP required, e-mail: info@saltrestaurantbeijing.com

Event Details:

• Date: Thursday, December 2
• Time: 7:30PM-late
• Location: SALT
• Address:
• RSVP: info@saltrestaurantbeijing.com

Background on UNICEF:

For 30 years UNICEF has worked in partnership with the Chinese government to realize children’s rights, primarily by supporting the provision of basic services such as health care and education. That support improves children’s daily lives in such diverse areas as immunization, early childhood development, education, sanitation and hygiene, access to clean water, microcredit for poor rural women, and emergency preparedness and response. UNICEF’s accomplishments in those areas are described in detail elsewhere on this website. For more information, check out their website: www.unicef.org/china.

Care for Children Christmas Cards

With Christmas just around the corner, a wonderful solution to your annual company or family Christmas card is to order Care for Children‘s customized Christmas/holiday greeting cards.

“Spread your love and warmth this Christmas to your existing customers and potential clients using Care for Children’s custom holiday cards!  A hassle-free way to send your greetings, a meaning way to say thank you, and a perfect way to be involved in CSR during this season of giving!  With each purchase, you are extending your love to the thousands of orphans in China by gifting them with a family to grow up with!

The best gift an abandoned child could ever receive FROM YOU is their rightful place in a good and loving family.” - Gerald Ang, Director of Fundraising for Care for Children

Choose from these 3 designs:

Cards are RMB 5 each, no minimum order.  Just pick a design and give a gift that keeps on giving!

To order Care for Children’s Christmas Cards, contact Gerald Ang – gerald@careforchildren.com.cn or Kay@careforchildren.com.cn

CARE FOR CHILDREN:

Care for Children exists to relieve hardship, distress and sickness in abandoned and orphaned children in China by the introduction of strategic initiatives in child care practice, directly training staff from orphanages across the country and effectively creating a solution for a long-term benefit to give orphaned children a family of their own.

Since it’s start in 1998, Care of Children has directly trained staff from over 200 orphanages, estimating that there are now over 250,000 children in families!

They have a vision to see 1 million children in a good and loving family.

The Hutong Guild: Warming Up Orphans

Get creative, get crafty and make a difference with your creations.

Beyond Knitting will be providing The Hutong Guild with free yarn and tools for their charity program Warming Up Orphans. Contribute a square or more to blankets donated to Bethel China.

Bethel China is a non-for-profit organization for blind and orphan kids in Beijing.

If you donate your piece to The Hutong Fairs, the money will be donated to other worthwhile causes including:

• Wokai – A non-for-profit organization that enables Chinese people to lift themselves from poverty.
• Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center – CHP is a registered non-for-profit organization with a mission to support communities throughout China to protect their cultural heritage.

Meeting Details:

• Date & Time: Tuesday, Nov. 23 from 6-9PM & Wednesday, Dec. 8th from 10AM-1PM
• Location: The Hutong
• Address: #1 Jiu Dao Wan Zhong Xiang Hutong  北京市东城区北新桥十字路口南马路东边北新桥邮局（簋街西头北新桥路口）
• Website: http://thehutong.com/blog/the-hutong-guild/
• Contact: Ester Gomez @ contact@beyondknitting.com

Hutong Guild Mission:

• To provide a platform for crafters and artists to get together in a relaxed atmosphere and comfortable setting that embodies the old, authentic Beijing.
• To provide a platform for sharing cultures and crafts.
• To provide a platform for the creation of crafted items for charity and donation purposes.

The Hutong Guild is the place for all people with a shared interest of crafts and arts – knitting, crochet, quilting and any other crafts and arts to get together and share their creations with those in need.

Volunteers Needed: Rotaract Club Food Drive

Rotaract Beijing is organizing a food drive event this Saturday, November 27 and they are still in need of volunteers.

Working with Carrefour shopping marts to collect food from shoppers, all donations will be sent directly to the Guang Ai orphanage to help them get through the winter.

The Rotaract Club is still looking for volunteers for this event, so if you are interested, please fill out this online form here.

They are also hosting an information briefing session for all volunteers on Monday, Nov. 22 at 7PM at Prima Taste (click here for directions).  They will be distributing t-shirts for the event and providing more information about Rotaract and Guang Ai orphanage.

About Rotaract Club:

Rotaract Beijing collaborates with existing volunteer organizations in order to provide the community easy access to a variety of ongoing volunteer opportunities, with the added benefits of professional development and networking.

Previous events include everything from clothing drives to a Christmas Charity Bazaar, soup kitchen and speed dating.

Fulfill a Holiday Wish List for Beijing Huiling Community

This Saturday, November 20, The Opposite House is hosting a Charity Fashion & Jewelry Show to both collect donated items and raise funds for the Beijing Huiling Community‘s Christmas Wish List.

An organization devoted to helping people with learning disabilities, their wish list includes everything from bedding and blankets to kitchen supplies, cleaning supplies, electronics and even toilet paper. (To see the complete wish list, contact me directly – kristen@lumdimsum.com.)  There will also be a truck to collect both new and used items donated at the event.

The event itself will feature a fashion show with designs by SaraYunXi, The Bauer Company, Qiaoen of Palma, MB-ID, and Tebogo Lefifi, a jewelry show by Liza M Jewelry, an art auction with artists Miguel Payano, Devin Allen & Dan Finn, free flow Gelipu Wines, canapes provided by the Opposite House, a live band, an appearance by Santa Claus himself and a presentation by Beijing Huiling Community.

Event Details:

• Date: Saturday, November 20
• Time: 4:00PM-8:00PM
• Location: The Opposite House
• Donation: RMB 100
• For More Info: Cassie at 010-64046631 or 15801341803 ＆cassieliu@sina.com
• Website: http://www.huiling.org.cn/en/)
  

Even Cupid Has a Price: Charity Dating Auction

Spice up your winter blues with a Charity Dating Auction, raising money for the non-profit organization Compassion for Migrant Children.

20 of Beijing’s eligible bachelors/bachelorettes are auctioning themselves off all in the name of doing good and raising money for the children. And the actual dinner dates themselves are all sponsored by Beijing’s very generous, popular restaurants including Red Capital Club, Capital M, Kagen, Black Sesame Kitchen, Modo and Terra to name a few.

Bids start at RMB 100 per person and the highest bidder wins the highest value date, which is ride in Madame Mao’s limo followed by a dinner for two and two bottles of wine at Red Capital Club (valued at approx. RMB 3,300).

Proceeds from the auction and a portion of the bar proceeds will go to Compassion for Migrant Children (CMC), a local organization that provides social and educational programs for the children of migrant workers. For more information, check out their website, www.cmc-china.org .

If you’re going to put a price on a date, you minus well give it to a worthwhile cause, which in itself is priceless.

Event Details:

• Date: Saturday, November 20
• Time: 8:30PM (Auction Starts at 9:30PM)
• Location: Hercules
• Address: 2nd Floor of Tongli Studio, Sanlitun

LumDimSummary: BJ Foodies @ Kagen

Last night, BJ Foodies hosted their monthly “Indulge for a Cause” foodies event at the newly renovated Kagen to support Care for Children charity organization.

With chefs grilling on an open fire in the new Yakitori and Robatayaki section of Kagen, all guests were served an 8-course menu + 1 hot sake box for only RMB 100.

LumDimSum Snapshots of Kagen’s New Robatayaki & Yakitori Section:

The wonderful company of fellow foodies aside, the best part of it all was coming together to raise a total of ￥6,015 RMB + HK$210 for Care for Children Charity Organization.

LumDimSum Snapshots of BJ Foodies @ Kagen:

Care for Children Background:

Care for Children exists to relieve hardship, distress and sickness in abandoned and orphaned children in China by the introduction of strategic initiatives in child care practice, at the request of, and in cooperation with, the Chinese national and local authorities.

Since it’s start in 1998, Care of Children has directly trained staff from over 200 orphanages, estimating that there are now over 200,000 children in families! They have a vision to see 1 million children in families.

Using a successfully replicated training program for social workers and orphanage staff across the country, Care for Children has effectively created a solution for a long-term benefit to give orphaned children a family of their own.

To Know More: www.careforchildren.com

Chi Fan for Charity Launch Party

With a little more than one week before the big date, Chi Fan for Charity is hosting a Media Launch Party at Touch Bar (Westin Chaoyang) this coming Thursday, October 28.

Come enjoy drinks (courtesy of the Westin) and meet the restaurateurs and celebrity hosts making it happen.

Event Details:

• Date: Thursday, October 28
• Time: 5:30PM-7:30PM
• Location: Touch Bar, Westin Chaoyang
• Address:  The Westin Beijing Chaoyang, 7 North Dongsanhuan Road, 金茂北京威斯汀大饭店, 东三环北路7号
• RSVP: tom@bespoke-beijing.com

Background on Chi Fan for Charity:

One of the strongest charity events of the year, Chi Fan for Charity has gathered 33 of the city’s top restaurants to simultaneously host a table of ten people for a minimum three course meal and wine. The restaurants are donating the food and drink for free, so your payment for the meal goes direct to three, genuinely great local charities (Prevention Through Education (HIV/AIDS Awareness), Dandelion School and Rural Women’s Charity, a practical skills training School for Migrant Women). This event is perfect for people who want to enjoy an exceptional meal while contributing to worthwhile causes by “eating for charity”.
Participating restaurants include everyone from Maison Boulud, Capital M, the entire Hatsune Restaurant Group (Hatsune, Kagen, Kagen Teppanyaki and Karaiya Spice House), Bei & Sureno in the Opposite House, Modo, Red Capital Club, The Courtyard, and many many more.  Tickets are available from the website but better hurry as many tables are already sold out and the rest are selling out fast.

Similar to the Hatsune 9 year party, there will be a Chi Fan for Charity After Party at Hatsune Sanlitun Village with free flow drinks from 10PM-1AM, DJ Patrick Yu will be spinning tunes and everyone from the various restaurants all coming together!  For those who don’t have the time or the budget to commit to dinner, the after party is a great way to come out to contribute to these worthwhile causes and show your support.  Tickets are RMB 150 in advance (pay here: www.chifanforcharity.org)  or RMB 200 at the door. However, guests who buy a ticket to a table will gain free entry to the afterparty at Hatsune.   And yes, there will be sumo suits.  :)

Book your seat at a table here: www.chifanforcharity.org.

Family Fun & Goodies for a Good Cause

Last Saturday, Care for Children hosted a Charity Garage Sale at their center in Shunyi (across from Beijing Riviera). As one of many volunteers, I came out to show my support and was more than pleased by the high turnout of quality goods for sale and children running amok while parents leisurely browse around.

Showcasing tables filled with everything from clothes to books, musical instruments, dolls, stuffed animals, jewelry, board games, and gadgets and gizmos of all sorts, the Care for Children Charity Garage Sale also featured a giant bouncy castle, silent auction table, bake sale and Staffordshire Oatcakes.

At the end of the sale, the total had reached about RMB 15,000!  (And any unsold items were donated to either clothing drives or other organizations devoted to giving back to the local community.)

LumDimSum Snapshots of Care for Children’s Charity Garage Sale: