Two fund-raising sporting events took place in Chengdu last month, both in aid of raising money for SQR.
First Chengdu Charity Tennis Tournament
First on the calendar was the Tianfu Community Cup First Chengdu Charity Tennis Tournament, organised by Dan Garvey, taking place at the Hi-Tech Tennis Centre on October 17th. Entrants were asked to pay a minimum registration fee of 100RMB, but many of the competitors generously donated more than that.
The eventual winners were Liu Yong, taking first place in the singles competition, and doubles champions Ping Xing and Du Biqiang. The grand total raised was 8,380 RMB — a fantastic achievement for the first such event of its kind in Chengdu, and we thank Dan, the sponsors, the players and the team of tireless volunteers for making it such a success.
ABE Charity Cup 2009
Just over a week later saw the third annual ABE Charity Cup, a football (in the soccer sense of the word) tournament organised by the American, British and European Chambers of Commerce. Member companies sponsored teams in a series of knock-out seven-a-side games that resulted in a handsome cup for the overall winners, as well as a plate for the winners of a match between the losing semi-finalists. When the final whistles blew, British Chamber chairperson Zhao Yong’s “The Great Company” lofted the cup as this year’s champions, with Chengdu-based manufacturing company CMMC proudly heading back to the office with the plate.
In all 16 teams took part and the organisers did a marvellous job arranging matches and ushering teams to finish the event bang on schedule. Local media from both Sichuan and Chengdu TV channels were present and we were pleased to see the event appear as SCTV4′s “And finally…” feel-good story on the evening news.
The event raised more than 30,000 RMB for SQR, which — together with the money from the tennis tournament — will be put towards the Guangji Kindergarten & Community Centre project.
Events like these not only raise much-needed funds for SQR to continue with its work, but also ensure that the issues facing victims of the earthquake remain firmly in the public eye, and we deeply thank everyone again for their continued support.
