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Transforming the City, One Life at a Time 

Magic or Mayhem?

If you ever want to hear raucous laughter and finger-pointing catcalls from 5 to 8 year olds, put them in a room with magician and clown Mike Toy. On Jan 24, Mr Toy - otherwise known as Goofball - put on a gloriously goofy magic show for some 25 kids and their parents at the Hub HK in Sham Shui Po. The giggles started the minute Goofball stumbled onto the stage in his shockingly loud clown suit, and the catcalls were aimed at this hapless performer’s truly cringe-worthy attempts to perform even the simplest magic tricks. Our hearty thanks to Goofball for coming all the way from San Francisco to make us laugh!

What's new in the new year?

- Ukulele lessons for children aged 7-9
- Fresh round of home visits in Shek Kip Mei and Sham Shui Po
- Partnership with SARDA (The Society for the Aid and Rehabilitation of Drug Abusers) to help children of recovering addicts
- Partnership with Cornerstone Church, serving poor elderly and street sleepers

We Need You for
Home Visits

In conjunction with the Hong Kong Family Welfare Society, our volunteers dropped in on 11 households in North Point on Dec 21 to hand out Christmas gifts. They were also tasked with checking that the families had enough warm clothing and were generally doing well. Any problems discovered are reported back to social workers for follow-up action. 
Hope of the City is now recruiting servant-hearted volunteers to join the CNY home visits on Feb 15 and also the monthly home visits to elderly in Shek Kip Mei. You can have an impact on a marginalised family’s life while providing valuable assistance to the social workers. To sign up, click here.
January 2015 - Hope of the City Newsletter
 

A Merry Month to Remember

With 2015 well under way, memories of Christmas-past may have faded, but for us, the many happy faces that lit up December are still fresh in our hearts. Hope of the City’s holiday calendar was a busy one, with the focus on bringing love and joy to those who are often overlooked.
The holiday cheer began with a dim sum lunch for 32 elderly from our Shek Kip Mei monthly home visit programme and the volunteers who visit them each month. Happy chatter spilled over steaming baskets of dim sum while the iGLEE singers shared musical messages of love. Each guest received a warm scarf and massage comb as Christmas gifts.
Of course, Christmas is a special time for kids and on December 21 we threw a party at the YWCA for the students in our weekly English classes. The 45 guests had a holly-jolly time with the Fovero Care Group from Island ECC, our volunteer party team.
It was a magical afternoon for 50 kids from J-Life Foundation at the ‘Creating a Magical Moment for Children’ party on Dec 23. Hosted by Worldwide Executive Centre, some 100 children from Sham Shui Po got to meet the ‘real’ Santa, who flew in from Finland to read them a spellbinding story and, of course, hand out presents. With carols, magic and prizes thrown in, the day was Ho, Ho, Ho fun!
Finally, on Christmas Day, J-Life held its own party for 50 kids and parents, with a group of fun-loving Hope of the City volunteers on hand to play games, sing carols and share lots of yummy treats.
Thanks to all the volunteers who helped make Christmas 2014 so special for so many! 

"Washing the buildings'

On Dec 6, Hope of the City joined the YWCA in Sham Shui Po for an evening of door-to-door, person-to-person contact-making, known in Cantonese as ‘washing the building.’ This programme is a way of meeting local residents, learning about any needs they may have and informing them about the services available to them. This time round, seven Hope volunteers joined in to ‘wash’ 8 buildings, making contact with the residents, many of them new arrivals or cubicle dwellers. Thank you, volunteers, for climbing many stairs to share a little love and encouragement!

Career Days Can Be Fun

Is that young man a wedding planner, a sailing instructor or a tax accountant? That was the sort of question the Form 4 students at United Christian College in Shek Kip Mei had to grapple with on Dec 10 and 15. Hope of the City sent eight volunteers from a variety of professions to share their career and life testimonies during the school’s Career Days. To start each session, students had to ask questions to try to work out which guest did what. Hopefully, the sharing that followed gave these young scholars some useful insights into careers they might wish to pursue.

Tips for Healthy Living

Dec 2 brought an opportunity for mums in Sham Shui Po to find out more about keeping their families healthy. Twenty-two women gathered at The Hub HK to learn about proper dental care from Dr Kit Ho and Dr Mei-ka Cheong. Then, pharmacist Florence Lui gave some very useful advice on how to use medicines safely and effectively. A lively Q & A session and some healthy snacks rounded out the afternoon. Thank you, doctors, for providing our mums with dental care products and booklets.

A Simply Smashing Sports Day

.A boisterous bunch of sport-lovers took over the YMCA’s King’s Park Centenary Centre in Jordan on Dec 13. No, it wasn’t the Rugby Sevens, it was Hope’s annual Sports Day with the kids from Po Leung Kuk!  Some 30 volunteers from Island ECC’s Sports Fellowship laced up their trainers and spent an action-packed day with 60 children who don’t often get the chance to enjoy outdoor sport activities. Squeals of excitement (and terror?) filled the air as kids and adults alike tried out the inline skating rink and climbing wall, and competed in tennis and basketball. Energy spent, it was time to refuel with a truly massive picnic feast. All in all, an exhausting day, but well worth it just to hear one little guy exclaim, “I am SO happy today!”
Mailing Address:
Hope of the City Foundation 
8/F, 633 King's Road
Quarry Bay, Hong Kong
+852 3470 3000