According to official statistics, by September 30th this year, 1.7 billion yuan had been collected for the poor, disabled, and elderly, as well as providing assistance and medical care in disaster-hit regions, said Yue Jianquan, the deputy director of the Guangzhou Civil Affairs Bureau at a press conference on Thursday (Oct. 14th).
Yue explained that most of the donations were mainly spent on providing medical care. Guangzhou now has 31 charity out-patient services. The first charity hospital opened in October 2002 and has a capacity of 8,400 patients. The government has also arranged for special funds to be set-up for sick children and adolescents.
The bureau also holds charity actions which support expenditures in students' grant, poverty alleviation programs, and disaster assistance. Since 2009, December 12 has become the "Guangzhou Charity Day."
