Charitable organisations springing up in Wenzhou

A grassroots charitable organisation offering porridge to those in need in east China's Wenzhou City, has witnessed an increased volume of people visiting for a free bowl of hot porridge each morning.

Three retired men, who live in the Zhuangyuanting area of Longwan District in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, established the charity porridge distribution spot in 2011, which is now referred to as the Harmonious Home Service Station. The station offers free rice porridge to workers from neighboring factories, sanitation workers and the homeless. It provides 500 meals every day and also offers more than 10 different free side dishes including pickles, boiled peanuts, and shredded potatoes.

"We come over here for a meal every day. We are grateful for the free breakfast that is provided to us and feel warmth in it," said a sanitation worker. He explained that every morning he works as a street cleaner from 03:00 until 11:00 and is not a local. Therefore, a bowl of warm porridge makes him feel much more comfortable.

The station gained a business license in April, allowing the founders to begin invoicing the enterprises and individuals who make donations to it. These invoices enable donators to reclaim tax paid on any money they donate. So far, more than 600,000 yuan (RM293,272) has been donated to the station.

The station publishes details of all its expenses and donations at the beginning of each month, to give transparency and allow supervision by the public. More than 400 people have applied to work at the station as volunteers.

Mei Xueliang, one of the founders of the station, said: "We have no work to do at home after retirement, and our children all have their own families now. Each of them has their own business to attend to, so it is worthwhile for us to offer the people here help."

"Most of the volunteers here are over 60, some are in their 50's. We work for two hours each morning until 7 or 8 o'clock. I have nothing else to attend to at my age, and I feel very pleased and happy to do the work," said one of the volunteers.

There are now three charity porridge stations similar to the Harmonious Home in Wenzhou, and 26 other grassroots welfare organizations in the city are also playing their part for the cause of charity.