CFFC Chooses Bethel as 2019 Charity Recipient

Six finalist charities presented to the CFFC 2019 Committee in April, and after extremely close balloting, Bethel came out on top as the recipient of this year’s funds.

Bethel is a training center for blind and visually impaired children established in 2003, and since its founding has cared for over 300 kids and assisted with over 130 adoptions.

Children with such disabilities are often unable to be properly educated by their families due to financial hardship, and in more extreme cases are abandoned by their birth parents.

The estimated RMB 400,000 in funds expected to be raised by the Nov 9 event will go towards two specific Bethel initiatives:

-- Scholarships for low-income families whose blind or visually impaired children would otherwise be unable to attend Bethel’s programs, which teach Braille, daily living skills, mobility and music. The CFFC funds would be able to subsidize the education of 11 students for a full academic year.

-- Four separate family trainings outside of Beijing, which counsel groups of families unable to send their children to Bethel, which is located in the Fangshan district of Beijing. The trainings, which aim to reach 200 families, focus on teaching them on how to care for their blind children.

Eight members of the committee were present for the six charity pitches. All six were deemed worthy of support for their efforts, many of which focused on the care of disabled and/or orphaned youth.

“I’m very proud of our choice this year because the funds raised will be going directly back to helping some blind children here in this wonderful city of Beijing,” said Preston Thomas, chair of this year’s committee. “As a long-time resident of Beijing, this city is really the city of good neighbors and it’s a great pleasure to give back to its people.”

This is the second time Bethel has been chosen as the recipient of CFFC funds in the event's 11-year history. In 2015, Bethel shared the funds with Educating Girls of Rural China (which itself received CFFC funds last year).

We’ll tell you more about Bethel and the great work they do in the coming months as we get closer to the annual event.

Save the date November 9th when 60 restaurants around town will once again donate time, effort and fabulous meals for this annual tradition of dining for a good cause.

For updates on CFFC’s progress as we get closer to the date, follow our WeChat account below: