Handover and Inauguration Ceremony of the Po Leung Kuk Board of Directors 2023-24 and 2024-25 Connecting All for Benevolence from The Heart

(Hong Kong 11 April 2024) Po Leung Kuk today held the Handover and Inauguration Ceremony of the Board of Directors 2023-24 and 2024-25. The charitable work of the Kuk was reviewed and the appointment of the incoming Chairman Mrs. Helena C.Y. TUNG PONG and the Board of Directors 2024-25 were also celebrated.

The Ceremony was officiated by The Hon Alice MAK Mei-kuen, SBS, JP, Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, and The Hon Chris SUN Yuk-han, JP, Secretary for Labour and Welfare, along with various government officials and Po Leung Kuk predecessors in attendance. Administered by Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, the Board of Director 2024-25 (see Appendix I) took the oath of office to serve the community in unity and uphold the motto of the coming year – “Putting People First from the Start, Igniting Kindness with United Hearts”. The Secretary for Labour and Welfare presented 2023-24 awards for Fund-raising of the Year, Highest Meeting Attendance, Highest Service Unit Inspection Attendance and Connect-the-community Activities (see Appendix II), in recognition of the awardee’s efforts over the past year.

Mrs. Winnie W. L. CHAN, Chairman of the Board of Directors 2023-24, said in her speech that last year the Kuk embarked on various services for the benefit of the people, responding to the needs of the community as social activities returned to normal after the pandemic. The Kuk set up a new Youth Affairs Department during the year to focus on fostering youth support. The flagship project, Po Leung Kuk Lee Shau Kee Youth Oasis, was launched during the year and has attained an occupancy of nearly 90%. As to education, the Kuk as one of Hong Kong’s largest school sponsoring bodies implemented the “Po Leung Kuk Kindergartens-Primary Schools Alliance” policy to enhance resource sharing and create greater synergy for the Kuk’s kindergartens and primary schools. As to cultural services, the “Po Leung Kuk 145th Anniversary: Building Charity with Benevolence” Special Exhibition was jointly presented with the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, offering a review of the Kuk’s charitable work spanning more than a century. Nearly 140,000 people visited the four-month exhibition. As to residential child care services, the Kuk conducted environmental improvement for 12 external dormitories to create more comfortable and safer settings for children to thrive, in line with the Kuk’s ethos of protecting the young and the innocent.

In her inaugural address, Mrs. Helena C.Y. TUNG PONG, Chairman of the Board of Directors 2024-25, expressed appreciation for the support of Po Leung Kuk predecessors and the leadership of Chairman CHAN in helping the underprivileged. She also pledged to make all endeavours to uphold the Kuk’s commitment to century-long charitable work. In the year ahead, the Kuk will continue to enhance and develop diversified services, with a focus on promoting mental health and strengthening support for service users and caregivers. For example, the Kuk will implement “Positive Education Programmes” in its schools to strengthen counseling for student. As to special child care services, the Kuk’s professional teams of physiotherapists and speech therapists will continue to design various home training tools and online content to support parents. For elderly and rehabilitation services, the Kuk will design a caregiver mobile app for family members to keep track of the situation of the elderly, as well as provide more emotional guidance and social support services to them.

The Board of Directors 2024-25 stays committed to igniting kindness from the heart to uphold the Kuk’s mission. Chairman Helena C.Y. TUNG PONG widely appealed to friends, donors and the wider public to continue donations, enabling the Kuk to elevate its diversified services and meet the growing needs of the society.

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Appendix I

The Po Leung Kuk Board of Directors 2024-2025

Chairman:

Mrs. Helena C.Y. TUNG PONG

Vice-Chairmen:

Mrs. Amanda T.W. LEE

Miss. Jenny Y.C. TAM

Mrs. Emily H.Y. TANG

Mr. Arnaldo Y.H. HO

Mr. Louie S.N. LAM

Directors:

Mr. Patrick H.C. KWOK

Mr. Andrew NGAN

Mrs. Candy W.K. HO

Ms. Carmen K.M. CHOI

Ms. Winnie NG, JP

Mrs. Stephanie TANG

Mr. Simon S.W. CHAN

Mr. Mo K.M. WONG

Mr. Derek MON

Mr. Winson K. Y. LEUNG

Ms. Fay H. L. CHEUNG

Mrs. Laverna J. L. CHAN TONG

Ms. Anna Mae KOO

Mr. Teddy W. T. CHUNG

Appendix II

Fund-raising of the Year (2023-2024)*

Champion: Director Mr. Patrick H.C. KWOK

1st runner-up: Vice Chairman Mrs. Amanda T.W. LEE

2nd runner-up: Director Mrs. Laverna J. L. CHAN TONG

*By convention, funds raised by the Chairman are not accounted for awards.

Highest Meeting Attendance

Champion: Vice Chairman Mrs. Helena C.Y. TUNG PONG

1st runner-up: Director Mr. Louie S.N. LAM

2nd runner-up: Director Mr. Winson K. Y. LEUNG

Highest Service Unit Inspection Attendance

Champion: Director Mr. Louie S.N. LAM and Director Mr. Derek MON

1st runner-up: Director Ms. Fay H. L. CHEUNG

2nd runner-up: Director Mr. Winson K. Y. LEUNG

Connect-the-community Activities

Champion: Director Mr. Louie S.N. LAM and Director Mr. Winson K. Y. LEUNG

1st runner-up: Director Mr. Derek MON

2nd runner-up: Director Ms. Fay H. L. CHEUNG

About Po Leung Kuk

Founded in 1878, Po Leung Kuk, as one of the largest charity organisations in Hong Kong, has been serving Hong Kong for 146 years with its objective of “Protecting the Young and the Innocent”(保赤安良). Currently, the Kuk has more than 300 units strategically located in Hong Kong and provides services in education, social welfare, youth, recreation, culture and integrated health care. We have about 45,000 students in our schools and attend to more than 1,800,000 visits for services annually in the past 3 years. For more information about Po Leung Kuk, please go to www.poleungkuk.org.hk.