About a year ago, I joined Mother's Choice, a local chairty serving the many children without families and pregnant teenagers in Hong Kong. Our vision is to see every child in a loving family. COVID-19 has had significant impact on our services and operations. We’ve had an 80% increase in calls to our emergency hotline, and there are hundreds of children on the waitlist for a safe and temporary place to stay as at-risk families in Hong Kong face even more hardship.  Despite these challenges, Mother’s Choice has remained committed to global best practice and protecting our vulnerable children. This includes:

• Being one of the few residential homes still admitting in children.
• Working closely with the Hospital Authority to provide resources for the surge of young girls seeking help with a crisis pregnancy.
• Sourcing and providing protective gear for hundreds of immune-suppressed children.
• Supporting struggling foster families with limited resources who are not able to support schooling.

Despite these urgent needs, we are unable to hold the Mother’s Choice gala dinner as planned in May due to the concerns around COVID-19. The gala dinner is our most important fundraising event of the year and covers 30% of our annual operating expenses.Mother’s Choice is HOME to hundreds of vulnerable babies, children, and young girls throughout the year who need our help now more than ever. We do not want the postponement of this fundraising event to lead to a cut of critical services, which includes two residential care homes.We need your help. Today, we ask you to consider making a financial gift. Every effort in this critical moment counts for the vulnerable children and girls in crisis that we serve.