Supporting worthwhile causes around the globe has always been an important component of the mission of Singers Beyond Borders. Below, learn about some of the charities that Singers Beyond Borders has supported in previous performances.
Care for Children
Care for Children exists to relieve hardship, distress and sickness in abandoned and orphaned children in China by the introduction of strategic initiatives in child care practice, at the request of, and in cooperation with, the Chinese national and local authorities. The vision of the organization is to place 1 million orphans with adoptive Chinese families. Care for Children works in partnership with the China Social Work Association (CSWA) and is approved and monitored by the Minitsry of Civil Affairs (MoCA).
Care for Children began work on it’s first Foster Care pilot project with the Shanghai Civil Affairs in 1998. Following the initial success in Shanghai, three other projects were started in Kunming, Yinchuan and Chengdu. In 2003 Robert Glover received the White Magnolia award from the Shanghai government in recognition for his service to the city. By this date, a total of 1400 children had been placed into families.
Recognizing the value of Care for Children’s project work, in 2003 the Ministry of Civil Affairs invited Care for Children to partner with CSWA on a nationwide project in the 14 poorest provinces of China. In 2007 the project was further expanded to include 30 provinces. As of May 2008, Care for Children has directly trained staff from over 200 orphanages. It is estimated that there are now over 200,000 children in families!
Gift of Life International and The Virlanie Foundation
In Manila, SBB supports Gift of Life Foundation (a charity that provides heart operations for young children), as well as The Virlanie Foundation, established in 1992, which takes care of child victims of abuse and exploitation, prostitution and syndicates.
The Gift of Life Inc. is a worldwide Rotary International Service Program which helps indigent children in need of correction heart surgery. A rotary-based non-profit organization, the Gift of Life Foundation’s mission is to give new life to indigent children suffering from heart diseases through free medical services. The Manhasset, New York, Rotary Club established the concept of the foundation in 1974, but it was only eight years ago that the Gift of Life Foundation reached Philippine shores.
In the beginning, children in need of open-heart surgery were brought to the United States for treatment, but due to high costs and visa requirements, Santos, with the help of Dr. Rudy Soto of San Francisco, convinced Dr. Ludgerio Torres, director of the Heart Center of the Philippines, to develop a program that would make the process more convenient and accessible to patients in dire need of medical assistance. With the help of the Rotary Club of Manila, of which Torres is a member, heart surgeries were then conducted at the Heart Center of the Philippines.
Today, the Gift of Life foundation, with the assistance of the Philippine Heart Center, has already performed hundreds of life-saving procedures in Metro Manila and the provinces — at the Heart Center, the Makati Medical Center (with the help of the Makati Rotary Club West, then headed by the late Adrian Ocampo), and the Philippine General Hospital through the help of the Rotary Club of Intramuros.