Jackie Chan has presented The Salvation Army in Japan with a check for US$3,356,078 raised from the massive celebrity charity concert he helped organize in Hong Kong last month.
On March 11th, a devastating magnitude 9 earthquake rocked northeastern Japan, triggering a destructive tsunami and series of strong aftershocks. Countless people have lost loved ones and their homes from this natural disaster. Since the disaster struck, members of the Salvation Army in Japan have continuously searched surrounding areas, supplying essential emergency relief materials to disaster victims, as well as coordinating with local government officials to provide immediate assistance to areas most in need.
All funds from the “Artistes 311 Love Beyond Borders Candlelight Concert” in Hong Kong on April 1 – which saw Jackie and 170 artists perform – will be donated to the Salvation Army, which in turn will be used towards supplying and distributing immediate aid relief to disaster victims in seriously affected areas.
Members of the supervising committee for the “Artistes 311 Love Beyond Borders Candlelight Concert” event – Jackie Chan, Mr. Cen Jianxun, and Mr. Barry Wong; “Artistes 311 Love Beyond Borders Candlelight Concert” event coordinator, Mr. Andrew Lau Wai Keung; Salvation Army representative, Colonel Fu Sanchuan, commander of the Salvation Army; and director of communications for the Salvation Army, Mr. Wang Guoqing – joined together at the Hong Kong Film Directors Association late last week to report on the latest aid relief situation in northeast Japan, and to conduct a Cheque Presentation Ceremony for the HK$26,080,000 raised during the charity event.
The “Artistes 311 Love Beyond Borders Candlelight Concert” saw guests and artists from all over Asia, including Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia and many others, perform for charity s to raise funds to assist with immediate emergency aid relief and materials for all the victims in northeast Japan affected by the devastating disaster.
“Artistes 311 Love Beyond Borders Candlelight Concert” event coordinator, Mr. Andrew Lau Wai Keung expressed: “This is such a large scale charity event, one person can’t make it happen. The result we have achieved today that has made this charity event so successful is from the hearts and compassion of several thousand people. This was a very difficult thing to achieve. We only had 2 weeks to prepare the event, 3 hours to perform, and there were several thousand people who volunteered to help. Today, we’ve raised HK$26,600,000. Since the day of the charity event, we’ve donated HK$26,080,000 to the Salvation Army so far. Also, within 90 days after the event while the funds are being used for aid relief, we will openly publish detailed reports in the newspaper in both Chinese and English, specifying what the funds are being used for so that the public clearly know how the funds are being used.”
“Artistes 311 Love Beyond Borders Candlelight Concert” supervising committee member – Mr. Cen Jianxun added: "On behalf of the organizing committee, I’d like to take this opportunity to say a special thank you to Mr. Jackie Chan who, at first instance, donated HK$1,100,000 to cover operating costs for this event. And of the HK$26,080,000 raised funds that Andrew Lau mentioned before, Jackie personally donated $3,000,000. So once again, on behalf of the organizing committee, I’d like to thank Jackie and all our friends who participated in the ‘Artistes 311 Love Beyond Borders Candlelight Concert’, including various departments of the HKSAR, Japanese Consulate General in Hong Kong, the corporate community, the entertainment industry and performing arts community, media friends and the people of Hong Kong. Thank you for supporting the ‘Artistes 311 Love Beyond Borders Candlelight Concert’. "
Then it was Jackie’s turn to add his thoughts: “If one area is in trouble, all other areas will come and provide assistance. This idea will never change for us in the entertainment industry. After raising funds for the cause, we now must be very careful with how we allocate funds for each aid relief program. For example, when the Salvation Army were out searching in disaster struck areas, they found elderly people and children eating dried food for long periods of time, causing health issues such as malnutrition. So the local government suggested that instead of providing dried foods in the aid relief package supplied by the Salvation Army, we should replace it with hot (cooked) food products, as this will provide the most direct benefits for children and the elderly. All of us in the supervising committee instantly agreed on the idea so now the Salvation Army will be providing hot foods to disaster victims in the area.”
To read more about the press conference and see exclusive photos of Jackie presenting the check, click here.
