Jockey Club boosts holistic development of students from underprivileged families

04/09/2016

Noting the widely-demonstrated effectiveness of extra-curricular activities in helping students achieve holistic development, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust has made a donation to help establish the Principal Chan Free Tutorial World Jockey Club Tai Kok Tsui Talent Development Centre and support its operation for three years. The Centre will provide a range of diversified learning activities free of charge to underprivileged students and pre-school children residing in the area.

Officiating at the formal opening of the Centre today (9 April) were the Club’s Executive Manager for Charities Winnie Ying, Under Secretary for Home Affairs Florence Hui and the founder of Principal Chan Free Tutorial World, Chan Hung. 

Leung Chun Wai, a volunteer tutor in graphic design and drawing at the Centre, comes from a grass-roots family. Having started work as a restaurant busboy at the age of 14, he later decided to go back to school, where he learned more about himself and discovered his talent for art. “I believe talent development is a way out for some students,” Leung says. “Everyone is born with talent. Some are not gifted in studies, but if they can develop their talent into a career, they can still make a stable living. Using my own experience, I hope to encourage students from low-income families to develop their interests and find self-esteem.”

The Principal Chan Free Tutorial World Jockey Club Tai Kok Tsui Talent Development Centre is funded by a Charities Trust donation of over HK$7 million and equipped with multi-function rooms for teaching, computing and music.  With the help of volunteer tutors, it provides deprived families residing in the district with free holistic education support.  Over 300 students have already enrolled for its services, which began in late 2015.  Its activities include Chinese classes for ethnic minority groups, musical instrument lessons, art, photography and IT courses. In addition, the Centre offers volunteer training and parent education activities, as well as playgroups to meet the needs of pre-school children. In its first three years of operation, it is expected to benefit more than 1,800 students and 2,500 pre-school children. The digital learning area will have approximately 25,000 visits.

The Trust also recently supported a visit by Principal Chan to the Riverside School in India to observe and study that school’s Design for Change initiative.  Bringing the same innovative concept to Hong Kong, the Centre organises week-long interactive training camps on remote islands to broaden the students’ horizons and enhance their interest in learning.  It is hoped that these will prove an eye-opener for the students from deprived families, enhancing their learning motivation, social consciousness and sense of teamwork by requiring them to uncover and tackle social problems together with limited resources. The camps will marry exam subjects with living experiences, for example by having language lessons taught on remote islands, while also featuring non-traditional elements such as a tea ceremony and raft building.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club
Founded in 1884, The Hong Kong Jockey Club is a world-class horse racing operator and Hong Kong’s largest community benefactor, as well as one of Asia’s most prestigious membership clubs. Operating as a not-for-profit organisation, the Club allocates its surplus funds for charitable and community projects. In 2014/15, its donations reached a record HK$3.87 billion, and in the last decade alone it supported over 1,300 projects. The Club is also Hong Kong’s largest single taxpayer, contributing a record HK$20.05 billion in 2014/15. With about 70% of its revenue given back to society every year through donations and tax contributions, The Hong Kong Jockey Club delivers a significantly higher return to the community than any other racing and/or sports betting organisation in the world. As a socially responsible organisation, the Club helps Government combat illegal betting and advocates responsible gambling. The Club is also one of Hong Kong’s largest employers with over 24,000 full-time and part-time staff. Committed to global excellence and giving back to society, the Club is always “riding high together for a better future” with the people of Hong Kong.