The opening ceremony for Hope Items, a charitable project organized by the China Youth Development Foundation, was held in Beijing on December 21. The project enables people to donate their idle goods on its official website in order to satisfy the needs of teachers and students in the countryside and in undeveloped areas, allowing them to put their idle goods to use and provide rural children with a warm childhood. According to Yao Wen, the deputy secretary general of China Youth Development Foundation, Hope Items has several characteristics which set it apart from traditional donations. First of all, thanks to online (or live) communication and interaction directly between donors and recipients, the cost of donations is cut down, their efficiency is improved and the process is made more open and transparent. Secondly, the relevance of the donations is also improved, allowing the donors to know the exact needs of the recipients and giving the donors choice of donation. Finally, the project makes full use of the Internet by publicizing the generosity of the donors, encouraging more people to get involved in charitable activities and achieving their self-worth.
So far, Hope Items allows mainly for the donation of idle goods, but the China Youth Development Foundation plans to update the project in 2016 or 2017. Functions like barter and the exchange of reward points will then be added to make the platform more diverse, convenient and interesting.
