Twopresents’ charity partner, Sprouts Foundation was founded to help under-privileged children in Hong Kong and elsewhere in Asia escape the trap of inter-generational poverty through high-quality education.
The support of Twopresents’ party hosts and guests, enables Sprouts Foundation to carry out vital work with some of Hong Kong’s most under-privileged children. We sat down with them recently to find out more about how their work is really making an impact where it counts.
Can you tell us a little about Sprouts Foundation?
We work with professional educators to launch school programs focused on English proficiency, IT skills and personal development, so that children with whom we work not only improve critical skills, but also grow their curiosity, self-confidence and joy in learning.
By closely tracking our results, we aim in the long run to work with education policy-makers on improving the quality of school experience delivered to as wide a group of beneficiaries as possible. In Hong Kong alone we now serve over 400 students aged 6-17 in two programs, with another one or two launches under discussion in the coming two years.
What does it mean to the Sprouts Foundation to have the support of Twopresents’ party hosts?
Twopresents connects Sprouts with a wide community of families in Hong Kong who might all have different benefits to offer our students. On one hand, the financial gifts provided through Twopresents enable more of our students to participate in weekend outings and a range of activities that are otherwise out of reach for them. Beyond that, we are also very pleased that several of our Twopresents donors have come to volunteer with us. Moreover, a number have introduced Sprouts to companies and other organisations that can in turn provide our students with a chance to experience the opportunities found outside their housing estates.
How do you use the donations from Twopresents?
The funding we receive through Twopresents’ generous donors goes toward our Weekend Activity Program – a monthly schedule of outings that takes as many as 40-50 students around Hong Kong for fun and learning experiences.
Every HK$500 donation helps us send two or three underprivileged students to places such as the Science Museum and Tai Po Waterfront, as well as activities including art lessons, bubble soccer and pizza-making. A contribution of HK$2,500 can typically cover half of the entire cost of an outing for 20-25 students!
How can families become more involved with Sprouts Foundation?
Twopresents donors have already joined our weekend activities in several cases as volunteers, including on visits to Lamma Island, the AIA Carnival and Ocean Park. Those aiming for even greater involvement with our work can explore weekly volunteering in our after-school classes in Tai Wai, with those able to make such longer term commitments potentially able to join us as teaching assistants, story tellers and/or elective class leaders. Finally, we are always looking for companies and other organisations for our students to visit, into which Twopresents families can provide us very valuable introductions.
Sprouts would love to have our donors participate in our program and engage with our students, whether through volunteering or introductions to companies for learning visits. Our program as a whole runs over a typical academic year beginning every September. We also supplement this core with a one-month summer course in July and August.
Over the next couple of months before summer break, we have weekend activities to the Soccer 7s and a team building camp. Additionally, as we plan our summer program which will run from mid-July to mid-August we welcome volunteers who can assist us or to lead activities or to share and participate in an outing.
To offer your support to Sprouts Foundation, visit their website for more details.
Twopresents Blog 