News

We are pleased to announce the engagement of St. James' Settlement (SJS) as the intermediary to launch the Fund's first flagship project in capacity building to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of food support services in Hong Kong. SJS is tasked to design, build and operate an inclusive platform for sharing of information on the demand and supply of food items and related services as well as best practices among food support service providers and stakeholders. The platform will be launched as a pilot in three districts in mid-2017, and is expected to cover all 18 districts in Hong Kong by mid-2019. Read more from our press release and stay connected for further updates on the project.

The needs of youth are diverse and vary from one person to another. Whilst some seek support for their entrepreneurial agenda, some need direction and guidance to a better path in their life voyages. The Task Force and staff members of the Secretariat, together with members of other task forces of the Commission on Poverty, visited Fullness Hair Salon on 17 June to learn how job training and life coaching programmes can combine to help support youth-at-risk. A real-life case was firstly presented by an apprentice on his advance in personal development under the guidance of the salon with due respect and friendship, followed by a briefing of the President and Directors of Fullness Social Enterprises Society (FSES) on the development journey of FSES, social entrepreneurship and the engagement of academia, education and religion sectors etc in social innovation to help build a flourishing ecosystem for social innovation and entrepreneurship. Through the visit, participants had gained valuable inspirations from the successful business model of the salon and the social impact contributed to the community with the dedication and commitment of FSES.

Following the launch of the first batch of innovative ventures, the Fund will continue to receive, process and support new funding applications to bring more and wider relief measures for poverty alleviation and social exclusion. In parallel, new opportunities in the social innovation arena are being explored to further the objectives of the Fund. The seventh meeting of the second term Task Force was held on 1 June to review blueprint of various potential initiatives for the Fund in the next three to five years. Stay tuned to keep abreast of our latest development.