White-collar workers fight for good cause

Amateur boxing event in Shenzhen helps raise funds for charity

A white-collar worker boxing event was held in Futian district of Shenzhen, Guangdong province, on June 15, raising more than 100,000 yuan ($15,000) in an auction for a local charity organization.

The event attracted nearly 450 participants, including expats and Chinese, as well as 18 amateur boxers.

It is the second time that the organizer, John Graham Harper, an Australian businessman based in Shenzhen, has held a white-collar boxing event in the city. The first event was held in Shekou in December.

"This is a White Collar Fight Night, which means we take CEOs or people in upper executive positions in business and we set them a challenge to compete in a boxing ring," said Harper.

The organizer gave the amateur fighters three months to train before the event, at which a total of nine bouts took place. The winners of each fight were rewarded with trophies.

Several works of art and calligraphy created by famous artists and children were auctioned off during the event. Most of the money earned will go to A Heart for China, which is a local charity organization founded by a Belgian.

"I am very excited tonight because A Heart for China has been chosen as the charity organization to receive the donations and it has received a lot of exposure," said Ronny Verdoodt, the founder of A Heart for China.

The donated funds will be sent to the charity organization in two to three weeks, according to Verdoodt.

"We are going to make donations to the Min' ai Special Children Welfare Center as three kids from that center contributed paintings. I think it's good to support them in that way," said Verdoodt.

One of the art pieces created by children from Color Art Center in Futian was sold for 8,000 yuan.

"This particular artwork was done by six children aged 6 and 7. We allowed them to become immersed in the joy of painting by spraying and splashing paint on the board," said Anna Zhuang, a teacher from the art center.

Being a boxing enthusiast, Harper always wanted to organize a fun and interesting event like the boxing night in South China. "Lots of people say Shenzhen is boring compared with Shanghai, where many of these kinds of events take place, so I want to try to change that," he said.

"Boxing is much safer than other martial arts, so it is something that I want to introduce to the business, technology and finance communities in Shenzhen," Harper said, adding that he and his company, Project 0/1, would try to hold the event at least twice a year in Shenzhen.

Shenzhen Daily provided the story.

(HK Edition 08/18/2017 page20)