Hip Shing Hong Extended Care to 300 Households of Subdivided Flats with “Bedbug Control Sets”

According to the Census and Statistics Department’s latest figures, there are approximately 91,800 households residing in subdivided units in Hong Kong. They have been living in a harsh and disturbing environment where facilities and hygiene are poor with their flats ridden with micro pests, particularly bedbugs. In view of this, Hip Shing Hong (Holdings) Company Limited (“Hip Shing Hong”) distributed the “Bedbug Control Sets” to 300 households living in the subdivided units on 9th – 15th April with the support of Our Hong Kong Foundation, St. James’ Settlement, Christian Family Service Centre and Society for Community Organization. Hip Shing Hong also mobilized its volunteer team to visit and deliver the bug control sets to the residents of the subdivided flats in Kwun Tong yesterday, showing care to people in need.

Hip Shing Hong’s charitable campaign was an extended initiative of the “Big Little Things” Pilot Programme organized by Business for Social Good of Our Hong Kong Foundation. The programme aims to identify challenging issues in the daily life of the grassroots community and motivate corporations to help tackle each “minor problem” with innovative solutions in a week’s time, in a bid to bring the seeds of hope to the underprivileged community. Hip Shing Hong was one of the first batch of corporations supporting the pilot programme last year by providing simple yet creative solutions to help the residents to get rid of the bedbugs and alleviate other living problems. Since the little initiative was highly applauded by the beneficiaries, Hip Shing Hong decided to scale it up to reach more people in need and help improve their living environment with the distribution of “Bedbug Control Sets”.

Mr. David Fong, Managing Director of Hip Shing Hong (Holdings) Company Limited, said, “We are delighted to collaborate with Our Hong Kong Foundation and Business for Social Good to reinforce the spirit of ‘Big Little Things’ Pilot Programme and continue to sow the seeds of hope for the grassroots community.” He added, “In last year’s pilot programme, an elderly living in a subdivided unit was very gracious with the bedbug control kit given by Hip Shing Hong’s volunteer team, saying that it was very effective in controlling the bedbugs and he was able to sleep well every night and his health improved. Therefore, I hope our charitable initiative will help raise concern and encourage tripartite efforts of the government, business and NGO sectors to alleviate the poor living condition of the subdivided flat residents.”

Mr. Bernard Chan, Convenor of Business for Social Good of Our Hong Kong Foundation, said, “The ‘Big Little Things’ initiative, led by the Business for Social Good platform, aims to leverage on the creativity of the business community to help address some pain-in-the-neck issues faced by the grassroots community, inspiring hope and happiness in a small, but tangible way. Hip Shing Hong has brought the programme’s mission to life by innovating thoughtful solutions that helped subdivided flat dwellers combat bedbugs.” He looks forward to more businesses joining the ranks of “Big Little Things” and hopes that, through the concerted effort of the government, non-profit organizations and the civil society, they can write a new chapter on how the business community can be engaged in addressing social needs.

Hip Shing Hong did not only deliver the “Bedbug Control Sets” to the residents of the subdivided units through the above-mentioned three NGOs, but also mobilized its staff to take part in the charitable activity. Mr. David Fong, Managing Director of Hip Shing Hong, led the corporate volunteer team to visit the beneficiaries in Kwun Tong yesterday, and distributed a “Bedbug Control Set” for each household, which includes anti-bug mattress and pillow protectors, door bottom seal strip, bug-killing powder, bug-killing spray and bug-repelling essence, brightening up the day of the beneficiaries. In addition to helping the residents put on the mattress and pillow protectors and install the door bottom seal strip, the volunteers also demonstrated the ways to use the bug control products, showing their dedication to enhancing the comfort of the living environment of the underprivileged. The beneficiaries expressed their gratitude for Hip Shing Hong’s generosity and care. They mentioned that they would make good use of the products and hoped they could have improved living environment and better sleep quality free from the bedbug bites.