XinY氧 Public Welfare and China Siyuan Foundation Launch Matching Donation Initiative for Individuals with Physical Disfigurements
“My ears are back!” On September 1, eight-year-old Xiao Wu eagerly returned to school to show off his new ears to his classmates. “I now have two ears, just like you.”
8-Year-Old Xiao Wu Successfully Undergoes Ear Reconstruction Surgery at Shanghai Oriental Hospital
In May, Xiao Wu, a patient with microtia, traveled from Danian Township in Guangxi to Shanghai to regain the ear he had lost eight years ago. In preparation for this ear reconstruction surgery, volunteers from So-Young Charity began identifying specialists and coordinating with hospitals six months in advance. This marks the third congenital deformity patient aided by So-Young Charity.
In 2020, So-Young Technology invested RMB 10 million to launch China’s first public welfare project aimed at assisting victims of illegal medical aesthetic procedures. In 2021, the So-Young Public Welfare Foundation was formally established, dedicated to helping vulnerable groups with facial defects, including those born with congenital deformities, victims of accidents, and individuals harmed by illegal medical aesthetics. To date, more than 600 individuals have applied for assistance through the program; nearly 30 have already undergone corrective surgeries under the charity initiative, while over 300 others who meet the surgical indications are awaiting review and aid.
After school, Xiao Wu helped his mother work alone at the courier shop.
However, in China, 5 out of every 10,000 newborns suffer from microtia, like Xiao Wu. According to statistics from the "China Injury Prevention Report," there are approximately 62 million trauma cases caused by accidents annually in China, and around 100,000 people are disabled or die each year due to illegal medical aesthetics practices. Among them, many individuals are in urgent need of assistance due to financial hardship. "Faced with a larger number of help seekers, evaluating based on the average cost of reconstructive surgeries, 10 million yuan is far from sufficient. To be able to assist more people, we have partnered with the China Siyuan Foundation for Poverty Alleviation to launch our first online fundraising campaign," introduced Ai Xiaoyu, the person in charge of SoYoung’s public welfare initiatives. "The strength of a single charitable fund is weak; although the collective power of the entire medical aesthetics industry is strong, it is still limited. Only through widespread public participation can charitable efforts continue to thrive."
On September 9, the “Rebuilding Beautiful Lives” public welfare initiative, jointly launched by the China Siyuan Foundation for Poverty Alleviation and the So-Young Public Welfare Foundation, was officially rolled out on the Tencent Charity platform, becoming a flagship project of the China Siyuan Foundation for Poverty Alleviation during Tencent’s 99 Giving Day.
In April this year, the China Siyuan Engineering Poverty Alleviation Foundation partnered with SoYoung, an internet-based medical aesthetics service platform, to launch the “SoYoung Beauty Initiative.” By leveraging a platform-based approach to connect institutions, physicians, and non-profit organizations, the initiative fosters synergy in charitable medical aesthetics efforts and promotes the maturation of philanthropy within the medical aesthetics sector. Notably, this marks China’s first sustained charitable assistance program in the field of medical aesthetics.
During the 99 Giving Day campaign, the So-Young Beauty Initiative invited more enterprises, public welfare organizations, and internet users to join forces in doing good. It is reported that So-Young Technology will provide a 10x matching donation for every contribution made to the “Rebuilding Beautiful Lives” public welfare project. Meanwhile, the campaign has also received support from Tencent Charity; for every user donation of no less than RMB 1 to the “Rebuilding Beautiful Lives” project, there is an opportunity to receive a random matching donation from the Tencent Foundation.
Xiao Wu “Grows” a New Ear
Furthermore, the “Rebuilding a Beautiful New Life” public welfare initiative has also received support from all Convenience Bee stores nationwide. “This time, we hope to leverage the 99 Giving Day opportunity to join forces with more caring individuals and raise additional funds for patients with body surface defects,” said Ai Xiaoyu, head of So-Young’s public welfare division. In addition to dedicating a special section within the So-Young app to promote the campaign, all donors will have the chance to receive Convenience Bee discount coupons.
2,000 Bianlifeng Stores Simultaneously Launch Public Welfare Rescue Donation Appeal
“We hope that our 2,000 stores can serve as platforms for public welfare advocacy, encouraging more people to contribute their love and care,” said a representative from Bianlifeng. “Bianlifeng will continue to fulfill its social responsibilities, coordinate more resources to reward those who participate in charitable activities and show compassion, and join forces to do good together.”
Focusing on assistance for surface body defects in impoverished areas, enabling more people to share the benefits of high-quality medical care, remains a key priority of the So-Young Beauty Initiative.
Since June 2021, the China Siyuan Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, in collaboration with So-Young Charity, has organized plastic surgeons from Grade A tertiary hospitals to conduct free clinics in Hong’an, Hefeng, Lichuan, Yichang, and other regions of Hubei Province, enabling residents in these former revolutionary base areas to access high-quality medical services close to home.
“New Oxygen Beauty Plan” Yichang Free Clinic Site
“Many people equate plastic surgery with cosmetic enhancement, but in reality, the scope of plastic surgery includes congenital defects such as cleft lip and palate and polydactyly, as well as traumatic injuries resulting from accidents. The primary goal of plastic surgery is reconstruction, while also taking aesthetics into consideration.” Sun Jiaming, Director of the Department of Plastic Surgery at Wuhan Union Hospital, who participated in the free clinic, called for greater public attention to charitable medical services and patient assistance programs, enabling more patients to return to work and contribute value to society.
It is reported that the treatment cost for patients requiring repair of surface body defects ranges from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of yuan. For patients in underdeveloped regions, many cannot afford these expenses, and delays in treatment have led to tragic outcomes. At the So-Young Charity free clinic in Hefeng County, a patient suffering from neurofibromatosis, which caused protrusion of the right eye and right side of the face, had not received any treatment for over 40 years due to poverty, resulting in the loss of vision in the right eye. Currently, the increasingly enlarged tumor is even larger than the entire face, which not only affects the patient’s quality of life but also severely reduces their ability to work, trapping the family in a vicious cycle where poverty leads to illness and illness exacerbates poverty.
On August 17, the 10th meeting of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission pointed out that common prosperity should be promoted in the course of high-quality development, with a proper balance between efficiency and fairness, by establishing a foundational institutional framework featuring coordinated primary, secondary, and tertiary distribution. The Resolution adopted at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China also stated: “Attach importance to the role of tertiary distribution and develop social welfare undertakings such as charity.” In this regard, an article titled “Tertiary Distribution: Connotation, Characteristics, and Policy Framework,” published by Study Times in early 2020, provided an interpretation, noting that tertiary distribution reflects the higher spiritual pursuits of members of society. It is defined as “acts undertaken voluntarily by social forces through private donations, charitable endeavors, volunteer services, and other means to assist those in poverty and vulnerability under the influence of morality, culture, and customs, serving as a beneficial supplement to secondary distribution.” By organizing free clinics and providing financial aid for treatment, So-Young has helped more individuals with surface body defects repair their conditions, rebuild confidence in life, participate in social activities, and improve their quality of life. This fully demonstrates how the platform leverages its aggregating effect and industry advantages to actively respond to the national call for tertiary distribution, helping more people realize their social value and achieve common prosperity. Meanwhile, by actively collaborating with industry stakeholders and mobilizing public participation in philanthropy, it has injected fresh vitality into the sustainable development of charitable assistance.
99 Giving Day: Do Good with So-Young Charity to Help People with Surface Defects Reintegrate into Society.