It’s almost Maovember! Here are a few highlights of this year’s campaign to fund cataract surgeries, via the charity Orbis, for men in rural China. (Click here for details on our partnership with Orbis.)

First, we not only have a new — and blue — pin design for 2015, but also will get support from Orbis for the costs of producing and distributing this year’s pins. The pins have posed logistical challenges in the past and hopefully Orbis’ support will make things easier and free up resources for events and other activities.

Second, we have a growing list of events lined up, including at Pop-Up Beijing, Paddy O’Shea’s, Irish Volunteer, Hockey Bar, Q Mex, Jing-A Taproom, Bungalow, Home Plate Barbecue and Beer Mania, with more in discussion. See the working list here.

Third, we are asking bars, restaurants, shops and other venues that sell Maovember pins for a minimum rmb500 buy-in. That covers the first ten pins and gets the venue’s name and link on our donors page. This will also help our campaign be more efficient.

Fourth, along with input from donors and venue reps from years past, a weixin group has been formed to help deal with macro issues and includes reps from last year’s top three fundraising venues (Zach Lewison from Irish Volunteer, Richard Ammerman from Jing-A and Paul R from Paddy O’Shea’s), two top individual donors (Steven Schwankert and Alex Jennings) and two co-founders (Julian Tavalin and Jim Boyce). In conjunction with all the input from other stakeholders, this will help involve more voices in the decision-making process.

Look for lots more posts on this site in the coming weeks!

Maovember focuses on quirky events for good causes. Our 2022 partner is Library Project, which has furnished thousands of reading rooms in rural schools. Learn more about Maovember here. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.