As a new Maovember campaign gets underway, here is an update on our 2021 efforts to support The Library Project.

 
One challenge each year is finding a mix of projects to match the funds we raised. Nichole He of The Library Project created a plan that aptly did this. We focused on schools in the Baoding area of Hebei province, just a few hours’ drive from Beijing, and ultimately decided on three projects.

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Lantian School

Maovember funded 10 reading corners

for 元34,510.00 or 元3,451 each

Lantian is in Yi County, with a population of 550,000 people, and is the largest of the three schools, with 1,469 students. Last year, we had enough money to fund 12 reading corners for students in grades 3 and 4. This year, we added 10 more reading corners, this time for students in grades 1 and 2.

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Fugang Central Primary School

Maovember funded a reading room for 元39,506.01

This school serves eight villages with a total population of 6,000. We funded eight reading corners at Fugang in 2019. As a shift in local education strategy saw some students and books move to another school, we upgraded to include a reading room with books, tables, chairs, shelves, a globe and more.

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Liang Gezhuang School

Maovember funded six reading corners

for 元20,706.00 or 元3,451 each

This school, for students from grades 3 to 9, covers 15 villages and has a strong need for books covering grades 3 through 6. That will be the focus, including a set of STEAM (science technology, engineering and math) materials.

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Overall, we had modest expectations for Maovember 2021 given the ongoing COVID situation, but easily surpassed them, with the highest donations per event in our history. All while keeping to our tradition of stressing the fun in fundraiser with quirky events–see the full list here.

Maovember is quite decentralized and depends on goodwill and generosity, in terms of time, creativity and donations, from many people. Thanks to all who supported us in 2021 and fingers crossed for our this year, our tenth campaign!

Bread of Life Bakery and The Library Project are confirmed as the two partners for the sixth annual Maovember mission, slated to launch November 1 at XL Bar & Restaurant.

Bread of Life trains and employs working-age orphans with brittle bone disease. It serves many Beijing restaurants and individuals, and has received kudos for its quality, especially its carrot cake and pies. Maovember 2017 funded this delivery vehicle as well as the industrial mixer, refrigerator motor and new computer equipment shown below.

The Library Project is responsible for funding over 2,500 reading rooms across China and was our partner for the first Maovember in 2013. Maovember 2017 teamed up with The Library Project for reading rooms in Yunnan and Hebei provinces. Here are a few photos from a Hebei project.

Maovember 2018 will be providing more funds to these two worthy operations. Want to help? Learn more here.

Mike Wester is celebrating his 50th birthday today with 50 laps of the 1.5 km path in Ritan Park. It is part of a 30-day 900-km fundraiser for Maovember. As I post at 9 AM, Wester has done 8 laps (12 km) today and 202 km overall since November 1. I asked The Beijinger boss a few questions about his ‘mao-a-thon‘.

Hey, 900 km in 30 days and 50-plus km today alone. Are you going through a mid-life crisis?

Mid-life crisis? I’ve lived in Beijing for 17 years. I think I’m probably going through a three-quarters life crisis.

You walk in Ritan Park a lot. Why do you like it so much?

It is the hub of my Beijing existence: not too far from my home, not too far from my office and close to my daughter’s school. Plus it has my favorite public announcement system ever. [The speakers blurt crucial messages like “The mentally ill contagious people as well as the indecently dressed are not allowed to enter the park”.]

What are five things you’ve learned about Beijing from the first 200 km of your ‘mao-a-thon’?

Beijing’s official slogan should be “pedestrians last!” This city is fantastic for many reasons, but navigable sidewalks is not one of them. I had the misfortune of trying to accompany a family pushing their two-year-old past Taikoo Li on Friday evening. Almost impenetrable.

You don’t have to schlepp all the way out to Xianghsan to enjoy Beijing’s fall foliage. Ritan, Chaoyang and Olympic Forest Park, just to name three, have amazing trees this month—especially the ginkos.

Bike-sharing has gone too far. The city is literally littered with them, a good many of wrecked, and I pass multiple spots daily that are so cluttered with bikes that pedestrians have to walk in the street. I envision a future where a company disrupts bike sharing by selling moderately priced bikes to individuals who would then have the revolutionary advantage of remaining right where their owners left them, each and every time.

Within a good 2-km radius of any point in Beijing’s congested east side, it’s often quicker to walk than to drive, take a cab, wait for a bus or take the subway. Try it some time, people.

Finally, my iPhone equipped WeChat and QQ Music is a godsend. This walk definitely could not have happened except for the fact that I can do tons of work, hold meetings, and listen to audiobooks and music while I walk.

Finally, how are your feet holding up!?

My legs and feet are okay, however, muscles in my hips I never knew I had are pretty sore. Also, I have an “ab” now, which is the first “ab” I have had since a dental abscess in seventh grade. I’m still five cans short of a six-pack but I’m working on it.

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Click here to learn more or to sponsor Mike Wester’s mission to help Maovember, and its 2017 charity partners The Library Project and Bread of Life. You can also check out the first ‘mao-a-thon’ interview with Wester as well as the Maovember Facebook page.

The Beijinger held its annual Pizza Cup over the weekend and gave Maovember a booth so the pie guzzling, craft beer gulping, music listening masses could learn a bit more about this year’s mission to help Good Works and Library Project.

Things went up a few notches yesterday with some fierce corn toss action. Contestants got four shots for rmb20 and won prizes donated by neighboring booth CHEERS, including key rings, bottle openers and bottles of wine, as well as picnic blankets from The Beijinger.

The team at Kentucky Ale carried over a cooler of IPA, and later some pumpkin ale, for Maovember to sell. The corn toss and beer raised rmb680 and rmb860 respectively.

Here are a few photos from the event:

Thanks to The Beijinger for the booth, to CHEERS for the prizes (and the funky music by Owen Daniel) and to Kentucky Ale for the beer. Maovember’s Zach Lewison, Edouard Simon, Alex Jennings and Jim Boyce all pulled shifts during the two-day event. See more about Maovember’s upcoming events here.