So, you want to support maovember 2015 and its mission of funding cataract surgeries for the poor in China but are unable to attend any events? No problem. You can still donate online to this year’s charity, Orbis. Here are the instructions, with a few screen shots:

1. Go to this page and click or enter the amount you wish to donate. Want to fund cataract surgery for one person? Then enter ‘130’ in the ‘$’ field.

2. Fill in your billing information.

3. Under ‘Tribute Information‘, click the ‘In Honor‘ option from the drop-down menu and enter ‘maovember‘ in the ‘Last Name:‘ space.

4. Click ‘Donate Now‘.

That’s it!

Here are screenshots of steps 1 and 4:

We also appreciate it if you give us a “heads up” that you have donated online, so we can add it to our grand total for maovember. You can do so by emailing nihao (at) maovember.com.

Home Plate BBQ, Jing-A Taproom and The Local teamed up yesterday for an afternoon of fun — The Facial Hair Fun Fair — that raised over 7,000 yuan for maovember 2014.

The party started with bingo at Home Plate BBQ, with manager Dave “Bob” Gaspar calling numbers and co-owner Victoria Liu selling cards. Each round featured prizes like bottles of wine and whiskey and free drinks. Cards cost five yuan, with all proceeds to maovember, and bingo alone raised 1335 yuan for charity.

People then went whole hog. A pig smoked by the Home Plate chefs for more than 24 hours was carried to nearby Jing-A Taproom. Jing-A’s Alex Acker explained they got the pig in exchange for the spent grain that results from brewing and is sent to Green Cow farm in Shunyi for use as feed. Pulled pork went by the sandwich (30 yuan) and jin (50 yuan), with Picklebacks and Fireball shots also available, all proceeds to charity. George Smith, regional head of this year’s charity, Orbis, spoke to attendees.

The well-fed crowd then witnessed the first-ever Egg Kart Klassic, a three-lap delivery-vehicle race between Jing A’s’ Richard Ammerman in “The Keg Egg” and Andy’s Craft Sausages’ Andy Horowitz in “The Hamborghini“. Horowitz led after the first lap but Ammerman pulled ahead — and even threw a banana peel at Horowitz — to win. Bets were taken on the race, with a share going to maovember. The race, pulled pork and drinks raised 4613 yuan.

The pub crawl wrapped up with a facial hair-focused charity quiz at The Local. Owner Kenn Bermel started with a photo round that covered everyone from Zhou Enlai and Karl Marx to Charlie Chaplin and Chuck Norris and finished with an intriguing round called “beards, mustaches or weiners?“. Teams paid 100 yuan to enter, received a pitcher of beer or Bourbon Street Iced Tea and, for those with  less mustache-savvy members, could buy answers from manager Martin. There were also beverages available, including rum punch, mulled wine and shots, with all proceeds to charity. The quiz raised 1600 yuan for maovember.

All told, the three-venue event raised a total of 7,548 yuan for maovember — and the prospects for another Keg Egg vs Hamborghini showdown.

One of the ideas behind maovember is to show results for the people who trust us with donations. Last year, we supported The Library Project and saw firsthand how our funds translated into books, shelves, tables, chairs and more for a migrant children’s school.

This year we are backing Orbis, which focuses on treating and preventing blindness among the poor in China, and aim to fund a minimum of 25 cataract surgeries for 800 yuan each.

George Smith of Orbis sent me the following case study from Heilongjiang, which typifies the kind of people the maovember campaign will help. Once that maovember money is in the hands of Orbis, we will be able to get photos of the actual people who regain their sight.

---

Orbis Case Study

An old man held by his wife came to the ophthalmology department of Qiqihar Maternal and Children’s Hospital on November 3, 2014. It was already late in the afternoon. He was the last patient of that day.The poor man was from Xilian Village  in Keshan County, which was about 200 kilometers away.

The man was diagnosed with cataracts three years ago. However, he didn’t undergo surgery at that time because the symptoms were minor and he lacked money. Now he could barely see anything — only faint light — as the disease had become more serious. What’s worse, the disease made the man unable to work and increased his family’s burden in life.

The old couple had a son and a daughter. But neither of them had time to bring the old man and his wife to the city since they were so busy with the fall farm work and caring for their little children. So, they had to ask their neighbor to bring them when it was convenient. That was why they came late.

While telling their story, the aunt gingerly took out a little cloth bag. There was about 1000 renminbi inside.

“Is the money enough?” she asked the doctor.

Luckily, the doctor gave them an affirmative response. The newly started ORBIS project can provide subsided surgery for poor patients like him. Considering the old couple had no family member helping them, the nurses helped them complete the admission and arrange their accommodations. The surgery and accommodations would be funded by the Orbis subsidization fund.

Since it was complicated and the patient was old, the hospital invited an experienced surgeon, Dr Sun Libin from Heilongjiang Provincial Eye Hospital, to perform the surgery. The surgery was successfully completed.

The man opened his eyes as those surrounding him expectantly watched. He looked around at the people in the room, then cried emotionally and said, “Old girl, I can see! I never thought I would see you again in my lifetime! I can finally see after these years. I’m so lucky and grateful to have all your help.”

His wife, too excited to say anything, smiled and wept. She even wanted to kneel before the doctors to express her thanks. They called their children to tell them the good news. The old man was so glad he would be able to see his one-year-old grandson and play with him. Two days later, the old couple left and told the doctors, these were the happiest days of the past few years.

[Learn more about Orbis here.]

Wearing everything from sportswear to suits, sneakers to stylish Italian leather shoes, about two dozen people took their shot during the road hockey challenge last night at Paddy O’Shea’s. Prospective scorers paid 50 yuan for three shots on net and received a prize for beating the goalie — beers, shots and more. Paddy O’Shea’s is the sponsor of The Oilers hockey team and a number of players were in attendance.

Patrons could also support maovember by buying mulled wine at 25 yuan, with bottles donated by East Meets West, and picklebacks — a shot of Jameson followed by pickle juice — for 20 yuan, with all proceeds to charity. Both kept spirits warm on what was a chilly night.

The total raised for maovember from drinks and games was 3246.1 yuan. Numerous people also bought maovember pins and their photos will soon be appearing on our VIP Donor page here.

Paddy O’Shea’s will give a 10 percent discount on drinks during November to people who are wearing their maovember pins. Get your pin for 50 yuan at the bar.

And there is more to come as Paddy O’Shea’s will hold a quiz night (details soon) and a November 28 mustache bash (see this poster) in support of maovember.

In short, Jing-A makes beer, gives the spent grain to Green Cow farm in Shunyi, gets back a pig that Home Plate BBQ roasts and smokes, and then uses it for pulled pork sandwiches that are sold for 30 yuan, with all proceeds to Orbis — an organization focused on the treatment and prevention of blindness — via maovember. For more details on an afternoon that will also includes stops at Home Plate BBQ and The Local, click here.

See anyone you know? We’ll be posting collages of members of our 500 Mao Club — people who bought a maovember pin for 50 yuan — on this page. This is the first collage but a bunch of new photos came in today so expect a second to be posted soon. You can also keep up with maovember by liking our Facebook page here.

Home Plate BBQ, Jing-A and The Local will team up this Sunday in Sanlitun South for a Facial Hair Fun Fair that includes everything from bingo and quizzes to pulled pork sandwiches and shots — plus the first-ever Egg Kart Klassic. Here are the events making up this triple play, followed by a Q&A with Dave “Bob” Gaspar, Alex Acker and Kenn Bermel.

The Events

PLAY BINGO: The party gets started at 2 PM at Home Plate BBQ in Sanlitun with Boozy Bingo. Cards are 5 yuan each for the eight-round bingo-thon, with all proceeds to maovember. Prizes for first and second place in each round.

Home Plate will also have drink deals, including shots at 20 yuan for charity.

PLAY THE CARTS: At 4 PM, the party goes whole hog at Jing-A Taproom a short walk away. Jing-A will sell pulled pork sandwiches made from an organic pig sourced from Green Cow Farm and smoked at Home Plate (see below for details). Grab a sandwich for 30 yuan and wash it down with a shot for 20 yuan, with proceeds from both to charity.

Speed fans will want to catch the inaugural Egg Kart Classic between the respective vehicles of Jing-A and Andy’s Craft Sausages a.k.a. The Keg Egg and The Hamborghini. Do the equivalent of playing the horses by betting on the race, with half the cash to charity and half to the victor.

PLAY MIND GAMES: At 6 PM, the party again shifts, this time to The Local. Grab your smartest — or richest — friends for a four-round, twenty-question charity quiz. The entry fee is 100 yuan, includes a pitcher of beer or Bourbon Street cocktails, and — here’s the kicker — teams can buy answers at any time for 20 yuan each, with all proceeds to charity.

There will also be darts and foosball. And for those who would like a winter warmer, get The Local’s “Ponche de Frutas“, a hot rum-based spiced fruit punch, for 25 yuan — or shots of Jim Beam or Cuervo for 20 yuan each or, for an upgrade, 1800 Anejo or Bulleit Bourbon at 50 yuan — with proceeds to charity.

The Interviews

Florence King once wrote, “I’d rather rot on my own floor than be found by a bunch of bingo players in a nursing home.” The bingo players at Home Plate will be way cooler than that, right?

Dave “Bob” Gaspar (Home Plate): Yes.*

A taproom doing pulled pork sandwiches. Not only that, but you guys sourced an entire pig. How did that come about? 

Alex Acker (Jing-A): Over the last year, we’ve been sending our spent grain — all the leftover malted barley from our brews — to the Green Cow farm out in Shunyi. We love that we’ve found a sustainable use for our grain, and the pigs love it, too, so it’s a total ‘win-win’. And in return for the pig feed, Green Cow has been kind enough to give us a proper organic, malt barley-fed pig for Sunday’s Whole Hog Roast.

Our friends at Home Plate are going to help roast and smoke it, and turn it into delicious pulled pork, which we’ll serve on a bun with cole slaw and a special beer BBQ sauce. From the brewery to the farm and back — all for maovember fundraising!

Can I pre-buy the answers to The Local charity quiz and then just show up at the end to collect my prize?

Kenn Bermel (The Local): Yes, you could do that, and I wouldn’t stop anyone from giving so generously to the charity. However, if there’s a tiebreaker with someone who has done the same or answered every question correctly, you’d have to show up for that, or forfeit the round.

* Dave Bob didn’t actually say that, and there are no guarantees, but none of my visits to Home Plate BBQ in Sanlitun have revealed anything other than a bunch of people who like good food and drink and occasionally a game of bingo.