On Sunday, December 15th, the Vine Church was filled with festive cheer as we held our Advent Bake Sale, organized by the Branches of Hope and The Vine Church. The event featured a delightful array of homemade cakes, mulled wine, and plenty of Christmas fun!

With nearly 28 talented bakers and partners contributing their delicious creations, attendees were treated to an impressive selection of baked goods. From banana cake to festive gingerbread cookies, there was something for everyone to enjoy. A huge thank you goes out to our 20 dedicated volunteers who worked tirelessly throughout the day. Their support ensured the event ran smoothly, allowing guests to relax and enjoy the festive atmosphere.

We are grateful to everyone who joined us in celebrating the season. Your presence made the day even more special, and we look forward to seeing you at future events!

Event Highlight:

Non-STOP ROAD Stars is back!

The Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2025 is back and Branches of Hope has been selected as part of the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon Charity Programme 2025! The race date will be 9 Feb 2025 (Sunday). Branches of Hope has 30 available spaces for BoH charity runners: 4 Full marathon runners, 8 Half marathon runners and 18 10K Race runners.

希望枝子今年十分榮幸再次成為渣打香港馬拉松慈善計劃2025的慈善機構之一！希望枝子一共為不同賽程 (10 公里、半程、全程馬拉松) 取得共30個參賽名額，現正誠意邀請你加入希望枝子慈善跑手的隊伍！

Last year, 30 Non-STOP ROAD Stars raised HK$260,661+ for our refugee, asylum seeker, and human trafficking survivor communities in Hong Kong. So the more you run, the more everybody wins. We are excited to offer even better experiences this year, with stronger team spirit, support, fundraising prizes, and plenty of fun.

在2024年初，30位希望枝子慈善跑者、以及超過300位慷慨捐贈者於渣打香港馬拉松慈善計劃2024中為希望枝子籌得一共超過二十六萬，令我們得以有更大空間為難民、免遣返聲請人、人口販運倖存者提供服務。我們很期待為希望枝子慈善跑手組織活動，為隊伍提供更多的支持及體驗！請大家不要卻步，讓我們與大家一同奔跑！

The charity runner registration will open on August 21, 2024, and the deadline is November 25, 2024. Spaces will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. If you are interested, please fill out the sign-up form now!

如果你有意作為慈善跑手參與渣打香港馬拉松2025，請於2024年11月25日前完成以下網上報名表格：

Sign up as BOH’s Non-STOP ROAD Star | 報名成為慈善跑手

If you have already registered with the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2025 in the public ballot or will join as challenge runner, you still want to support BOH’s community runner, we encourage you to create your own fundraising page for us too! Please email info@branchesofhope.org.hk for more information.

如果你在公眾抽籤中取得比賽名額或參加挑戰組組別，你仍然可以為希望枝子捐款以支持我們的社區跑手，請電郵我們以獲得籌款指導及更多資訊。

Fundraising guideline | 籌款指導

Feel free to share this exciting invitation and sign-up link with your running buddies, friends, and family. We are looking forward to running with you this year!

Don’t STOP, let’s run this ROAD together!

HKD877,590 RAISED

What an incredible day we had on October 11th at the “Home and Away 2024” Charity Football Tournament! We were thrilled to have a total of 22 teams from the corporate, public, and community sectors come together to compete, and through this event, we collectively raised HKD 877,590!

22 Corporate, Public and Community Teams | 50+ Volunteers

A special thanks to our incredible 50+ volunteers whose hard work brought our matches to life, created a joyful family corner, and made the experience unforgettable for everyone. Your passion and dedication truly shined!

We are immensely grateful to all our sponsors, supporting organizations, players, and volunteers. Your support not only made this event possible but also raised crucial awareness about the challenges faced by refugees, asylum seekers, and trafficking survivors. Together, we are fostering a spirit of “home together” and encouraging social integration. We can’t wait to join forces again for future events! Until then, let’s keep the momentum going!

Event Highlight:

On September 8, we celebrated our annual Branches of Hope Sunday at the Vine Church. We are truly grateful for the opportunity to share the mission and history of Branches of Hope and to highlight our journey alongside our community members. It is always an honor to connect with the spiritual heart that motivates our work, and we were deeply moved by the outpouring of support!

As part of the event, we interviewed two community members from our STOP and ROAD programmes, sharing a short video that was showcased during the Sunday services. If you’d like to catch it, please click here to watch the full video.

Alongside a thoughtful message from our executive director, Alex, our team displayed some incredible merchandise and were thrilled to see so many people enjoying our bespoke designs. Thank you for an amazing celebration and we look forward to seeing you all next year!

We’re the non-STOP ROAD Stars!

Branches of Hope was selected as a charity partner for the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon Charity Programme 2024. We had a dedicated team of 30 charity runners who participated in the 10KM, half marathon, and full marathon races in the SCHKM 2024 (21st Jan 2024). 

We are incredibly grateful for the overwhelming response from our community, as the team successfully raised a total of HK$260,661+ through 25 fundraising campaigns, with contributions from over 300 generous individuals. We extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone involved!

Don’t STOP, let’s run this ROAD together!

Learn more about the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon Charity Programme 2024:

Marathon Charity Programme – Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon (hkmarathon.com)

“FROM LITTLE SEEDS GROW MIGHTY TREES.”

Branches of Hope held its Seeds of Growth dinner on the 21 September, celebrating the achievements of our community members, staff, and supporters throughout a wonderful evening.

How incredible to be able to host our community of supporters, both new and old, for an evening of celebration and togetherness. We hope that everyone who could attend enjoyed the Seeds of Growth dinner as much as we enjoyed hosting you, and from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for joining us.

We were blessed to have had amazing performances from Jolie Chan and Kel & Fidela. But the night could not have happened without the coordination of Summer Lam and her team, the great work of the production team, florist and photographer. We hope everyone enjoy the audio journey and put yourself into other shoes to understand how difficult refugee moving away from hometown to a safer but unfamiliar city.

Again, thank you for your support of the 1,200 community members that Branches of Hope assists through both our ROAD and STOP programs.

SPARK OF HOPE

“HOPE IS A DIFFICULT THING TO KILL, JUST A SPARK OF IT CAN START A FIRE.”


This year at the Branches of Hope Gala Dinner, we unite our supporters and donors to celebrate our achievements on this 10-year journey of restoration.


Through impact stories and program updates, we hope to encourage one another – We can all be a SPARK OF HOPE in someone’s life.


By the end of the evening, we hope everyone feels valued and equipped for their commitment to supporting the people we serve at Branches of Hope.


BRING JOY TO REFUGEE AND ASYLUM SEEKER FAMILIES ACROSS HONG KONG!

Together with Happy Baton and RedBox, we are helping to spread some festive cheer this holiday. We invite you to give a gift to children of refugee and asylum seeker families across Hong Kong.


COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

  1. How old are the children?
    ⦁ The gifts will go to children with ages from 2 to 14 years old.

  2. What should I give?
    ⦁ You may give a preloved toy or book (as long as they are in excellent condition) or purchase a new gift.

  3. How do I donate?
    Drop off the gift at any of the collection points listed below during office hours:

    Central
    Central Smile – 12/F, Manning House, Central, Hong Kong
    Rebooked – 1/F, 9-11 Mee Lun Street, Central, Hong Kong

    Wan Chai
    Vine Church – 29 Burrow Street, Wan Chai, Hong Kong (Tuesdays to Fridays, 9am-6pm at the Concierge; Sundays 9am-4pm on 1/F Children Area. Please call 94494363 for enquiries)
    Baumhaus – 1/F, Kar Yau Building, 36-44 Queen’s Road East, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

    Chai Wan
    Redbox Chai Wan – 4/F, 20 Lee Chung Street, Chai Wan Industrial Centre, Chai Wan, Hong Kong

  4. When is the toy gift collection period?
    ⦁ 1st to 29th of November

  5. When will the toys be distributed to the children of Branches of Hope?
    ⦁ 7 to 9th of December

  6. How else can I help?
    ⦁ You can sign up to be a volunteer tentatively on 29 November to help sort, gift wrap and prepare the toys for distribution!


    Contact Branches of Hope’s colleague Deanna at 9406-9539 via WhatsApp or email at dkwok@branchesofhope.org.hk



THIS EXCITING INITIATIVE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE FOLLOWING SPONSORS:


Happy Baton

Happy Baton is Hong Kong’s first online toy subscription rental service! We provide fun and educational toy boxes for different age groups and development stages to promote learning through sustainable play. Play Smarter, Play Greener!



RedBox

RedBox Storage is delighted to yet again be supporting Happy Baton and Branch of Hope in their toy donation drive this year.


Not everyone gets to have a very Merry Christmas and this year has been full of challenges for many refugee families, especially those with young children. From now until 29 November, spread a smile and look out for our collection boxes around town.



 

“Home & Away” is a football term that refers to whether a team is playing at ‘home’ in their own venue, or away in someone else’s.

We hope this Tournament will raise awareness and funds for refugees, asylum-seekers and human-trafficking survivors living in Hong Kong. We bring across a message that they are away from home and separated from their families, but also instills hope that our city is one that cares.

We also hope this event will provide a place for the marginalised and vulnerable to enjoy football with different corporations in Hong Kong, and as a result genuine friendships will be formed. Moreover, to facilitate social integration across the city where they feel being cared for and experienced “Home away from Home”,
and everyone foster the spirit of “Home together”.

 
 
 

IMPORTANT NOTES TO PARTICIPANTS 

  1.  All footballers must be aged 16 years old or above. 

  2. Players should be aware of their own physical fitness. For the sake of safety, persons with health problems such as asthma, heart and lung diseases, plantar fasciitis should seek medical advice before entering for the tournament.  

  3. Players taking part in this event are acting solely on his / her own discretion and at his / her own risk. The organizers accept no responsibility, nor liability, for accidents of any kind, resulting in death or injury, nor for any damage or loss of personal property during the event. 

  4. To comply with the Hong Kong Government’s latest anti-pandemic guidelines, we will put in place a series of strict precautionary measures to safeguard the health and safety of our participants.  

  5. All registration fees and other donations are not refundable. 

  6. The Organiser (“Branches of Hope”) reserves the right to restrict or reject any application.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

  1. Cup Champion

  2. Cup Runner-up

  3. Highest Fund Raising Team

  4. Highest Fund Raising Individual

GOODIE BAG

Each participant will receive a goodie bag with the following items:

  • BOH travel bag

  • BOH quick-dry towel

  • Decodeco cooling patch

  • G&D Mint & Ginger Herbal Oil + coupon

  • BE-KIND nuts bar

  • Aquarius sports drink

  • Physiotherapy voucher (free first session) at MY Medicare

  • Drink voucher (free house wine upon dining) at Orka Central

PRIZES

PAYMENT METHODS

  1. Cheque – Payable to “BRANCHES OF HOPE LTD”. Please mail cheque together with this registration form to “Branches of Hope, 29 Burrows Street, Wan Chai, Hong Kong” 

  2. Bank Transfer – Branches of Hope Ltd’s HSBC account (499-814499-838).  
    Enclose the bank slips with this form, email to info@branchesofhope.org.hk. 

  3. Online Payment – Please make payment online at https://branchesofhope.org.hk/donations. 
    Please email info@branchesofhope.org.hk your payment confirmation email together with this form.

All proceeds (minus administrative cost) help raise fund for our work and service towards the most marginalised and vulnerable community in Hong Kong.

The event also aims to raise funds to support the needs of our community members. You can support us by fundraising for the event through our crowdfunding page , or create your own crowd funding page or fill in the donation form (instructions in the donation form).

GAME RULES

  1. The normal rules of football will apply except that there will be no offside. 

  2. Shin-pads must be worn at all times. 

  3. Maximum number of players on the field will be 6 + 1 Goalkeeper. The minimum number of players is 5. 

  4. Each team must be ready to play at the appointed time. 

  5. There is no limit on substitutions.  It is not necessary to request the referee’s permission before making substitutions.  Substitutes must enter the game from the half-way line and may not do so until the substituted player has left the field.  Substituted players may return to play. 

  6. Any player receiving a red card will be suspended for a minimum of one game.  Any player receiving 2 yellow cards during the tournament will be suspended for the next match 

  7. Points system for all games: Win = 3 points, Draw = 1 points, Lose = 0 point. 

  8. All teams in the Group Stage will proceed to the Knock-out Stage.  Schedule of play in Knock-out Stage will depend on the Group Stage ranking by points.  In the event of a tie in points, it will be decided by goal average.  In the event of a tie in goal average, it will be decided by the goal average between the tied teams. 

  9. In the event of a tie at Knock-out stage and Finals Stage, the match will proceed straight to sudden-death penalties.

    *Group Stage: 12 minutes one way (no half-time).
    *Knock-out Stage: 10 minutes each way with no half-time.
    *Finals Stage: 10 minutes each way with 2 minutes half-time. 

*Note: format subject to change according to total number of teams 

Heartfelt thanks to our sponsors.