Forever Love

Forever Love was founded in 2005 by the Children and Teenagers' Foundation of China and the Hengyuanxiang Corp., working in a partnership. A wool manufacturer, Hengyuanxiang provides materials to volunteers. Millions of people have participated in the six years since the project began, and it is creating a new model for Chinese charity.

By this past June, Forever Love has been promoted all over China and 600,000 sweaters were collected. Celebrities are among the volunteers, but most are ordinary people. Some are the disabled and unemployed, who are in need of help themselves. They use extra wool to knit hats, scarves and gloves for the children.

 Liu Ruiqi, Hengyuanxiang's chairman, has promised that the corporation will spend 10 percent of its annual revenue on public welfare work. He believes that entrepreneurs are focused on maximizing profits, but they also shoulder great social responsibilities. With its logo of a child's silhouette, the company is permanently tied to children.

Why hasn't Hengyuanxiang donated money or other necessities to disadvantaged children? "On the one hand, charity projects usually set high goals that cannot be achieved by one company alone; all of society should make an effort to get involved. On the other hand, when people knit, they are invested emotionally. To express our love for the children, there is no better way than this," says He.

Love gone worldwide 

Forever Love has achieved its primary objective: to provide a sweater for each abandoned and disabled child in China. That's 573,000 sweaters and counting. Now it is focused on building an international platform grounded in non-governmental philanthropy for those wanting to help children in need.

"The knitting marks the beginning of the project for Africa, and it also creates a new model for non-governmental charity to work internationally," says Chen Zhongwei, General Manager at Hengyuanxiang. In the future, Forever Love will work with other countries, promoting friendship through interactive charity activities. Its long haul aim is to make the knitting project a worldwide one.

Mothers who knit for their children infuse love into the garments. Forever Love provides a platform to spread this love beyond a single family, and it's waiting more people to join. "The ability of one person or enterprise is limited," says Chen. "If the 6 billion people on this planet join in, abandoned and disabled children around the world will be better off. It's our final goal."

"Maybe someday, African parents will knit sweaters for Chinese orphans, or Palestinian parents will knit for Israeli orphans – even though there are political differences and wars, communication between ordinary people should not be affected," says He. "It's not an impossible task, all we need is an opportunity."