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Athletes Fund now stands at $13 million
The Secretary for Broadcasting, Culture and Sport, Mr Chau Tak-hay, announced today (Thursday) that a total of $5.136 million in donations to the Hong Kong Athletes Fund had been received by the Broadcasting, Culture and Sport Branch by the end of 1996.
Mr Chau said it was encouraging that the public had responded so well to the call for donations. "I would like to thank all those who have donated so far, in particular, Dr Stanley Ho, Dr Wilson TS Wang and the Hong Kong Jockey Club, who each contributed $1 million; and Dr Albert Hung and Mr Robert Ng who each donated $500,000.
"Their generous donations will help greatly to support the development of Hong Kong athletes in the coming years."
To encourage further contributions from the community and to show the Government's firm commitment to local athletes' development, Mr Chau said the Government had already agreed to inject $8 million into the Fund.
"The total amount in the Fund is therefore now more than $13 million," he said. "The Government has not set a 'cut-off date for donations to the Fund, and further contributions from the community are welcome."
The eligibility criteria and the procedure for applications to the Athletes Fund will be announced shortly by the Hong Kong Sports Development Board, which has agreed to manage the operation of the Fund. It is intended that grants from the Fund would be awarded starting the coming academic year.
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