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2019-10-18 10:03:24
On Friday, October 18, 2019, MSH China’s corporate social responsibility project, “A Family Heirloom of Lifetime Memories,” received Honorary Mention for the CSR Innovation Award at the Annual CSR Awards, which was held at the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. Corporate social responsibility projects have always been a priority for MSH China Health Insurance Services and Solutions.
In 2019, there is still no effective cure for Alzheimer’s disease. As the loved ones face the challenge of gradual memory impairment, we, MSH China, are there to help and support family members with collecting, recording, writing, and saving all those precious moments as family heirlooms to share with their relatives.
Another important part of this project was to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s by promoting the importance of prevention and early detection and proper care for seniors, eliminating social discrimination against the disease and putting an end to the self-stigmatization of patients. We also provided free consultations, as well as helped families gather and document all those various and unique life stories.
During the last four years, MSH China has worked together with international schools to recruit and train student volunteers. These volunteers were responsible for collecting and recording the unique stories of people affected by Alzheimer’s disease. Students from the Shanghai American School, Shanghai New York University, and Concordia International School of Shanghai brainstormed with NGOs and community foundations to find innovative community events, as well as online and offline strategies to apply to the Heirloom project. These strategies included regular medical lectures, free screenings, community health promotions, charity sales, promotional videos, crowdfunding,promotional items such as calendars, and a series of other derivatives. This work enabled us to reach over 500,000 people in the last four years, both abroad and in China.
The Heirloom project initiated by MSH China is unique in terms of design, creativity, sustainability, and execution. MSH China designed an innovative derivative–the Life Story Book—that attracted the Pudong government’s attention. The government decided to print 2,000 extra copies to distribute at other community events. Additionally, the project encouraged other NGOs active in cognitive diseases field to follow MSH’s product design and successively launch different versions of the Life Story Book or similar charity derivatives for advertisement.
The Family Heirloom project reminds us to be patient and open-minded and reminds us of the importance of education. People living with Alzheimer’s disease have a unique life story and endure it in their own way.