OneSky launches Campaign for all Children

OneSky has launched the Campaign for all Children, a USD 20 million fundraising effort to build a better future for the disadvantaged children of Hong Kong and the Asia Pacific region.

The campaign will fund the OneSky Global Centre for Early Childhood Development – a world-class hub for quality early education, nurture and caregiver training as well as a resource for professionals in the field.

Scheduled to open mid-2019, the center will provide science-based early nurturing and education in an inclusive, multicultural setting for 166 children ages 0-6. OneSky has signed a lease for the new center, a 16,000 square feet space in the Wing Shing Building located in the heart of Hong Kong’s Sham Shui Po district within walking distance of a number of government-subsidized housing estates and subdivided flats.

The center will include early nurture and education rooms for children 0-3 and playrooms for children 3-6. There will also be space for Parenting Skills Workshops offered at hours convenient for parents. In addition, a Community Engagement Program, for new arrivals to Hong Kong and others lacking social connections, means parents, grandparents, and children can gather for playgroups, workshops, holiday parties and special events.

To accommodate parents who work extra-long days or non-standard shifts, caregivers at the center will be available during extended hours.

Like all of OneSky’s work bringing quality early nurture and education to the world’s most vulnerable children, the center is designed to be scalable to other areas in Hong Kong via satellite centers and other areas in the Asia Pacific region. To that end, the center will be a base where experienced trainers can teach the unique OneSky approach to work with at-risk children and families, to early childhood educators, social workers, education specialists and program directors from local and regional child-focused NGO and social service organizations.

The center will also serve as a gathering place for those committed to early childhood nurture and education in Hong Kong, where one out of five children live in poverty, and other Asia Pacific regions where the gap between rich and poor is widening. In partnership with local NGOs, academics, and social service offices, OneSky will invite guest speakers to share information about innovations in early childhood care and education, best practices, and current research. Community partners will also have access to OneSky’s online learning community, which offers user-friendly forums and an extensive multimedia training library.

OneSky’s Founder and CEO Jenny Bowen (pictured below) said:

“Over the years, the Hong Kong community has provided crucial support for OneSky’s mission to bring quality nurture and early education to the world’s most vulnerable children. I am delighted that this generous community is now coming together to support our OneSky Global Centre for Early Childhood Development, which will serve Hong Kong’s often-forgotten disadvantaged children and also serve as a valuable resource for like-minded Hong Kong organizations.”