The Shanghai Charity Foundation will start to collect goods today for its charity sale to be held at the beginning of next year.

The auction, which is part of the one-day event "True Love Under the Blue Sky," is an annual activity of the foundation.

Proceeds from the auction will be used to sponsor the treatment of needy cataract sufferers, children with congenital heart problems, and deaf and mute children.

The foundation has conducted eight auctions and collected more than 13.4 million yuan (US$1.8 million) for nearly 4,000 patients, the foundation said.

Anyone who is willing to donate goods can dial 6339-2222.

Yesterday the foundation received three Chinese paintings from Wang Zhongqing, an 83-year-old Chinese painting master, for the auction.

The two works, "Portrait of Goddess of Mercy" and "Portrait of the Cloth-bag Monk," were created in the 1980s and 1990s, while the work "Bamboo Raft on the River in Spring" was painted this year.

Also yesterday, the foundation received 1.7 million yuan from the Shanghai Mingquan Real Estate Developing Co Ltd for needy college students.

Most students sponsored by these funds are from rural areas or the country's western regions. Their families don't have stable incomes, the foundation said.

(Shanghai Daily November 29, 2007)