HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach -  9 March 2021 - From 27 to 29 March 2021, four secondary school students will challenge themselves to complete the longest trail in Hong Kong - the 100km MacLehose trail. Their aim is to raise essential funds for The Child Development Centre (CDC), a non-profit organisation that supports children with special educational needs. Please support and donate to this cause at  https://www.simplygiving.com/100km-hike-for-special-needs^[1][2]

Jack, Jaden, Gabriel, and Martin are year-12 students at an international school in Hong Kong. The hike they will complete is not only daunting in length, but also challenging due to the elevation of 5,053 metres. The students chose the CDC as the sole beneficiary as Jack's younger sister previously attended an early intervention programme there. "This organisation (the CDC) is very close to Jack's heart, as he has a younger sister with Down's Syndrome, and understands the difficulties that families face when raising and educating special needs children to reach their full potential, which is something that every child deserves.

"Money donated to the CDC will go towards programme and service expenses, allowing them to aid even more families, and provide even better care with their top notch teaching specialists and therapists. Furthermore, it is no doubt that under the current COVID-19 pandemic, non-profit organisations like this will be impacted the most, so any money donated will be especially helpful now more than ever. We would really appreciate your support on our journey and cause!"

Dr. Yvonne Becher, the Chief Executive of the CDC, expressed her gratitude to the students for organising this meaningful event, "we are grateful for Jack's and his team's initiative, and are glad that the CDC's work is being recognised and has created such positive value to families throughout the years. Hope everyone can also feel the love and faith that Jack has for his sister, and spread the positive energy to many other children with additional needs in our society."

Based on each child's needs, the CDC's multidisciplinary team offers services such as assessments, early intervention programmes, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and targeted support programmes addressing social skills, sensory processing, attention, behaviour, early literacy and numeracy, and more. The CDC is also committed to supporting parents and professionals through counselling services, outreach screening, and child development training.

This press release is distributed by The Child Development Centre and supported by Media OutReach Newswire^[3][4]

References

1. ^{^} Media OutReach (www.media-outreach.com)
2. ^{^} https://www.simplygiving.com/100km-hike-for-special-needs (www.simplygiving.com)
3. ^{^} The Child Development Centre (www.cdchk.org)
4. ^{^} Media OutReach Newswire (www.media-outreach.com)