FAQs

1. What kind of charity is Access HK?
Access HK is a registered charity based in Hong Kong.  We aim at helping underprivileged children by giving them better access to education opportunities.  To learn more about the difficulties faced by underprivileged children in Hong Kong, see the "Report of the Hong Kong Commission of Poverty", Chapter 4 "Children & Youth".

Currently, we run several programmes for children aged 6-12, including:

-  a Summer School Programme  held in every July and August, during which our volunteers recruited from top universities all over the world teach underprivileged children at local schools for up to three weeks;

-  a weekend tuition programme known as Teach an Hour held throughout the academic year, during which our volunteers (mostly young working adults) give English language tuition to these children on Saturday mornings; and 

-  a careers programme known as A Day in the Life of…, during which selected children are given the opportunity to shadow someone in a career in which he or she is interested.

All of our programmes are aimed at widening the horizons of these children and are provided to them entirely free of charge.

2. Where does Access HK operate and where is it based?
Access HK’s work is carried out in Hong Kong.  However, our officers and volunteers are drawn from different parts of the world – many of them are Hong Kong residents studying at overseas universities or working abroad. 

3. How can I contact Access HK?

To find postal and email addresses for Access HK officers for various programmes, go to Contact Us. 

4. How do I go about volunteering to work for Access HK?

Information on volunteering is available on the Volunteering.

5. How do I make a donation?

Thank you for your interest in supporting Access HK. Our work depends entirely on voluntary contributions. Donate now or find out about other ways to support us.

We are a tax-exempt charity under Section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance – see the Inland Revenue Department’s website at http://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/tax/ach_search.htm

6. What does Access HK do?

For detailed information on Access HK’s priorities, supporting activities and how we work, go to What we do.  For an overview of Access HK’s mission and guiding principles, read about Who we are.

7. I am a university student, how can I participate?

If you are a student studying abroad, we would encourage you to take part in our Summer School Programme when you return to Hong Kong for the summer holiday.  We accept applications for the Executive Committee of the Summer Programme every winter and applications for teaching posts in the Summer Programme every spring.

If you are available to help our children at other times of the year, you can consider joining the Teach an Hour programme at weekends.  Applications are accepted throughout the year.

8. I have a full time job, how can I participate? 

If you are interested in teaching children, you can take part in our Teach an Hour programme at weekends.  If you are able to let children shadow you at work, you can take part in our A Day in the Life of… programme.   

9. When was Access HK established?

Access HK was established in June 2001 by a group of Hong Kong students studying at top universities in the U.K. and the U.S. to meet the needs of children from socio-economically deprived areas in Hong Kong.  Since its establishment, Access HK has helped over 1,000 underprivileged children in Hong Kong.

10. I'm a member of the press - where do I go for information? 

Visit Events for the latest developments, calendar of events and Media for past press coverage. Contact us by sending an email message to contact@accesshk.org.

11. Where does Access HK get its funding?

We rely entirely on voluntary contributions. Visit Our Partners for a list of our sponsors.

12. How does Access HK use its funding?

Access HK is run by working professionals on a voluntary basis. Hence, our administrative costs are kept to the minimum. Our fundings are spent entirely on the programmes we run. Specific items of expenses include transportation costs for volunteers, lunch expenses incurred by Summer School volunteers, classroom materials and gifts for students. As a token of thanks to our volunteers, each year, we also assign a small amount to the Teach an Hour and the Summer School Programme Executive Committees to celebrate the conclusion of the two programmes.