Ms. SONG Yan Honored as “Female Philanthropy Promoter” for Innovating Philanthropy with Women’s Wisdom

Ms. SONG Yan Honored as “Female Philanthropy Promoter” for Innovating Philanthropy with Women’s Wisdom

On September 16, the “Perseverance in Action” 2025 China Philanthropy Moment – Conference on Entrepreneurial and Corporate Giving Trends was officially held in Beijing. During the event, Ms. SONG Yan, Chairperson of the Beijing Jingyan Foundation, was honored with the title of “Female Philanthropy Promoter” and was also featured on the 22nd (2025) China Charity Ranking – Individual List released the same day.

The Conference on Entrepreneurial and Corporate Giving Trends was organized by China Philanthropy Times, the first national public welfare newspaper under the supervision of the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People’s Republic of China and sponsored by the China Association of Social Workers.

The China Philanthropy List, initiated and compiled annually by China Philanthropy Times under the guidance of the Ministry of Civil Affairs since 2004, is the first national ranking that records large-scale charitable donations. It is also regarded as the most authoritative list in China’s philanthropic sector.

Over the past 21 years, the China Philanthropy List has documented donations from 3,579 philanthropists and 13,180 enterprises, with a total donation amount exceeding 338.2 billion yuan, earning it the reputation of “the love ledger of China’s wealthy.”

Ms. SONG Yan, Chairperson of the Beijing Jingyan Foundation, has been listed on the 22nd (2025) China Charity Ranking– Individual List and was awarded the title of “Female Philanthropy Promoter.” This honor recognizes her decade-long dedication to supporting children in need, her innovative shift from emergency relief to long-term systemic solutions, and her commitment to building new philanthropy models through the unique compassion and resilience of women.

01 Gentle Strength: Female Wisdom on a Decade of Philanthropy

Ms. SONG Yan embarked on her philanthropic journey in 2015, leading the Beijing Jingyan Foundation to focus initially on providing emergency medical assistance for children in crisis. Through years of experience, she gradually realized that short-term relief alone could not address the root causes of these challenges. For hereditary diseases such as thalassemia, she saw the urgent need to establish a systematic framework for prevention and treatment.

She pioneered a novel approach combining prevention and treatment, implementing a dual-track strategy of “supporting existing patients while eliminating new cases.” On one hand, she continues to fund bone marrow transplants for children with thalassemia; on the other, she expands gene screening and public education in high-incidence areas to block intergenerational transmission at its source. This model not only aims to reduce the thalassemia burden in China but also offers a replicable “China solution” for other regions with high prevalence worldwide.

As of now, the Building Love for Thalassemia Action project has invested over RMB 65.1 million, directly supporting nearly 1,700 children with thalassemia. The project has established partnerships with 27 leading transplant hospitals and piloted the Zero Thalassemia Plan in regions such as Yunnan and Guizhou. Through 12 stops of the Good Deeds in China series, authoritative experts have been dispatched to rural towns and villages, training over 4,000 grassroots healthcare workers. Today, the project has built a multi-dimensional intervention network integrating funding, medical care, policy, and public education, covering all thalassemia high-incidence areas in mainland China and driving systemic transformation in thalassemia prevention and treatment.

Under the leadership of Ms. SONG Yan, the Jingyan Foundation has leveraged empathetic insight to accurately identify the real needs of beneficiaries, built trust and mobilized communities through connecting power, implemented efficient and transparent operations with meticulous management, and applied a forward-looking vision to advance sustainable philanthropic practices—from treatment to empowerment, from prevention to eradication. These efforts have significantly enhanced the warmth, depth, and long-term impact of the Foundation’s initiatives.

02 Empathy at the Core: Reaching Needs with Precision

Innate female empathy enables women to perceive the unspoken, deeper needs of those they support. This insight has guided the Jingyan Foundation’s philanthropic practice to shift from “assistance as we think it should be” to “care as truly needed,” achieving interventions that are heartfelt and precisely targeted. It is this sensitivity and empathy that infuse every project with warmth and humanistic spirit.

As a foundation with a “family legacy” ethos, Jingyan places the family at the center of its mission. Under Ms. SONG Yan’s leadership, the Foundation has established a “holistic care” system—not only providing treatment for children with illnesses but also supporting entire families through living subsidies, educational assistance, and community-based initiatives, helping them regain hope and move toward self-reliance.

The Foundation prepares Jingyan Care Packs, containing essential items including sterilization equipment, to support children’s postoperative recovery. It has also launched the Morning Star Plan, funding the education of patients and their siblings. At the same time, families are engaged in e-commerce initiatives to promote agricultural livelihoods, helping them achieve economic independence.

From treatment to recovery, from educational support to personal and emotional rebuilding, under Ms. SONG Yan’s attentive care and empathetic leadership, the Foundation has carried out a warm and human-centered continuum of philanthropy—saving lives while reshaping them.

03 Flexible Collaboration: Harnessing the Power of Philanthropy

Women naturally excel at building trust and forging deep connections, a skill critical to implementing effective public welfare projects. Leveraging this strength, Ms. SONG Yan integrates resources from government, medical institutions, and enterprises to establish a full-chain prevention and treatment system covering screening, diagnosis, intervention, therapy, and recovery. With her uniquely female capacity for collaboration and systemic thinking, she transforms philanthropic efforts from isolated aid into sustainable social solutions, achieving a true transition from compassion to action and from assistance to a structured, long-term framework.

To date, the Jingyan Foundation has established close partnerships with 27 leading transplant hospitals nationwide and launched pilot Zero Thalassemia Plan in multiple regions, including Guizhou and Yunnan. Within these initiatives, Ms. SONG Yan has pioneered an innovative integration of resources: collaborating with local governments to incorporate thalassemia screening into pre-marital and pre-pregnancy check-ups, partnering with medical institutions to train grassroots doctors, working with enterprises to provide genetic testing support, and engaging universities to form expert teams that offer professional guidance for policy development.

This model of innovative collaboration not only enhances the efficiency of aid delivery but also ensures optimal allocation of philanthropic resources. By moving from isolated efforts to a co-constructed ecosystem, it exemplifies a new pathway for contemporary philanthropy to drive social progress.

04 Meticulous Management, Elevating Philanthropic Quality

Meticulous management ensures warm and attentive care. Women's natural strengths in detail-oriented oversight and multitasking coordination have infused the Jingyan Foundation’s projects with both precision and compassion. Under Ms. SONG Yan’s leadership, the Foundation upholds rigorous budgeting, transparent processes, human-centered coordination, and careful progress tracking, ensuring that every act of goodwill reaches its intended recipients efficiently and meaningfully.

The Jingyan Foundation goes beyond providing medical aid, emphasizing the warmth conveyed through every detail. All projects prioritize funding support in advance, intervening during children’s surgery stages to alleviate family financial burdens. Approval times are shortened to an average of just one week, far faster than other organizations, because families of patients cannot afford to wait. In partner hospitals, toys such as LEGO bricks are provided to help children relieve stress and anxiety during treatment. A dual-review system and dynamic early-warning mechanism ensure that every donation is directed to where it is most needed.

True assistance extends beyond medical treatment; it lies in the respect and care conveyed through meticulous attention to detail. From preemptive financial support to optimized procedures and emotional comfort, every carefully considered step not only enhances aid efficiency but also allows families to feel deeply understood and warmly supported.

05 Gentle Strength, Rooted in a Sustainable Future

The female perspective naturally emphasizes long-term and sustainable impact. Women not only focus on addressing immediate needs but also aim for lasting solutions, consistently centering on empowerment to help beneficiaries achieve independence and renewal. 

The Beijing Jingyan Foundation’s work in thalassemia relief exemplifies this evolving approach. Beginning with direct financial support for surgeries, the Foundation has gradually expanded its efforts to include public education, free medical consultations, and post-operative follow-ups, all while collaborating with medical institutions, charitable organizations, and local governments to build shared expertise. From its sixth year onward, the Foundation, in partnership with multiple stakeholders, launched pilot Zero Thalassemia Plan across Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, aiming to reduce the birth incidence of thalassemia at its source, improve treatment efficiency, and fundamentally curb the spread of this hereditary disease.

Ms. SONG has always upheld the philosophy of “helping others by empowering oneself.” She believes that philanthropy should not only “give a fish,” providing children with medical treatment and a chance to regain health, but also “teach to fish,” fundamentally empowering families to overcome hardship.

Through the Morning Star Plan, the Foundation provides scholarships and financial support to children in assisted families, encouraging them to strive for progress. Summer and winter learning camps bring together city children passionate about public welfare with children from mountainous areas, fostering mutual empowerment and broadening their horizons. The Family Assistance & Agricultural Support Program helps families sell agricultural products via e-commerce, enabling them to achieve self-sufficiency and rebuild their livelihoods.

Moreover, as the core of family education and value transmission, women’s engagement and understanding of philanthropy quietly influence the next generation, allowing the spirit of charity to take root within families and endure over time.

06 Women Pioneering the Future, Continuing a New Chapter in Philanthropy

Over the past decade, under the leadership of Ms. SONG, the Jingyan Foundation has invested nearly RMB 80 million, extending support across more than 20 provinces in China and bringing the hope of life to over 2,100 children with severe illnesses. The Foundation has organized close to 200 events, including free clinics, screenings, doctor training sessions, and health lectures, and has provided training to over 4,000 grassroots medical staff. Behind these figures are children regaining their health, families smiling again, and steadily strengthened local medical capacities. The once distant dream of Zero Thalassemia is gradually becoming a reality through these tangible, steady steps.

Ms. SONG believes that women’s empathy, ability to build relationships, attention to detail, and long-term vision are vital forces driving the advancement of public welfare. This recognition will inspire her and the Jingyan Foundation team to continue leveraging their unique female wisdom and warmth to pioneer new horizons in the field of philanthropy.

Looking ahead, Ms. SONG will continue to lead the Jingyan Foundation with the unique meticulousness and resilience that women bring, steadfastly advancing along the path of public welfare. The Foundation will keep promoting the Zero Thalassemia Plan, bringing benefits to more children across regions; continuously refine the "Full-Care Companion" model, extending support beyond medical treatment to education, employment, and other areas; and leverage the distinctive strengths of women in philanthropy to build a warmer, more inclusive, and sustainable ecosystem of social good.

We believe that, before long, thalassemia will be a thing of the past. The flame of this love-driven philanthropy will continue to burn, illuminating the lives of all who need help.