1 . There are at least 80,000 registered charities in Canada, ranging from churches to nursing homes to community centres. The latest report from the Canadian Philanthropy Survey (CIC) listed the top 10 charities in the country, and the following are among them.

Aimed at people in Alberta struggling against addiction and homelessness, Fresh Start Recovery Centre provides a four-month live-in program that includes fitness training and nutritional support. The group also provides short-term housing and employment information for those who are recovering from alcoholism. Other programs include a food truck that’s fully staffed by people in recovery; in 2020, it centered on bringing necessary supplies to those in need.

CUPS is the combination of a Calgary community center, health-care system and social-service agency. Many programs are specially aimed at families, including several parenting workshops. In 2020 alone, CUPS saw 2, 336 people use its services for the first time. During the COVID-19, it created “assisted self-isolation (隔离) sites” at a hotel for people with no fixed address who had been exposed to COVID-19.

Youth living in poverty or in at-risk situations, as well as members of Black communities, get support from this Sydney, N.S. organization, including one-on-one mentoring (辅导), and scholarships for high-school graduates for higher education. The program also helps kids from poor families who struggle to get access to tech devices and Internet services.

This Vancouver group aims to fight anti-Asian racism using creative methods that range from interactive social-media activities to designs for educational campaigns. The organization also serves as a key platform: members of Asian communities who experience racial violence can report what happened, contributing to a database that’s sadly ever-expanding.

If you’re interested in learning more about which charities are most in need, check out canadahelps. org and charityintelligence.ca.

Chinese museums have made a leap in their development over the past few years. Statistics released by the National Cultural Heritage Administration on May 18     1     (show) that there was     2     rise of about 23 percent compared with 2015. As a result, China has the fourth     3     (large) number of museums in the world next     4     the United States, Germany and Japan.

    5     Chinese museums are developing rapidly, yet further reform     6     (require) today in order to give them a more outstanding role in the nation’s overall development. After three years of preparatory work, nine ministry-level     7     (organize ) jointly released the document, which offers guidelines on promoting reform     8     development of the field.

“However,     9     (face) the problem of unbalanced development, we should make more effort     10     (improve) our museum system.” said Guan Qiang, deputy director of the National Cultural Heritage Administration.

4 . CHARITY HONORS SON’S MEMORY

Nonprofit providing gifts to 18 to 39-year-olds is raising memory

RAMONA, Calif. — Before he died from cancer at age 29, Silas River Bennett spent his final months taking photographs of the world around him, emailing friends, buying Christmas gifts for his sisters and encouraging his family to give to the needy. “What was important to him was to have a sense of himself outside of cancer,” said his mom, Lorranie Kerz of Ramona.

Bennett went to the hospital in fall 2007 with severe back pains. He was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer that had spread to his bones. Doctors believed the cancer was environmentally caused, perhaps by exposure to some poisonous gas in the basement where he lived or poisons in the paints he used as a painter.

Kerz said her son was a man with a great sense of humor and a very creative mind. He had an “electric intellect” who loved debating, watching “Jeopardy!” — a game show on TV and telling stories with his photographs. After Bennett died in May 2008, Kerz wanted to honor the creative spirit and generosity of her son, whose nickname was “Sy”. The result was Sy’s Fund, a Romona-based all-volunteer national nonprofit that has fulfilled the wishes of more than 250 people aged 18 to 39 who are battling cancer. Sy’s Fund provides them with small gifts — such as laptops, cameras, guitar lessons, or printers — to lift their spirits and refocus their energies in a positive direction.

The group raises money through three fundraisers each year, such as golf tournaments and 5K races. This year, because of the COVID-19, they’re trying a virtual fundraiser for the first time. After registering online, participants must download the “Let’s Roam” app to their phones to donate. For those who want to apply for a wish grant, visit sysfund.org. The organization is also seeking more volunteer members. For details, email Kerz at lorraine@sysfund.org.