Sometimes the most meaningful gestures come from unexpected places.

In September 2025, SkyRemit, a cross-border payments company and proud member of the British Chamber of Commerce South China, presented Come Together Community with a donation of RMB 4,000, raised at their company sports day by their own team specifically for CTC. No gala dinner. No corporate directive. Just a group of people who decided to do something good with a day of fun and friendly competition.

That kind of grassroots generosity is exactly the spirit CTC was built on. So thank you, SkyRemit.

The Interview

To accompany the donation, SkyRemit also sat down with me for a long-form video interview about the backstory of CTC, why it was founded, what drives us, and how we have managed to raise over USD 450,000 for children in need in Zhuhai over the past 14 years, entirely transparently and with zero administrative fees.

When they asked me to describe CTC in three words, my answer was instant: Compassionate. Collaborative. Impactful.

Compassionate: because CTC was born from tragedy, driven by love, and built on the belief that every child deserves dignity and opportunity.

Collaborative: because CTC lives up to its name. It truly comes together: expats and locals, musicians and businesses, schools and factories, volunteers and donors, all standing side by side.

Impactful: because the numbers speak for themselves. Over USD 450,000 raised. More than 1,500 children supported across Zhuhai. Dozens of programmes launched. And a Day Care Centre for children with autism that CTC funded for years before the local government adopted it in 2019, the ultimate validation of a model that works.

🎥 Watch the full interview here: CTC x SkyRemit — Some Background on the CTC

How CTC Began

For those who don’t know the full story, CTC traces its origins to 2011 and a man named Ronnie Keelan, a beloved member of the Zhuhai expat community who passed away unexpectedly, leaving behind a pregnant widow facing sudden hardship. Friends rallied. Musicians played. People gave what they could. That night, a community event called Chopperwood raised RMB 127,000. No one knew it at the time, but that night was the birth of something much bigger.

The first official Come Together Charity Music Festival followed in 2012, raising a modest RMB 15,000. Most would have called that a failure. But the funds reached real children, through a real partner organisation where our now Legal Representative Sunny Sui was volunteering. The impact was tangible. And it proved the model could work.

Since then, the festival has grown into South China’s premier charity music event, raising hundreds of thousands of yuan year after year, all transparently, all voluntarily, all going directly to the children.

What Your Support Funds

Thanks to donations from individuals, companies like SkyRemit, and our annual festival, CTC has been able to fund programmes including art therapy, skating training, robotics classes, industry introduction programmes for neurodivergent youth, school meals, monthly transport allowances, and school supply packs for children in extreme need. Over 500 children with autism and other developmental conditions have benefited from CTC-supported initiatives, alongside more than 1,000 underprivileged schoolchildren.

Every single programme has been voluntarily led and zero-overhead funded. That has been true since day one and will remain true.

Come Together Festival 2025 — 22 November

The 11th Come Together Charity Music Festival takes place on Saturday 22 November, from 3pm to 10pm, at the LETS Cultural District in Zhuhai. Come along, bring your families, enjoy the music, and be part of a community that genuinely changes lives.

🔗 Come Together Community 🔗 SkyRemit 🔗 Watch the CTC x SkyRemit Interview on YouTube 🔗 Connect with me on LinkedIn

Mark Clayton FCMA CGMA CPA KOR — Group CFO, C2W Group | Chairman, British Chamber of Commerce South China | Founder & Chairman, Come Together Community