Just before Chinese New Year, I had an unexpected and deeply touching visit to my office.

The team from LJL, a local charity that CTC has been proud to fund and support for several years, along with Chairwomen Ms. Mai, came to see me, bringing with them a handcrafted Chinese New Year flower arrangement as a gift. Beautiful, lucky, and full of colour.

The arrangement had been made by children living with autism, children whose programmes CTC helps fund, learning a practical, creative skill with their hands. A skill that is transferable. A skill that builds independence. A skill that, one day, might help them earn a living.

They brought one flower arrangement for every corporate sponsor of the CTC. Amazing.

Why Transferable Skills Matter

One of the things I feel most strongly about, and something we talked about at length during that visit, is the importance of equipping children with autism and other developmental conditions with skills they can actually use in the world. Not just therapeutic activities for their own sake, but real, applicable capabilities: creativity, craft, focus, attention to detail. The kind of skills that open doors.

CTC has funded skating classes, robotics training, art therapy, and industry introduction programmes, including work placements I personally helped secure in local factories for neurodivergent young people. Every one of those programmes is built on the same belief: that these children deserve not just support, but opportunity.

A handmade flower arrangement, gifted to me just before the new year, made by those very children, that is what opportunity looks like in practice.

The Story Behind CTC

For those who are new to Come Together Community, the origin story is worth knowing.

In 2011, a much-loved member of the Zhuhai community, a friend named Ronnie Keelan, passed away unexpectedly, leaving behind a pregnant widow facing sudden hardship. Friends rallied, musicians played, and a community event called Chopperwood raised RMB 127,000 in a single night.

From that moment of loss and collective compassion, CTC was born.

The first Come Together Charity Music Festival followed in 2012. Since then, we have raised over USD 450,000 for children in need, orphans, children with autism, children battling serious illness, children from families in extreme poverty. Every penny has gone directly to the children. No salaries. No administration fees. Ever.

One story that has always stayed with me is a brave little girl who had undergone seven brain surgeries. CTC was able to support her family and help cover living expenses during that incredibly difficult time. Moments like that make every late night, every audit, every challenge completely worth it.

On Transparency

When I first wanted to register CTC as an official NGO in China back in 2013, I quickly realised how many questionable charity operations existed. From day one, I made transparency the non-negotiable foundation of everything we do. People need to know we are 100% legitimate, and that every single yuan raised goes to the children.

Transparency is not just a charity principle. It is a life principle. Whether you are running a business, a charity, or building any kind of community, when you operate as an open book, with ethics at the core, you build something that lasts.

The flowers sitting on my desk (and now in my home!) are a reminder of that. Small, handmade, and carrying more meaning than any trophy I have ever received.

Happy New Year to everyone in our wonderful Zhuhai community. 🧧

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