Beijing (CNS) -- China Welfare Lottery (CWL) reported an annual sales of over 100 billion yuan ($15.73 billion) by October 23, 2011, up 30% year on year, the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) announced at a press conference on Wednesday.
The Department of Social Welfare and Charity Promotion, China Welfare Lottery Issuing and Management Center During the meeting briefed about the issuing welfare lotteries and the use of proceeds.
The record-making sales mark another milestone in the history of China's welfare lottery.
Since the lotteries were first issued on July 27, 1987, the total sales of CWL have reached 600 billion yuan, almost half of which was awarded to the winners. More than 200 billion went to welfare funds, sponsoring over 240,000 charity projects, benefiting over 200 million individuals.
The funded welfare programs include 167,200 infrastructure construction projects, including orphanages, rural nursing homes, rescue stations, mental hospitals, hospitals for disabled soldiers and schools for orphans and elders' communities.
Another 77,400 non-infrastructure construction projects supported over two million elders without fixed incomes, working abilities or caretakers, and funded the surgeries and recoveries of almost 70,000 disabled orphans and children from poor families.
It is necessary to ensure the smooth and steady development of CWL for lotteries buyers and the entire society, said Dou Yupei, vice minister of civil affairs, at the meeting.
