A station of love

Aunt Xia Jia lives nearby, she comes every other day to help sort out the clothes. [Photo by Ruan Fan/chinadaily.com.cn]

Currently, there are over a hundred groups of volunteers who come occasionally to the warehouse, and with donors knowing where the goods they gave are being sent to, more people are willing to donate.

"Only when you come and see the clothes flooding in everyday, will you realize we don't lack big hearts in China. What is needed is information and a channel through which they can actually do something."

However, Fan stressed that professionals are important for the smooth operation of the NGO.

In 2012, Dawa, who claimed to be a Tibetan school principal who sent a microblog appealing for clothes for his 50 students, ended up receiving much more than needed so that the clothes ended up piling up as stock. Dawa was then accused by netizens of being a fraud.

"That's why I insisted in building a western team that collects information and connects closely with us, to ensure we do give out goods to those in dire need."

Yang Zhiwen, a Durham University graduate who returned to China last year, tried to help operate the organization in a more professional manner soon as she got notice of the organization.

"I talked to Fan to set up a charity bazaar to sell the stuff that is not suitable for donation, including some decorations, toys and gadgets. We plan to use the money collected to buy stationery, shoes or quilts."

This Sunday, Yang came with another girl, Manman, to mark prices on the goods. They first looked for similar items on Taobao, and then set a fair price.