China Charity Federation raises 4.6 bln yuan in 2009

BEIJING, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- China Charity Federation, a leading charity organization in the country, raised about 4.64 billion yuan (about 679.4 million U.S. dollars) worth of donations in goods and money last year.

President of the organization Fan Baojun said Tuesday the donations included 4.26 billion yuan worth of goods and 375 million yuan.

Fan said some of the donations were used to upgrade the medical facilities in grassroots medical institutions and help children in need.

The federation was active in soliciting help from the society for victims of the deadly Wenchuan earthquake on May 12, 2008, Fan said.