Gangnam-gu, working with the Gangnam Welfare Foundation and the Seoul Metropolitan Community Chest of Korea, is providing cooling appliances and summer supplies worth 67.2 million won ($45,000) to 902 low-income vulnerable households. Deliveries to individual households began July 6 and are being made on a rolling basis.
Recipients are 902 households at or below 100 percent of the median income standard, identified and referred by community service centers and welfare facilities. Priority goes to households in rooftop rooms or below-ground housing, those at risk of dying alone, and residents with limited mobility. Staff verify each household's living environment and installation conditions before delivering or installing the appropriate items.
The supplies — 902 items in total — include 15 wall-mounted air conditioners, 12 dehumidifiers, 30 air circulators, 45 desktop fans and 800 heat-wave kits. Each kit contains nine types of summer essentials: food items such as bone broth soup, beef porridge, scorched-rice soup, instant rice and canned tuna, along with a mini fan, a cooling scarf, cooling arm sleeves and mosquito repellent.
The 800 heat-wave kits were assembled July 14 at a "Hope Summer Sharing Campaign" event held on the seventh floor of the Samsung 1-dong Community Service Center. Gangnam-gu and the Seoul Metropolitan Community Chest of Korea co-hosted the event, with the Gangnam Welfare Foundation serving as organizer. One hundred volunteers packed the kits by hand for delivery to vulnerable residents.
The "Hope Summer Sharing Campaign" is a giving initiative run by the Community Chest of Korea to support vulnerable groups during the summer months. The Seoul Metropolitan Community Chest of Korea ran the campaign from June 15 to July 15 and provided Gangnam-gu with 50 million won to cover the cost of producing the heat-wave kits.
"Extreme heat is a matter of life and death for vulnerable residents, and that calls for more attentive support," Gangnam-gu District Mayor Kim Hyeon-gi said. "We will swiftly deliver the cooling supplies and other necessities to households identified by community service centers and welfare organizations, so that all residents can get through the summer safely."
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