- Model of coexistence between international organizations in Songdo and local government, linking community support through the city’s welfare platform -

Incheon Metropolitan City announced that it held the “2nd Food Donation Event” on May 20 at the Namdong-gu Senior Welfare Center in cooperation with the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to support low-income elderly residents living alone in the city.

Serving as a leading model of regional coexistence, the event is promoted through cooperation between the city and international organizations based in Incheon; this year marks its second iteration following last year’s inaugural event. The city government became the bridge, matching voluntary resources from GCF and other organizations with local welfare needs. Calvin Manitoba International School (CMIS) also continued its participation from last year, further establishing the initiative as an exemplary public-private cooperation model that puts climate solidarity and community contribution into practice.

The donated items were collected over the course of March through the active participation of GCF employees as well as students and faculty members from CMIS. A total of 52 boxes of donations were gathered through these collective efforts, marking a significant increase in scale compared to last year thanks to the participants’ continued solidarity.

The donations consisted of 1,714 food items including canned goods and sterilized milk. These items will provide practical support for the daily lives of senior citizens, and they will be distributed sequentially to low-income elderly households living alone in the community through the Namdong-gu Senior Welfare Center.

Established at G-Tower in Songdo in 2013, GCF is Korea’s first international organization dedicated to responding to the climate crisis. The organization currently employs approximately 400 global professionals. Through this event, it is expanding its role beyond environmental sustainability to include social responsibility for supporting vulnerable members of the local community.

Incheon has continued to provide policy support so that diplomatic and international organizations based in Songdo International City can move beyond simply benefiting from the region and become genuine members of the local community instead. In particular, this food donation event is considered especially meaningful since the city’s closely connected welfare delivery system transformed the goodwill of international organizations into tangible local care outcomes.

“We sincerely thank GCF employees who shared their warm hearts for this donation event—which is now in its second year—as well as the students of Calvin Manitoba International School who voluntarily participate every year. We hope this kindness will provide great support to senior citizens, and we will continue discovering cooperative projects that create social value by combining the administrative capabilities of Incheon with the resources of international organizations,” said Jeong Seung-hwan, Director of the Incheon Environment Bureau.