The One Foundation also called Red Cross Society of China Jet Li One Foundation Project, was founded by Chinese Red Cross

Red Cross Society of China

The Red Cross Society of China is the national Red Cross Society in the People's Republic of China.-Origins and history before 1949:...

 ambassador Jet Li

Jet Li

The fame gained by his sports winnings led to a career as a martial arts film star, beginning in mainland China and then continuing into Hong Kong. Li acquired his screen name in 1982 in the Philippines when a publicity company thought his real name was too hard to pronounce...

 in April 2007. It is a 21st century NGO focused on promoting philanthropic activities and spirit by addressing issues related to the environment

Environment (biophysical)

The biophysical environment is the combined modeling of the physical environment and the biological life forms within the environment, and includes all variables, parameters as well as conditions and modes inside the Earth's biosphere. The biophysical environment can be divided into two categories:...

, education

Education

Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

, health

Health

Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...

, poverty

Poverty

Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...

, and disaster relief in order to facilitate strong growth of China's social sector. Its idea

Idea

In the most narrow sense, an idea is just whatever is before the mind when one thinks. Very often, ideas are construed as representational images; i.e. images of some object. In other contexts, ideas are taken to be concepts, although abstract concepts do not necessarily appear as images...

 is 1 Person + 1 Dollar/Yuan + 1 Month = 1 Big Family.

The guiding principles behind the One Foundation are professionalism, impact, transparency, and sustainability. With the support and partnership of multinationals, entrepreneurs, celebrities, and the media, the foundation has grown significantly in its first year and on November 1st-2nd, 2008 will be hosting the 1st Annual Global Philanthropy Forum in partnership with Boao Forum for Asia. A central part of the forum will be the One Foundation Awards which will recognize and name the top ten NPOs of the year.

One Foundation operates in China, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the USA with central offices in Beijing and Singapore. Operation in Taiwan is planned to begin at the end of 2008.

History

While Jet Li was vacationing in the Maldives on December 26, 2004 with his family, the Great Southeast Asian Tsunami of 2004 struck. He was immediately able to grab hold of his older daughter while his younger daughter (a toddler at the time) was swept aside by the water. As a result of his calls for help and recognition amongst the locals, she was saved and reunited with Jet Li. Understanding that in life there are countless times when help is given by others, he was inspired by this incident to create and set-up the Jet Li One Foundation as his way of giving back.

The foundation officially began on April 19, 2007. Jet Li ceased film production for the entire year of 2008, devoting all of his time to developing and growing the foundation.

Volunteers

Volunteers for the foundation pledge themselves to donating a set amount each year and/or committing one hour of their time each month to the community through their line of work or other form of volunteer work.

Volunteers are classified into four groups: Academic, Individual, Student, and Organizational.

Notable volunteers include Yao Ming

Yao Ming

Yao Ming is a retired Chinese professional basketball player who last played for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association...

, Andy Lau

Andy Lau

Andy Lau MH, JP is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer, actor, and film producer. Lau has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maintaining a successful singing career at the same time...

, Michelle Yeoh

Michelle Yeoh

Michelle Yeoh Choo-Kheng is a Hong Kong-based Malaysian Chinese actress, well known for performing her own stunts in the action films that brought her to fame in the early 1990s....

, Kang Xiaoguang, Jack Ma

Jack Ma

Jack Ma is founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Alibaba Group and chairman of Alibaba.com, the Hong Kong-listed unit of Alibaba Group.-Early life:...

, Xu Yongguang, Zhuang Ailing, Li Bingbing

Li Bingbing

Li Bingbing is a Chinese actress and singer.-Life and career:Li had no intention of becoming an actress initially and enrolled specifically in a high school for prospective school teachers...

, and Beijing University.

Donations

The One Foundation promotes "1 person + 1 dollar + 1 month = 1 big family." By pooling together individual donations, the One Foundation aims to mobilize the power of the masses to promote and participate in philanthropy in China, Asia, and worldwide.

Donations are deposited directly into an account held by the Red Cross Society of China, earmarked for use by the One Foundation. Funds are dispersed for use by the Red Cross upon approval by the One Foundation, setting up a check and balance that ensures funds are used responsibly and that the process is transparent and public. The media and general public are a part of this process.