English talk show features charitable expat

"Treat people the way you would like to be treated. That's truly important," said a charitable expat, Don Kenny, at The Alfee Show held at the DayDayUp Wuxi Accelerator in Wuxi's Xinwu district on April 8.

The Alfee Show, sponsored by the DayDayUp Wuxi Accelerator, is a regularly-held English talk show featuring the lives of expats living in Wuxi and beyond. The host, Alfee Max, is a Ghanaian student studying his masters at the Wuxi-based Jiangnan University. He and his expat colleagues in Wuxi have formed a team called I4C Productions, which produces the talk show, music videos, and film series.

The third episode of the talk show on Sunday night invited Don Kenny to share his life experiences in China and talk about his charitable initiative, the "Red Envelope Run". In the audience were scores of other foreign nationals currently living in Wuxi.

Alfee Max (R) interviews Don Kenny (L) at The Alfee Show held at DayDayUp Wuxi Accelerator in Wuxi's Xinwu district on April 8. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Don Kenny, a businessman from Ohio in the United States, first came to China as a US company employee in August 2006. He simply fell in love with the country and decided to leave America to set up a life for himself in China.

Kenny moved to Wuxi in 2012 and started his own international trading company in the city three years ago. In his spare time, Kenny is an avid marathon runner and triathlon participant.

At the show, Kenny compared Wuxi to a "primary home", not just a "second home". Currently, he lives in an ordinary apartment building with many Wuxi locals, with many who can only speak the Wu dialect. "I prefer to live around the Chinese community. I just feel comfortable with that," he said.

When asked about his impression of the city and China in general, Kenny remarked: "It never ceases to amaze me. You go around the corner, you see something new."

"I guess I would also give some kudos to the government, as they continue to beautify the whole country," he added.

Some participants of the seventh annual "Red Envelope Run" pose for a picture at Love Square alongside Lihu Lake in Wuxi on Feb 11. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Kenny is also very thankful to the cleaners who keep Wuxi city so beautiful. He runs every morning and sees the hardworking street sweepers. To show his appreciation and give back to the societal group he feels too often overlooked, Kenny ran throughout the city and handed out cash-filled red envelopes (traditional Chinese hongbao offered as New Year greetings) to every sanitation worker he encountered, a week before Spring Festival in 2012.

Kenny has been doing so every year since. He did it alone for the first four years. Gradually, more and more people, especially foreigners in the city, found out about his running charity and joined the "Red Envelope Run". One week before Lunar New Year, they filled red envelopes with cash and spent two days running with Kenny, gifting red envelopes to the dedicated workers. To spread even more joy, the foreigners said the Chinese words xin nian kuai le (Happy New Year) to every cleaner they passed.

"This initiative can be spread into every city in China," Kenny said to the host Alfee Max, who just took part in the "Red Envelope Run" this February.

After the interview, the delightful talk show also conducted a "red envelope lottery draw" game, a singing performance, and offered a space for casual interactions between the audience members, bringing people closer from across the world.