50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 676 Angel Hut Project
The Maria Foundation has now become Tong Jiajia's career.

In particular, after the experience gained from the last large-scale survey of Chinese railway workers.

The entire foundation team seemed to have undergone a baptism, demonstrating exceptionally high efficiency and execution.

Since then, without launching any major charitable projects, the foundation's daily work has consisted mainly of data collection activities such as social surveys on the "living conditions of children".

It's clear that Tong Jiajia is preparing to launch the 'Baby Abandonment Roulette' project. If successful, this will be the foundation's first long-term project.

In the days that followed, Tong Jiajia, heavily pregnant, led a group of foundation staff and began to work with great enthusiasm.

While collecting information on past 'baby roulette' cases, she designed plans for the new facility and asked lawyer Brown to help her collect relevant legal provisions from various countries.

I've heard that some pregnant women experience a particularly strong sense of crisis during pregnancy, making them prone to depression.

Tong Jiajia, who seemed to be taking action, appeared to be in a much better mental state than before.

Sun Zhiwei thought it was better to keep her busy than to let her overthink things, so he didn't object.

However, he always tries to stay close to Tong Jiajia to ensure her and the child's safety.

After more than half a month of data collection and meetings, Tong Jiajia and the foundation finally completed the project plan.

The new 'Baby Roulette' project has been officially named the 'Angel Hut Project', with an initial budget of $1 million.

New York City will be the first pilot city for the project because Sun Zhiwei has the strongest connections in New York.

Because he was both an aide to the governor and had the support of the state government and Governor Mario Cuomo;

He was a guest of honor of the mayor, and also had connections with New York City Hall and Mayor Ed Kirk.

At the same time, he has many friends in the industry and business world in New York City, which is arguably the easiest place to start.

If the Angel Hut here is successful, it will provide valuable experience for the construction of Angel Huts in other cities.

If you can't even make it in New York, then you should either rethink your plans or give up altogether.

Unlike Tong Jiajia's apprehension, Sun Zhiwei was full of confidence because he had heard of her plan in his previous life.

However, back then it wasn't called "Angel's Hut" but rather "Baby Safety Island" or "Baby Box".

Later, not only the United States, but also many countries including China, established relevant facilities and imposed legal constraints on the behavior of relevant personnel.

For example, Texas’s Safe Babysitter Act, enacted in 99, allows parents to remain anonymous and leave their newborns (up to three days old) in designated facilities such as hospitals and police stations without facing prosecution.

California passed the Safe Delivery of Babies Act in 01, and in 06, Governor Schwarzenegger signed the bill to permanently extend the Safe Delivery of Babies Act.

California's law is similar to Texas's, allowing 72 hours of anonymous safe abandonment of a baby, and even adding a clause allowing for a 14-day reversal period.

In other words, if the parents change their minds within two weeks of safely abandoning the baby, they can still claim the baby back, provided they have evidence to prove that the child is theirs.

Why enact such a law? Because in many countries now, abandoning a baby constitutes the crime of abandonment, which can lead to imprisonment.

Tong Jiajia's proposal also includes a suggestion to urge the government to enact similar legislation to reduce the mortality rate of abandoned infants.

Although Sun Zhiwei didn't think 'urging' those councilors would be of any use, he still decided to support her approach. Because without legal support, Tong Jiajia's plan was essentially skirting the law.

The "baby roulette" system persisted for hundreds of years, so why did it eventually fail? It wasn't just a matter of money; it also involved issues of public opinion.

The "baby roulette" was once considered to encourage child abandonment, which is one of the important reasons why those "baby roulettes" were gradually abolished.

Of course, Sun Zhiwei's support was not just verbal; he also helped them refine the implementation steps for this.

First, we need to compile statistics on the number of infant deaths each year due to abandonment.

This is not difficult to compile statistics. Police stations in various regions have special classifications for such cases, and it is easy to obtain relevant information by bribing the police station's file clerk.

After obtaining the data, they also need to find well-known media outlets and journalists to expose the matter and generate sufficient public attention.

Then he lobbied members of parliament to propose relevant motions, which sparked related discussions in parliament.

After that, relevant bills are drafted by professionals, reviewed and passed by the council, and then promulgated and implemented by the city hall.

In short, this process is very complex and requires a lot of resources and dollars.

Putting aside everything else, just buying news space to generate public opinion will easily cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

There's also lobbying lawmakers, which involves more than just talking.

Which member of parliament isn't busy? You can't expect to get a direct talk with a member of parliament unless you donate a six-figure sum, let alone persuade them to participate in your plan.

Fortunately, Sun Zhiwei was not an unknown figure; he held a certain position within Mayor Ed Coke and his staff.

Because Sun Zhiwei not only has money of his own, but he can also help them make money together, which is very nice.

At the end of July, Sun Zhiwei and Tong Jiajia visited New York City Mayor Ed Kirk at his home.

Located in Carl Schulz Park on East 88th Street in Manhattan, near the East River, stands a 224-year-old mansion.

Built between 1803 and 1812, it is the oldest existing city hall in the United States.

Originally the country house of businessman Archibald Gracie, it underwent several changes before becoming the official residence of the Mayor of New York City in 1942.

The first floor of the official residence is mainly used for receptions and events held by the city hall, while the second floor has five bedrooms where Mayor Ed and his family live.

Of course, this place is too small to be used as the office of the huge New York City Hall. It is used as the old City Hall to host some important small banquets and as the mayor's residence.

The official new city hall is still located in the city government building in the downtown area.

Sun Zhiwei had contacted First Secretary Louise Kent in advance to schedule this visit. Ed happened to be resting at home today, but Sun Zhiwei brought Tong Jiajia with him instead.

Sun Zhiwei felt a little embarrassed to have to bother someone on their day off.

So, his main purpose in coming here today was to attend the party.

As for the "Angel's Hut Project," he would mention it briefly, but the specifics would be discussed in detail when Ed returned to the town hall office in the lower city on Monday.

(End of this chapter)