50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 678 Hit it off

When Sun Zhiwei noticed the women again, he discovered that although Tong Jiajia's "Angel Hut Project" had not yet started, she had already gained the support of the ladies, led by the mayor's wife.

She even received her first charitable donation of $10, an efficiency that left him speechless.

It seems that starting the "Angel's Hut" project from the women's perspective is indeed a good idea.

More than an hour later, Councilor Morris was the first to leave, and the mayor escorted him all the way to the front door.

By the time the mayor returned, the banquet was almost over, and the other staff members took their leave with their wives. Before leaving, the wives all invited Tong Jiajia to the next gathering.

Tong Jiajia smiled and agreed, saying that she would definitely participate if her child wasn't in a hurry to come out.

After everyone else had left, Ed invited Sun Zhiwei and his wife to his study for a formal meeting.

The conversation officially began after the mayor's wife brought coffee to them.

Ed already knew roughly what their plans were from his wife.

In the study, he received the "Angel's Hut" project proposal produced by Tong Jiajia's team and learned about its contents in detail.

After quickly skimming through it, Ed immediately became very interested in the plan.

If this matter can be accomplished, it will undoubtedly have a significant impact and bring him a lot of positive publicity.

Sun Zhiwei originally planned to use his relationship with Ed to have Ed step forward and have one of the members of parliament on his side propose a new legal motion after public opinion had taken hold.

Unexpectedly, after reading the plan, Ed decided to take charge himself. This was because Sun Zhiwei was unaware of the current situation Ed was facing.

Since Ed took office, several of his policy initiatives have failed to achieve good results.

This has led to a significant decline in Ed's approval ratings in New York this year.

His team is now looking for new ways to boost voter confidence.

Sun Zhiwei's plan was delivered to him at this crucial juncture, and he immediately realized its advantages.

Ed's Democratic Party is the largest conservative party in the United States, and New York is a traditional stronghold for the Democratic Party. Ed's supporters are mostly traditional conservatives.

Sun Zhiwei and his team's "Angel Hut Project" is entirely in line with the Conservative Party's governing philosophy.

If he participates in promoting the "Angel's Hut" project and ensures its successful implementation, it will certainly win him more votes within the party.

This is crucial for Ed's re-election campaign next year.

Moreover, he doesn't need to spend any money himself this time; he only needs to cooperate with Sun Zhiwei and his wife's plan and provide policy support.

"James, when do you plan to start implementing this plan?"

Although there is still a year until the next mayoral election, campaigning usually begins more than six months in advance.

Moreover, the implementation of the "Angel's Hut" project itself will take at least several months, and time is already quite tight.

"The first wave of publicity can begin soon, and we will visit Bishop Wilson of St. John's Cathedral in the near future."

"The biggest problem now is that we haven't settled on where the babies we left behind will end up."

"What we are hesitating about now is whether to entrust these children to a welfare institution or to establish a new welfare institution separately."

New York City has many child welfare institutions, the largest of which is the 'Children's Village' located in the suburbs of New York.

There are also some private welfare institutions, including 'Annie's Home' where Tong Jiajia worked when she first came to New York. Ed thought for a moment before asking him, "How many babies do you estimate will be taken in each year after the 'Angel's Hut' project is implemented?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Zhiwei looked at Tong Jiajia, who had carefully studied the information she had obtained from the police station and gave a surprising figure.

"Data from the New York Police Department indicates that the number is roughly between 100 and 400."

"100 is the number of deaths determined each year, and 400 is the maximum estimated number."

“You may not know this, but the ‘children’s villages’ are under a lot of financial pressure right now.”

“The city hall allocates $500 million annually for the welfare expenses of the ‘Children’s Village,’ with the majority of that going towards the treatment costs for many disabled children.”

“If the ‘children’s village’ is to take in these children, the city government will need to allocate at least an additional $200 million per year.”

Although the amount is not very large, it would undoubtedly pose a significant obstacle if it were to be funded by the city hall's budget.

Getting the city council to approve this long-term grant will not be an easy task.

Then, Tong Jiajia looked at Sun Zhiwei, and seeing that Sun Zhiwei nodded, she said:
“Re-establishing a new welfare institution is a good idea, but the preparation time will definitely be longer, which may not be conducive to your publicity efforts.”

This is also a concern for Ed, who hopes that the Angels' Hut project can yield results as soon as possible so that his election team can better utilize these results for publicity.

"How about this, let's first decide that the 'Children's Village' will take in these children?"

"Then, the Maria Foundation will allocate $200 million annually to cover the living and medical expenses of these children before they are found adoptive families."

Each of these babies will eventually return to a family, but care costs will certainly be incurred until an adoptive family is found.

Since they are going to do this, this expense is unavoidable, and they have no intention of passing it on to others, so they naturally have to bear it.

Upon hearing that Sun Zhiwei and his wife were prepared to cover the expenses, Ed was immediately delighted, as this would save him a lot of trouble.

Those people in the city council aren't easy to talk to. Back when he was a city councilor, he certainly made things difficult for the previous mayor.

Now that he's the mayor, he's certainly had his fill of the hardships.

"So, are there any other difficulties with this plan?"

"Yes, churches alone are certainly not enough as locations for facilities. We hope to include public hospitals and fire stations in various neighborhoods as alternative options for resettlement facilities."

“I agree to this. Public institutions are all under the management of the city hall, and I will handle the communication in this regard.”

"That's wonderful, thank you for your support, Mayor."

Sun Zhiwei never expected that what was originally just a preliminary visit would yield such a decisive result.

In this way, their "Angel's Hut" project can be implemented quickly.

The next day, Tong Jiajia and Sun Zhiwei went their separate ways.

Sun Zhiwei visited St. John's Cathedral and received affirmative support from Bishop Wilson and Father Irwin.

Tong Jiajia, on the other hand, secured placements in The New York Times and The New York Daily News.

Starting next week, these two newspapers, with circulations exceeding one million, will begin reporting on abandoned babies in New York City.

(End of this chapter)