More than 100 primary school students raised money for needy migrant workers in the busy Dongmen area in Shenzhen on Sunday, the first such event in the city.

The students, accompanied by teachers and parents, asked each passerby for one yuan, which will go to a fund set up by the Shenzhen Charity Association for needy migrants earlier this month.

For Liu Huiying, a fifth-grade student at Bibo Primary School, it was the first time she had collected donations on the street. Holding a red donation box, Liu and her peers braved the midday sun and asked every passerby: “Please offer kindness and donate one yuan.” Some people shied away, but others could not refuse such a request from a child — and were rewarded with a sticker bearing the symbol of the Shenzhen Charity Association.

Liu Runhua, director general of the civil affairs bureau, a major organizer of the event, said it was held to teach the children about charity work.

The fund for migrant workers has helped eight migrant workers since it was established in early March, said Peng Jincheng, head of a panel responsible for selecting the beneficiaries. Each received up to 20,000 yuan including Chen Zhongqiang, a leukemia patient.

Chen, who came from a village in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province three years ago, has been waiting for an operation, which will cost at least 200,000 yuan, a huge sum for the family.

Chen’s family had sought help from the media, and after his situation was reported, people donated about 120,000 yuan, said his sister Chen Zhonghui.

The family received the 20,000 yuan from the migrant workers’ fund on Sunday.