Giving Back: Family Volunteering Opportunities in Hong Kong

We are firm believers in teaching kids from an early age the power of giving back. It seems especially important here in Hong Kong with all the drivers, nannies and weekends to sunny beaches, right? To help jump start a family tradition of giving back, here are some fun and easy ways to get the whole family involved in volunteering, from the the upcoming Strollerthon and Children’s Charities Carnival, to a charity concert to benefit Habitat for Humanity and the annual beach clean-ups.

GREAT UPCOMING FAMILY CHARITY EVENTS NOT TO MISS

FAMILY STROLLERTHON (psst: strollers are not required!)
Benefitting the Children’s Medical Foundation
Sunday February 19
Waterfront Park, Cyberport
Registration 9:30am, Walk from 10:30-11:30

WHAT: This first annual Strollerthon in Cyberport is a great way to get the whole family out of the house and involved in raising money for a great cause. Benefitting the Children’s Medical Foundation and their work to save underprivileged newborn babies in China, this 2k course is perfect to walk, jog, or stroll with all the kids in tow. Strollers aren’t required, but for those little ones who want to be just like mummy, Toys ‘R Us is kindly donating toy strollers for the first 100 kids who register and show a TRU receipt from February.

THE CHARITY: The Children’s Medical Foundation works tirelessly to help give newborn babies in China a fighting chance at life. Did you know that a child born in rural China is 7 times more likely to die than one born in Hong Kong – mostly from preventable diseases?

HOW TO GET INVOLVED: Registration is easy! Simply sign up here. You can start your own team or even sign up to be part of ours!



VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES ALL YEAR ‘ROUND

KIDS4KIDS
Kids4Kids is all about inspiring and empowering kids of all ages to make positive changes in the world through their meaningful actions. Offering a number of different programs designed for children volunteers, they make it easy to help your kids give back. One of our favorite ongoing projects is the Buddy Reading program that allows young volunteers to go to kindergartens and learning centers to read books to underprivileged kids.

How to get Involved: Visit their website to learn more. You can also call 3618-6810 or email [email protected] to learn more about their volunteer opportunities.



HANDS ON HONG KONG
We are huge fans of HandsOn Hong Kong, the non-profit that matches those looking to volunteer within the community with charities in need of volunteers. Among the many opportunities they offer are a few that can accommodate young volunteers accompanied by their parents or a guardian: volunteers over 14 can help walk the dogs with the Hong Kong Dog Rescue and those 12 years and older can visit with senior citizens at the China Coast Community. HandsOn also offers one-off family volunteering events from time to time, and they working hard to put together more family volunteering opportunities this spring.


HOW TO GET INVOLVED: HandsOn Hong Kong makes it so easy to give back to the community – simply sign up their site to get started.


MEALS IN THE HOME
“Meals in the Home” is a program designed to connect host families living in Hong Kong with U.S. Navy Sailors while in port, giving them a home-cooked meal and an evening off the ship. Started by the American Women’s Association in the 1970’s, it allows the whole family to get involved (and eating a meal together!) and kids love to hear stories of a sailor’s life at sea.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED: Volunteers can support this program by registering to be a “hostess”. Once registered, volunteers are notified via email or by phone when a fleet is due to visit Hong Kong. For more information please contact Jennifer Cox [email protected].