YMCA 2024 October Perspective
29-10-2024
Cover Story
YM Volunteer Awards Presentation Ceremony 2023-2024 successfully held
Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong (YMCA) has been committed to uniting different sectors and promoting volunteerism among young people to support the underprivileged for a better community. On 20 October, YMCA held the "YM Volunteer Awards Presentation Ceremony 2023-2024" to acknowledge the outstanding YMCA volunteers, encouraging them to bring positive changes and new perspectives in the community. This year's presentation ceremony adopted the theme of "Listening with Heart, Serving with Passion" to convey the message of giving a listening ear to the needs of our service users, and bringing about positive changes to the community through diversified volunteering programmes.
With nearly 110,000 hours of volunteer service this year, the "YM Volunteer Awards Presentation Ceremony 2023-2024" presented multiple awards to recognize the ongoing service of volunteers.
Mr. Clarence Leung, BBS, JP, Under Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, was invited to speak at the presentation ceremony, and officiated together with The Rt. Rev. Dr. Thomas Soo, JP, Chairman of Service Development and Member Affairs Committee of YMCA; and Mr. Karl Lau, General Secretary of YMCA.
The three officiating guests Mr. Clarence Leung, BBS, JP (second from right); The Rt Rev Dr. Thomas Soo, JP (first from left); and our General Secretary Mr. Karl Lau (first from right), attended the YM Volunteer Awards Presentation Ceremony 2023-2024.
Mr. Clarence Leung, BBS, JP, Under Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, expressed in his speech that he is pleased to see YMCA responding to government policies by encouraging young people to take part in volunteer work to build a caring and inclusive society.
In his congratulatory remarks, Mr. Clarence Leung, BBS, JP, referred to young people as the new force of volunteer services, and that the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau has been actively promoting the involvement of young people in volunteer services. He was also pleased to see how YMCA has supported the Government’s policy to encourage more community members, especially young people, to take part in volunteer work, and pooled together their compassion in serving the needy for building a caring and inclusive society.
This year, YMCA saw nearly 17,400 registered volunteers, with a record high of over 111,000 hours of service since the pandemic, and nearly 1,500 awards presented to volunteers. At the same time, the YM Volunteer Working Group actively promoted the "YM Volunteer@SCHOOL", encouraging schools to address SDGs through volunteer movement, so that students could learn more about how to put ESG and SDGs into practice. This year, 48 secondary schools were awarded for meeting the requirement of not less than 100 hours of whole-school service, involving more than 24,700 students and a total of 175,603 hours of service.
Mr. Clarence Leung, BBS, JP, Under Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, presents the first prize of the "YM Volunteer@SCHOOL" SDGs Theme Story Awards to the teacher and student representatives of Ju Ching Chu Secondary School (Yuen Long).
Volunteer projects with meaningful impact abound every year, such as this year's "Accompaniment with Empathy" volunteer training programme, which trains young people to be good listeners and provide caring services for the emotionally challenged in the community. In particular, the “Best Practice Award” winner Chinese Y.M.C.A. College set up a booth at the ceremony, inviting participants to try relieve their stress through knitting and yelling into a “shouting jar”. In parallel, YMCA promoted grouping youth volunteer teams for various services, with the objectives of advocating for a peaceful and inclusive world, promoting children's right to play, and facilitating harmony between seniors and young people and more.
To read the press release, please visit: https://www.ymca.org.hk/news-release-241020
Featured Programme
Plastic-Free Hong Kong 2024: "Green Travel"
Organised by the YMCA Environmental Working Group, the "Plastic-Free Hong Kong" campaign is themed as "Green Travel" this year, with the aim of encouraging the public to incorporate green concepts into their daily lives. This year, we are inviting participants to create a one-minute short video to share their tips and experiences on how to live a green and plastic-free lifestyle. If you are a keen filmmaker and passionate about environmental protection, join us to show your creativity and bring green living to others around you!
The best three video clips will be selected and each creator will receive $1,500 cash and a certificate. Don't miss your chance to share your innovative ideas and valuable experience in green travelling with us in videos, and live out your green live!
Registration is open until 5 November 2024 (Tuesday).
For details, please visit www.ymca.org.hk/pfhk
To participate and upload the video, please visit https://forms.gle/3HPF2ypah2areDA96
The "Plastic-Free Hong Kong 2024: Green Travel Fun Day" will be held at Kowloon Centre in late November. Public is welcome to join the event for free. The event will be divided into two sessions in the morning and afternoon, featuring the finishing ceremony and exhibition of "Project Be W.I.S.E.", awards presentation ceremony for the "Plastic-Free Post and Video Collection", YMCA green service exhibition and funfair games, Plastic-Free themed games, energy-saving and carbon reduction quizzes, and a parent-child low carbon mission. By completing a specified number of games, participants will also get a chance to win great prizes.
Event details are as follows:
Date: 24 November 2024 (Sunday)
Time: 11:00am to 1:00pm (Session 1)
2.15pm to 4.30pm (Session 2)
Venue: YMCA Kowloon Centre - Activity Building, 6th Floor, Multi-purpose Gymnasium, 23 Waterloo Road, Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon
Enquiries: 3152 2798 (Mr. Lau) / 2775 6033 (Ms. Cheung)
What's News
YMCA releases the first survey on "Mental Health Literacy of Hong Kong Secondary School Students" in Hong Kong
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Earlier on, YMCA released the findings of the first survey on "Mental Health Literacy of Hong Kong Secondary School Students". From the survey, nearly half of the respondents might not seek help when facing mental health problems, and more than 20% of the respondents even refrained from seeking help. In an interview with the RTHK Radio 1 programme "Young Politician" on 26 October, our Principal Programme Secretary Ms. Jessica Mo noted that many students feel lonely and helpless when facing mental health problems, and they lack confidence in seeking help, fearing that they might be judged or stigmatised if they talk about their emotional problems. In view of this, YMCA advocates universal education on mental health literacy, while promoting multi-therapeutic service interventions, and setting up a special fund to subsidise secondary school students suffering from early stage of emotional disturbance to receive psychosocial assessment, counselling or treatment at appropriate private medical and social counselling centres.
To review the interview, please visit: https://www.rthk.hk/radio/radio1/programme/young_politician/episode/984163
“Mental health literacy refers to a person's ability to recognise and acknowledge mental illnesses, and the attitudes towards mental illnesses, to maintain and promote mental health. The press conference on "Mental Health Literacy of Hong Kong Secondary School Students" was held on 22 September and received more than 80 media reports and interviews. To read the press release, please visit: https://www.ymca.org.hk/zh-hant/news-release-240922
YMCA and its two hostels awarded the Good Employer Charter by the Labour Department
YMCA has been caring for the needs of our staff and promoting work-life balance in employment practices, while maintaining effective communication with employees for quality personnel management. Earlier on, YMCA and The Harbourview were both awarded the Good Employer Charter and the "Supportive Family-friendly Good Employer" logo by the Labour Department, in recognition of both efforts to create a family-friendly working environment for employees and the commitment to being an employee-based employer; whereas another hostel under YMCA, The Cityview, was awarded the Premium Charter logo by the Labour Department, which acknowledges the hostel for being recognised as a Good Employer Charter qualifying organisation for the third consecutive year. In the future, we will continue to implement caring employment practices to help our staff achieve work-family balance and promote a family-friendly work culture.
Programme Highlights
National Day Flag-raising Ceremony and "Traditional Sports Experience Day" at Kowloon Centre
To celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC), a flag-raising ceremony was held at the Kowloon Centre in the morning of the National Day on 1 October, conducted by The Hong Kong Scout 21st Kowloon Group. The national flag of the People's Republic of China, the regional flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the flag of YMCA were hoisted amidst the singing of the National Anthem. All Directors and Cabinet Members attended the ceremony to celebrate this significant occasion.
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The Chinese culture themed "Traditional Sports Experience Day" was held at Kowloon Centre on the same day. Sponsored by the Yau Tsim Mong District Office, the event featured Chinese music performances, martial arts demonstrations, singing and dancing performances and lion dance performances. Along with a variety of traditional Chinese culture themed booths, such as opera facial masks and Chinese paper cutting, the public were able to deepen their understanding of Chinese culture and the history of traditional sports development, strengthening community ties and bonding with the country.
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Listen to S.U.M - Parent-Child Camping Experience 2024
Early in October, our Family Working Group organised the "Listen to S.U.M - Parent-Child Camping Experience 2024" - an event focused on the three objectives of enhancing family bonding, improving family harmony, and understanding child abuse related legislation - to provide a two-day and one-night fun-filled family camping experience for about 60 parents and children. We invited Prof. Albert So as our guest speaker to explain the Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Ordinance and child abuse related legislation at the camp. Many parents indicated that they were not familiar with the relevant legislation and were worried about violating the law unknowingly. With the lively and detailed explanation from Prof. Albert So, they were able to clearly understand the legislative intent and details of the ordinances.
The two-day and one-night parent-child camp was packed with exciting activities, including stand up paddle and canoeing, tree-climbing, parent-child meditation and barbecue. Parents were amazed to see how diligently the children managed to set up the tent while parents attended the seminar. Together, the families enjoyed an unforgettable family time under the starry sky of Wu Kai Sha Youth Village, giving the children precious memories in their growth.
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The 6th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Youth Development Forum
On 20 September 2024, Prof. Leung Yuen Sang, M.H., Director of YMCA, Mr. Karl Lau, General Secretary of YMCA, Ms. Jessica Shiu, Executive Secretary of YMCA and Mr. Simon Ho, Research Officer of YMCA attended the 6th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Youth Development Forum hosted by the Guangzhou Sui Hong Kong Macao Youth Research Institute. The forum brought together nearly 200 participants from youth organisations in Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, along with experts and youth researchers from Beijing, Shanghai and other parts of China to share their insights.
With the theme of "The Fine Traditional Chinese Culture and Youth Development", Prof. Leung, Director of YMCA and Emeritus Professor of History at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, delivered a speech titled "The Fine Traditional Chinese Culture and Modern Urban Culture: Connections and Disparities", where he delved into the characteristics of modern urban culture and explored its connections and differences with the wisdom of traditional Chinese culture. The forum also featured a collaborative "Survey on Youth Perception of Traditional Chinese Culture" involving the Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong, the Guangzhou Sui Hong Kong Macao Youth Research Institute, the YMCA of Macau, and the Taiwan Teacher Chang Foundation. Our Research Officer Mr. Simon Ho conducted in-depth discussions and experience sharing with representatives on the reported survey results in Hong Kong, hoping to encourage young people to better inherit Chinese traditional culture.
ESG Focus
Our commitment to the principles of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) since 2019 reflects the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in our organisation's approach to development and the YMCA 2030 Vision for sustainable development in Hong Kong. Apart from publishing the ESG Impact Report, YMCA also endeavours to integrate ESG concepts into our daily operations. This column is dedicated to sharing with our members our ESG initiatives regularly.
YMCA receives the Outstanding ESG Performer of the Year Award (NGO/NPO)—Platinum Award
With our commitment to ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) and "YMCA Vision 2030", YMCA aims to promote sustainable development in Hong Kong and globally. Since 2021, we have published our first ESG Impact Report on our sustainability-related performance. From 2022 to 2023, we worked on two initiatives to address the healthcare needs arising from the ageing population, including the establishment of the Kei Yau Integrated Medical Centre, the first clinic to adopt an intergrated Chinese and Western treatment, and the commencement of "Project Be W.I.S.E.", a major electrical and mechanical equipment upgrading project for the headquarters building to enhance its energy-efficient management.
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We are honoured to receive the "ESG Achievement Awards 2023/2024 - Outstanding ESG Performer of the Year Award (NGO/NPO)—Platinum Award" from The Institute of ESG & Benchmark (IESGB) for our ESG work. The awards presentation ceremony was held on 25 September 2024, officiated by Mr. Joseph Chan, JP, Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, and attended by our General Secretary Mr. Karl Lau to receive the award.
In addition, we also received the Best Sustainability Report for Non-listed Company—Commendation, Excellence in Social Positive Impact—Commendation from Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards (HERA).
For more details about our ESG performance, please scan the QR Code to read the latest issue of "2022-2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Impact Report".’
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PAIN Kick Zone
As city dwellers who often work overtime and frequently perform repetitive motions, we are more susceptible to joint pain or sports injuries that can affect our quality of life. The Association’s Health Care Professions Department is launching a regular monthly column and publishing short articles about self-care. Topics covered will include arthritis, joint pain and self-healing. For more detailed health-related information, please visit our website www.ymca.org.hk/hcp or call 2783 3616 for inquiries.
No More Sarcopenia
Our muscles naturally start to shrink and weaken with age. This condition, known as sarcopenia, can have significant effects on our overall health and well-being. Sarcopenia can be caused by various factors, including getting older, leading a sedentary lifestyle, not eating well, and having chronic disease. This condition not only affects our physical abilities but also increases the risk of falls and fractures.
Firstly, this muscle weakness and frailty can impair balance, gait, and physical function, leading to an increased risk of falls.
Secondly, maintaining adequate muscle mass is crucial for bone health. As muscle loss increases, our bones will become less dense and prone to injury, this will increase the risk of fractures.
The good news is that exercise can make a big difference in preventing and managing sarcopenia. Strength training, which involves using body weight, can help build and maintain muscle mass. Besides, activities like walking, swimming, and cycling are also great for staying active and keeping our muscles strong.
Below is an exercise aimed at preventing and decreasing the progression of Sarcopenia which everybody can follow:
Half squat
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- Both hands hold onto the back of a stable chair
- Both feet stand with shoulder width apart
- Stand tall and back straight
- When squatting, point both feet forward, your knee should be pointed at the second toe, hold 3 seconds then stand up
- 10 repetitions as 1 set, perform 3 sets daily
Discovering YMCA Channel
YM Volunteer Awards Presentation Ceremony 2023-2024 - Mildly autistic and mentally challenged young man gives out meals to street sleepers every week with the love and respect he received
＊Some of the activities were subsidised by the Social Welfare Department
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