YMCA 2021 May Perspective
31-05-2021
Cover Story
YMCA 120th Anniversary Celebrations Go Live
Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong’s 120th anniversary celebrations have officially begun! Established in 1901, YMCA has, for one and one-fifth centuries, continually adhered to its founding purpose: serving the public. To celebrate this momentous milestone, a series of celebratory events have now started and will continue throughout 2021. To lift the anniversary curtain and begin things in style, the Association hosted a kick-off ceremony with online tour and live broadcast at The Cityview on 2 May. The theme of the event was something that has been very important to the Association recently – innovation and technology. This echoed a continuing theme for the Association: “Applying innovative technology to future YMCA services”.
Several technological elements were incorporated into the ceremony, together with a live stream that welcomed the participation of members and the public. As a prologue to the kick-off ceremony, everyone was treated to a brief introduction to some upcoming technology-driven services that the Association will offer, including Smart Robot Zenbo, Mapperthon VR running, and 3D printing works made by students at YMCA College of Careers.
The kick-off ceremony was presided over by President Mr Yau Chung Wan; Dr Arnold Cheng Cheuk Sang, Vice President of Chinese YMCA of Kong and the Chairman of the Celebration Committee; our director the Rt Rev Dr Thomas Soo, J.P. ; and our General Secretary Mr Karl Lau Chun Chuen . President Yau delivered the welcome speech, saying, “The Association has always been dedicated to serving society with a forward-looking vision. Today, more than ever, we are determined to keep pace with the times as we provide social services.” President Yau also expressed his gratitude to the Association’s members, volunteers, service users, and corporate partners, thanking them for their support over the years, and closing by saying, “The Association will continue to stick to our post and serve the public with heart.”
The twin slogans of this year’s anniversary celebrations are “To Share the Love of Jesus by Serving our Community for 120 Years,” and “to establish Healthy Living with the Application of Technology for a Better Future.” For the rest of the year, we will be celebrating the achievements made over the past 120 years, the various ways we have served the public through our dedication, and our determination to connect innovation and technology to our future services.
The Association has also designed a special logo composed of three elements for the celebrations. First, the number “1” features the outline of the Association’s headquarters and represents YMCA’s single, unifying foundation. The number “0” has a dual meaning, representing both the humble beginnings of the Association and its unlimited potential for the future as the Association continues to grow and keep pace with technological developments to serve the community. Finally, the colourful free-form splash marks cascading out of the “0” represent the Association’s continued dynamism and energy.
What’s New
Calling for volunteers to send love to families in need
To improve the living environment for people living in SDUs in Tsuen Wan, Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong and the Bank of China (Hong Kong) have teamed up to launched a new project called “Care and Love to Tsuen Wan Subdivided Unit Families.” Using a combination of careful planning, design and renovation, the project sends teams of professionals and volunteers out to improve the living environment of SDU households – a service which is offered free of charge.
The scope of services being offered by the programme includes homework tutoring, parent-child activities, home cleaning and tidying, furniture purchases and lice and nit removal services. The programme aims to create a safer and more comfortable environment for families living in subdivided units in Tsuen Wan.
Remember – many hands make light work. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer for the project and participating in volunteer training for activities like home improvement skills and home organisation and management, or just want to lend a helping hand to people in need, please contact Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong Tsuen Wan Centre at 2413 3111.
The Cityview wins at the Social Capital Builder Logo Awards
One of the Association’s hostels, The Cityview, added another award to its portfolio earlier this month, winning at the Social Capital Builder Logo Awards 2020-22. Organised by the Community Investment and Inclusion Fund of the government’s Labour and Welfare Bureau, the awards commended The Cityview for establishing mutual assistance and community cohesion, actively fulfilling its corporate social responsibility, and embodying the ‘spirit of social capital’ by giving back to society.
Activities Highlights
Getting off to a good start with the character education toolkit
‘Caring’, ‘honesty’, ‘responsibility’ and ‘respect’ are just some of the good character traits advocated by Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong. For years, we have been promoting character education in local kindergartens, primary schools and secondary schools. More recently, the Association launched the “YMCA Character Education A-Z Toolkit,” collaborating with local illustrator Leung Kei Mei to create special character education teaching materials for parents to use at home. The parental toolkit uses the 26 letters of the English alphabets, A to Z, to represent important character traits and other core values. The Association hopes to use these nicely crafted materials to take our character education activities to the next level by making things more interesting, more resonant with students, and more able to promote parent-child interaction – all with the goal of sowing the seeds of character education in every family.
Our registered social workers, educators and clinical psychologists have also been sharing their ideas in articles on the Hong Kong 01 media channel. The articles explore the A to Zs of good character in the hopes of refreshing parental knowledge on how to cultivate these traits in their children.
To learn more about our character education efforts, please visit: https://www.ymca.org.hk/zh-hant/AtoZ
Our Realise Love, Realise Dreams Foundation in the media
In case you had forgotten, YMCA’s Realise Love, Realise Dreams Foundation brings together people from all walks of life to help those in need achieve their dreams. Recently, the Foundation supported two people in their efforts to break through their restrictions and pursue their dreams. One of them is music tutor “Brother Wilson”, who has had learning disabilities since childhood. The Foundation helped him continue to pursue his musical dreams during the pandemic by sponsoring some new computer equipment for him. The new devices have allowed him to teach music to SEN children through the Internet, sharing his love and joy of music with them remotely.
The Foundation also purchased video equipment for Tsz Kin, a child suffering from a rare disease called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The new equipment will allow Tsz Kin to work hard and realise his dream of becoming a professional YouTuber.
These and other success stories are currently being explored by the RTHK radio programme “Love in Life,” which broadcasts Hong Kong stories that focus on meaningful social stories. Ms Jessica Shiu, Executive Secretary of the Association, recently appeared on the show along with Brother Wilson and Tsz Kin and their mothers. Together, they shared stories of making dreams come true, the different ways in which love can be passed on to others, and talked about the purpose and philosophy of the Realise Love, Realise Dreams Foundation.
Two episodes of the show have been broadcast so far. To enjoy them, please click on these links:
Episode #658 Realise Love, Realise Dreams – Wilson’s story, Chords across the screen
https://www.rthk.hk/radio/radio5/programme/lifeislove/episode/748433
Episode #659 Realise Love, Realise Dreams – Tsz Kin’s story, A YouTuber with rare disease and more than 10,000 fans
https://www.rthk.hk/radio/radio5/programme/lifeislove/episode/748499
To offer your support to the Realise Love, Realise Dreams Foundation, please act now – your care and encouragement will help people in need regain hope and reach for the stars.
Click here: www.ymca.org.hk/realiselove
For enquiries, please call: 2783 3370
Teachers and parents team up to serve!
Not long ago, the Parent Teacher Association of Chinese YMCA Primary School organised a programme called “Sharing Love by Donating Red Packets.” The initiative involved collecting donations to purchase daily necessities like food and supermarket vouchers. These resources were then donated to people in need through the non-profit organisation Praxis (HK) Charity Limited.
Approximately 20 teachers, students and parents from Chinese YMCA Primary School went to Yau Ma Tei to participate in a community volunteer service drive held by Praxis to distribute daily necessities and food around the neighbourhood. After collecting the donated materials at a church, volunteers began distributing the items according to the needs of the service recipients. The group of students and parents were led by volunteers on a visit around the Yau Ma Tei community where they interacted with residents and homeless people. In the end, over 100 people benefited from the event, with the volunteers putting into practice the Association’s abiding spirit: “To serve others, not to be served”.
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YMCA 120th Anniversary Kick-Off Ceremony
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