***********************************************
The Director of Social Welfare, Mrs Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor today (August 2) urged members of the public to continue with their unselfish love and generous spirit demonstrated during the SARS crisis and pool their strength together to build a caring, healthy and bright Hong Kong.
She made the remarks during the Launching Ceremony of "Campaign Evergreen 2003 - We Care and Share for a Healthy and Bright Future".
The territory-wide "Campaign Evergreen" was first launched in 2002 by the Social Welfare Department's (SWD) Steering Committee on Promotion of Volunteer Service.
The objectives of the Campaign are to call for cross-sector collaboration to deliver the message of mutual care and concern through the participation of volunteering. Through this, it is hoped that the community at large can work together to counteract the pessimism in the community as a result of economic downturn and lead a positive life.
Mrs Lam said during the past year, apart from the stress and pain arising from economic restructuring, Hong Kong has also been seriously affected by the outbreak of SARS. However, the community spirit displayed by members of the public and their determination to overcome the adversity hand in hand during the crisis has fostered hope and faith for tomorrow.
"What I am most proud of is not only the generous donation by an individual person or organisation to the SARS victims, but also the dedication and devotion of numerous volunteers who are self-motivated to offer assistance to the needy. This is, I believe, the fruitful result of the promotion of volunteering over the years while also reflecting the sense of social responsibility of Hong Kong people," Mrs Lam said.
For 2003, the Campaign adopts the theme of "We Care and Share for Healthy and Bright Future" with the slogan of "Serve with Heart, Live with Passion". In addition to the general theme of mutual support as in previous year, the aims for this year are also on encouraging active participation in community activities for the betterment of the physical and social environment, contributing to a caring, healthy and bright Hong Kong.
"Since the launching of Campaign Evergreen in July last year, the SWD has organised over 300 activities with 73 non-governmental organisations. Twenty thousand volunteers and about 1,200 district organisations have been mobilized to serve 290,000 people," Mrs Lam said.
With the full support of people from various sectors, over 1,000 organisations and 420,000 volunteers have joined the Volunteer Movement, representing a 23 per cent increase when compared with the same period of last year.
"These volunteers had together put in nine million service hours over the past year. The civil service has also demonstrated its community spirit. The number of government departments with staff volunteer services has risen from 32 to 51 over the past year," Mrs Lam added.
Mrs Lam commended all organisations and individuals participated in the Volunteer Movement for their dedication to volunteer work.
Also officiating at the ceremony today were Convenor of Sub-committee on Promotion of Student and Youth Volunteering, Mrs Lo Yan Hau-yee; Convenor of Sub-committee on Promotion of Corporate Volunteering Mr Yeung Ka-sing; Convenor of Sub-committee on Promotion and Publicity of Volunteer Service, Mr Charles Yang; and member of Sub-committee on Promotion of Volunteering in Community Organisation, Mr Suen Kwok-lam.
After the ceremony, some volunteers met the media to share their experience in volunteer service. Some of them have participated actively in assisting the SARS victims during the past few months. Meanwhile, a series of activities, including scarf-knitting and photo exhibition, were held to deepen people's understanding of volunteer service.
End/Saturday, August 2, 2003
NNNN
