Over 1 000 volunteers commended for selfless devotion in serving society (with photos)
**************************************************************************************
Speaking at the 2016 Hong Kong Volunteer Award Presentation Ceremony organised by the Social Welfare Department (SWD), Mrs Leung said that the Volunteer Movement has established itself in all sectors of the community through years of effort since its launch in 1998. More than 1.27 million people have registered as volunteers, and last year saw volunteers provide over 24 million hours of service to the community. She said the Volunteer Movement will continue to encourage participation of students and young people and solicit support from companies and local organisations with a view to establishing strong ranks of volunteers in different sectors.
Mrs Leung called on members of the public to take part in volunteer services to help build a caring society. She also encouraged volunteers to uphold their spirit, and inspire and mobilise people around them to join volunteer work.
Speaking at the same occasion, the Director of Social Welfare, Ms Carol Yip, said she was happy to see that volunteerism has become increasingly creative, sustainable and professional. She noted that cross-sectoral collaboration has facilitated more efficient provision of volunteer services that better meet the needs of the community in serving the underprivileged and promoting social inclusion. Looking ahead, Ms Yip said that "Volunteering – Make a Difference in Life" is the new slogan of the Volunteer Movement and she expressed the hope that everyone in Hong Kong can experience the joy, sense of satisfaction and meaningfulness of volunteering.
Ms Yip thanked the Steering Committee on Promotion of Volunteer Service, its four Sub-committees on Promotion, the 11 District Co-ordinating Committees, District Social Welfare Officers and all committee members for their commitment in taking the Volunteer Movement forward with depth and diversity, which has also helped foster mutual aid and care among people.
Today's ceremony, organised by the Steering Committee on Promotion of Volunteer Service of the SWD, aimed to further promote volunteerism by paying tribute to volunteers, enhance people’s understanding of voluntary services, and promote a sense of caring and mutual help in the community.
Awards were presented to volunteers from various sectors for their outstanding contributions in the previous year. They included 93 volunteers who have served the community for more than 20 years and the volunteer organisations from public and private groups with the highest number of service hours (see Annex (Chinese only) for the list of awardees).
The officiating guests also launched the latest television Announcement in the Public Interest (API) themed “Volunteering – Make a Difference in Life” at the ceremony. The API encourages members of the public to take part in volunteer service to experience in person the life enrichment volunteering can bring.
Also officiating at today's ceremony were the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Lau Kong-wah; the Convenor of the Sub-committee on Promotion and Publicity of Volunteer Service, Mr Lai Chi-tong; the Convenor of the Sub-committee on Promotion of Corporate Volunteering, Mr Kwan Chuk-fai; the Convenor of the Sub-committee on Promotion of Volunteering in Community Organisations, Mr Bevis Leung; and the Convenor of the Sub-committee on Promotion of Student and Youth Volunteering, Ms Theresa Tao.
Since the launch of the Volunteer Movement, more than 2 900 participating organisations and more than 1.27 million registered volunteers have committed themselves to volunteer service.
Ends/Saturday, December 3, 2016
Issued at HKT 15:29
Issued at HKT 15:29
NNNN
Photo
