Media Centre
St. James' Settlement Volunteer Appreciation Day
St. James' Settlement Volunteer Appreciation Day 2025-03-13
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
13 March, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
13 March, 2025
St. James' Settlement Volunteer Appreciation Day
Nearly 4,000 Volunteers Soar to Five-Year High with Over 56,000 Volunteer Hours
St. James' Settlement is honoured to celebrate 75 years of dedicated service, a milestone made possible by the unwavering commitment and creativity of our volunteers. Together, we embody the spirit of "Connecting Smiles, Empowering Lives." In appreciation of their invaluable contributions, we held our annual Volunteer Appreciation Day on 22nd February 2025. The event saw 297 volunteers and their families come together at Quarryside, a welcoming community space in Quarry Bay, creating a vibrant and joyful atmosphere.
During the 2023-24 period, volunteers supported various service units, reflecting an increase of over 50% from the previous year and marking the highest number of volunteers since 2018-19. They contributed more than 56,000 hours of service. Among them, 270 award-winning volunteers dedicated over 30,000 hours. We look forward to the forthcoming St. James' Settlement Flag Day on 5th April (Saturday), which we anticipate will also garner strong support from our volunteers.
Significant Annual Growth in Volunteer Participation
The Volunteer Appreciation Day was a delightful occasion, with nearly 300 attendees enjoying the festivities. Staff from ten service units organised engaging games and photo booths, alongside swing dance workshops and lively K-POP performances by local youth.
Top Ten Touching Stories Awards
To honour the dedication of our volunteers, we hosted a special ceremony where gold, silver, and bronze awards were presented to 270 deserving individuals. This year, our volunteers achieved an impressive total of 34,331 hours of service, showcasing their creativity and commitment to helping others. We were particularly pleased to recognise ten outstanding volunteers and units for their remarkable contributions. The winners of the Top Ten Touching Stories Awards are (in no particular order):
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Evergreen Society
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Regularly participates in festive visits to the elderly, bringing warmth and companionship to those living alone.
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Make The Right Call Limited
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Conducting community engagement activities for people with disabilities three times a year since 2021, including ceramic art classes, visiting, and a tour of Ngong Ping 360.
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The Little Match Volunteer Team
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Organising after school care initiatives, parties for Mother's Day and Father's Day, community cardboard park facilities, and 3D craft carnivals. Community service with children’s participation, promoting the concepts of addressing academic stress, fostering positive parent-child relationships, and creating community play spaces. Served over 500 people last year.
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Y2 Volunteer Team
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A dedicated youth group cooking food for the community, focusing on organizing community events and preparing meals. They prepare portions for 40 to 50 people each time, allowing community members to enjoy and celebrate the festivities.
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HKSCC - T.S. Somerset
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Starting from 2023, providing volunteer sports rehabilitation services for St James’ Settlement’s residential service Parkside Residence, co-organizing activities such as I-Run, dragon boat racing, adventure-ship, and low-structure adventure-based counselling days. A total of 302 people were served, amounting to 194 volunteer hours.
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‘Breathing Map’ Team
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Five young people designed a 'Community Breathing Map', collecting places in the community where Hong Kong people find respite during emotional distress and recording their stories. The project not only raises community awareness about mental health but also promotes mutual support among youth, helping them grow together through challenges.
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Lui King Siu
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Providing volunteer services for St James’ Settlement’s residential service Parkside Residence since 2014. In 2023-2024, Ms. Lui accompanied members in various sports activities, such as I-Run, Hong Kong Jockey Club Special Marathon, Special Olympics, Abilympics, newly emerged sports experience, family day camps, and carnival, accumulating a total of 53.5 service hours.
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Au Wai Ching
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In her 70s, the retired social worker Ms. Au (Wai Ching) has been providing volunteer services for several years to ‘Dancing Heart Troupe’, a professional dance troupe composed of people with disabilities. Whenever the members face emotional distress, they turn to her for support and relief.
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Lo Chun Fai
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After graduating from secondary school, Mr. Lo (Fai Fai) decided not to pursue his studies. During a period of confusion, he became a volunteer and discovered the meaning of social service in helping others and himself. This also helped him find his direction in life.
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Wong Chou Xue Mei
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Ms. Wong (May), a retired volunteer at Joyful Residence, elderly home for People with Intellectual Disabilities, loves accompanying the residents. She often takes them out for tea, shopping, and haircuts.
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Among the awardees was Fai Fai (Lo Chun Fai), who began his volunteering journey when he was invited by the St. James' Settlement Jockey Club Chai Wan Integrated Service Centre to become a volunteer after graduating from secondary school. He shared that during secondary school, he lacked opportunities to communicate with others. By providing social services, he gained more opportunities to interact with others, received career information, discovered his interest in working with people, and found his direction in life.
Volunteers’ Contribution Showcases the Spirit of Helping
Ms. Josephine Lee, Chief Executive Officer of St. James' Settlement, expressed her heartfelt gratitude to all the selfless volunteers during the Volunteer Appreciation Day: "The enthusiastic, diligent, and selfless contributions of the volunteers have not only brought warmth and hope to the community but also made countless service users feel the love and care. Come rain or shine, every volunteer has demonstrated the spirit of 'joy in helping others'."
5 April Flag Day
St. James' Settlement will hold a territory-wide Flag Day on Saturday, 5th April 2025. The funds raised during this event will go towards supporting our social services, providing timely and appropriate service to individuals in need within the community. We sincerely invite the public, corporate partners, organisations, and schools to participate by becoming street flag-selling volunteers (registration deadline by 16th March) or online flag-selling volunteers and donating (from now until 5th April) to support this meaningful event. Together, we can bring more warmth and care to our society.
Ms. Lee said, in addition to raising funds to provide social services and help people in need, Flag Day is also an opportunity for volunteers to show unity and compassion. She continued, whether becoming a street flag-selling volunteer or an online flag-selling volunteer, everyone is encouraged to participate enthusiastically.
For registration and more event details, please visit the St. James' Settlement Flag Day website at https://flagday.sjs.org.hk/en, email at [email protected], or call 2831 3232 for inquiries.
Photo Caption
Photo 1：The St. James' Settlement Volunteer Appreciation Day was successfully held on 22nd February, with nearly 300 volunteers and their families and friends in attendance.
Photo 2：270 volunteers from different service units were awarded.
Photo 3：Awarded volunteers contributed over 30,000 volunteer hours during 2023-24.
Photo 4：The Volunteer Appreciation Day was held successfully at Quarryside in Quarry Bay, with a lively atmosphere and game booths for attendees to enjoy.
Photo 1：The St. James' Settlement Volunteer Appreciation Day was successfully held on 22nd February, with nearly 300 volunteers and their families and friends in attendance.
Photo 2：270 volunteers from different service units were awarded.
Photo 3：Awarded volunteers contributed over 30,000 volunteer hours during 2023-24.
Photo 4：The Volunteer Appreciation Day was held successfully at Quarryside in Quarry Bay, with a lively atmosphere and game booths for attendees to enjoy.
About St. James’ Settlement
Founded by the Rt. Rev. Bishop R.O. Hall of the Anglican Church in 1949, St. James’ Settlement began as a club for boys and girls in a temple in Stone Nullah Lane, Wanchai. It was then developed into a six-storey building on Kennedy Road in 1963 to provide diversified services, including children and youth services, elderly services, and rehabilitation services. In 1987, the headquarters was opened in Stone Nullah Lane so that the scope of services could be further extended. Our first centre outside Wanchai (named Central and Western District Elderly Community Centre) was established in 1990. Since then, different service centres have been developed and most of them are located along the north coast of Hong Kong Island, from The Belcher’s in Western to Hing Wah Estate in Chai Wan. In recent years, in view of the society’s ever-changing needs, we have opened service centres in Kowloon and the New Territories. To date, our 114 service points are in operation across Hong Kong, serving more than 3.5 million person-times, and our target beneficiaries include children, teenagers, families, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
Founded by the Rt. Rev. Bishop R.O. Hall of the Anglican Church in 1949, St. James’ Settlement began as a club for boys and girls in a temple in Stone Nullah Lane, Wanchai. It was then developed into a six-storey building on Kennedy Road in 1963 to provide diversified services, including children and youth services, elderly services, and rehabilitation services. In 1987, the headquarters was opened in Stone Nullah Lane so that the scope of services could be further extended. Our first centre outside Wanchai (named Central and Western District Elderly Community Centre) was established in 1990. Since then, different service centres have been developed and most of them are located along the north coast of Hong Kong Island, from The Belcher’s in Western to Hing Wah Estate in Chai Wan. In recent years, in view of the society’s ever-changing needs, we have opened service centres in Kowloon and the New Territories. To date, our 114 service points are in operation across Hong Kong, serving more than 3.5 million person-times, and our target beneficiaries include children, teenagers, families, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
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