Spread the Holiday Cheer and Volunteer During Christmas 2014

 
Spread the Holiday Cheer and Volunteer During Christmas 2014

With Christmas jingles blasting away at full volume and holiday sales popping up all over the city, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the festivities and forget what Christmas is really about: giving, caring and sharing with others, especially with those in need. So, in addition to keeping up with the festivities and decking your halls with boughs of holly, consider volunteering this winter to help spread the holiday cheer.

 

To get started, check out our roundup of charities and organizations to find out where you can volunteer this holiday season and beyond. If you’re unable to volunteer but still want to help out, all of these organizations also accept monetary donations to support their daily operations.

 

 

Santa Sack Campaign

Feeding Hong Kong bridges the food industry with the needy by providing good quality surplus food from retailers, distributors and manufacturers to the hungry. Their mission is double-edged: to combat hunger while reducing food waste.

 

This Christmas, they’re challenging you to donate parcels of food that can be distributed as part of their “Santa Sacks” for underprivileged families. They’re looking for non-perishable items for their campaign, including: rice; noodles; oats; pasta; canned vegetables, fish and fruit; cooking oil; milk; low sugar cereal; and biscuits and crackers. You can participate by hosting a food drive for your office, school or neighbourhood; simply fill out this form and email it to [email protected] to get started.

 

Contact: 2205-6568; [email protected]
Donate: feedinghk.org/donate-money
More info: feedinghk.org

 

 

Christmas Food Drive

This annual food drive, organized by St. James’ Settlement since 1997, collects food donations which they deliver to disadvantaged families and the homeless in Hong Kong. They’re looking for donations of non-perishable foods, like rice, noodles, canned foods, instant oatmeal, biscuits and the like. Food should be at least eight weeks away from its expiry date and without any deficit (so put those dented cans of soup away!).

 

If you plan on organizing an office-wide or school-wide effort, remember to fill out this form and email it to [email protected] by Dec 3 to coordinate a pickup date for bulk contributions.

 

Address: (collection points) Sai On Centre, G/F, Fortune Court, 10 Sai On Lane, Sai Ying Pun; Kindness Centre, G/F, Man Hing House, Tai Hang Sai Estate, Shek Kip Mei
Contact: 2975-8777; [email protected]
Donate: www.sjs.org.hk/en/donation/donation.php
More info: foodbank.sjs.org.hk

 

 

Helpers for Domestic Helpers

Helpers for Domestic Helpers offers free legal guidance and support to empower foreign domestic helpers in need (whether they’re facing issues of debt bondage, physical or sexual abuse, or lack of adequate rest). Lawyers and those with legal background are especially needed to help advise and counsel domestic workers about their rights and help them navigate the legal system.

 

Those without a legal background can still help by interviewing clients and taking notes; helping out with general office administration duties; accompanying clients to conciliation meetings with employers and the Labour Department; writing letters on the behalf of the clients; and, of course, providing moral support.

 

Contact: 2523-4020; [email protected]
Donate: www.hdh-sjc.org/donate
More info: www.hdh-sjc.org

 

 

Soap Cycling

The leading causes of death for children under 5 years old in Asia are pneumonia and diarrhoea-related diseases, both of which can be prevented by simply washing your hands with soap regularly. Soap Cycling aims to reduce the number of preventable child deaths by collecting gently-used soap from hotels, santizing them and reprocessing them into new bars of soap, before delivering them to underprivileged families and schools all around Asia.

 

You can volunteer to help unpack donations, sort the soap by kind and break them down into little pieces before feeding it to the soap machine to process.

 

Contact: [email protected]
Volunteer: www.soapcycling.org/volunteer
Donate: www.soapcycling.org/get-involved-donate
More info: www.soapcycling.org

 

 

HK Dog Rescue

Hong Kong Dog Rescue’s mission is to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome abandoned dogs. If you’re currently living in Hong Kong, consider opening your home to a pup and becoming a foster parent for a few months while it waits for a forever home. If fostering is not an option due to your schedule or apartment policies, you can also volunteer to be a dog walker; responsibilities include grooming the dogs (brushing their fur, cutting their nails), walking them and playing with them.

 

If their Tai Po centre is too far away for you (after all, it’s all the way up in the New Territories!) you can also volunteer at their Mini Homing Centre in Ap Lei Chau.

 

Address: Tai Po Homing Centre, 6 Shek Lin Road, Tai Po
Contact: [email protected]
Donate: Click here
More info: www.hongkongdogrescue.com

 

 

ShelterBox Hong Kong

ShelterBox is a charity that provides emergency shelter and relief for communities struck by natural disasters and humanitarian crises. Each of their iconic green boxes contains essentials that can accommodate the needs of a family. These essentials include items like a tent, thermal blankets, water storage and purification equipment, solar lamps, cooking utensils, mosquito nets, insulating ground sheets, a basic tool kit and even a children’s activity pack filled with little nice-to-haves for the little ones.

 

You can help their relief efforts by helping to fundraise (see ShelterBox-approved fundraising ideas here) or by making a donation.

 

Contact: [email protected]
Donation: shelterbox.org/donate.php
More info: www.shelterbox.org

 

 

Crossroads Foundation

Crossroads collects and redistributes high quality used goods to people in need both in Hong Kong and all over the world. You can set up a donation drive at your office, school or in your neighbourhood to collect desperately needed items like: rice cookers, power cables, first aid kits, basketballs, skipping ropes, mosquito repellent, towels and blankets. If you’re unable to make the trip to their Tuen Mun office to drop off the goods, they can also arrange a pickup service.

 

You can also sign up as a volunteer and help pack and distribute goods, manage the inventory and warehouse, tackle odd repair and maintenance work, drive goods around, and solve IT issues. Remember to fill out this online form to notify them of your interest.

 

Address: 2 Castle Peak Road, Gold Coast, Tuen Mun
Contact: 2984-9309; [email protected]
Donation: Click here
More info: www.crossroads.org.hk