Grassroots groups lend a helping hand

Qingdao has a long history of volunteerism. The following three grassroots groups are doing great work in the city.

Weichen leads Qingdao's charity cause

After the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, a middle-aged couple walked into the Qingdao Red Cross office and donated 50,000 yuan ($7,500) under the signature Weichen (Dust in English). Since then the name has appeared on many donation registers, and gradually more and more citizens in the coastal city have made donations or offered voluntary services to strangers under the name Weichen.

Eventually Weichen became the name of an independent charity foundation that collects donated goods and money and redistributes them to the needy.

By the end of last year, the Weichen Foundation had received more than 40 million yuan in donations, all of which went to help vulnerable groups with clear registration and billing records.

Weichen has received many awards, including a Top 10 Charity Star, the China Philanthropy Award, and Touching China Person of the Year.

The foundation now has 710,000 registered voluntary workers and more than 10,000 volunteer organizations, of which 1,700 are very active.

Red Vest is a voluntary medical team originating in Laoshan district's Beizhai Health Center. Since 2015, more than 150 volunteers from health centers and hospitals in Laoshan have conducted free health checks and diagnosis services for vulnerable groups in remote areas.

In March last year, Jiaozhou, a county-level city in northwest Qingdao, founded a volunteer platform called Linlishouwang Yijiaqin, or Neighbors Close like Family, which offers services to elderly empty-nesters and impoverished children. The city has been building a "volunteer service providers' harbor" to offer free office space and training for local volunteer start-ups.

Sister Smiley helps the disabled

Founded in November, the Qingdao Xiaojie Handicapped People's Aid has been offering care, services and donations in goods to handicapped people and their families.

Xiaojie or Sister Smiley, uses a network information platform to collect used clothes, daily goods and home appliances, and then distribute them according to recipients' age, gender, height, weight and family information.

Originating in the downtown Shinan district, the team has included more than 30,000 volunteers. So far, more than 280,000 items have been donated to more than 20,000 recipients in 2,000 villages.

Xiaojie does not accept donations of money and all participants share the operational costs equally. Every donation and its distribution are published on the charity's website.

Most volunteers in the team are not wealthy themselves.

"We have lowered the threshold for people who are not rich in money but rich in love to share their big hearts with people in need," said Song Jia, the founder of Xiaojie.

Qingdao Blue Sky Rescue

Started in 2008 by a team of seven amateur radio enthusiasts, Qingdao Blue Sky Rescue has grown to become a recognized professional emergency response team specializing in mountain and water rescues.

It has carried out 163 emergency rescues, helping 569 accident victims in Qingdao.

As Qingdao is home to Mount Laoshan, hikers, especially the elderly, sometimes suffer injuries or become lost, and the team then launches a rescue effort.

It has also rescued victims of natural disasters such as the earthquakes in Qinghai and Yunnan provinces. It also offers free safety workshops at schools, local communities and businesses, benefiting more than 10,000 participants.

Qingdao Blue Sky Rescue now has 51 rescuers and 98 intern rescuers. The team is comprised of five divisions: search and rescue, medical services, communications, administration and logistics.

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 07/05/2016 page6)