New Generation: China’s youth step forward to volunteer for charity

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"I am very heartened by the young volunteers of China. What I see is that they are so engaged, and so enthusiastic, and always ready to give more. Even the volunteers we’re working with on a specific program – what I see is that many times, they think out of the box. They’re thinking not just what the tasks that they are asked, but how else they can contribute, what else they can do."

– Agi Veres, Country Director, United Nations Development Program China

And the good news is that more of China’s New Generation are stepping forward to help others. Can I report that there is an all-encompassing wave of altruism spreading through the youth here, just as one Chinese publication did in 2007, when it suggested that 97 percent of youngsters polled would happily volunteer for charity if they had time? No, of course not.

Young Chinese volunteers at HOPE Beijing /CGTN Photo, by Yao Chin

But what I see is a positive change, both in terms of the numbers volunteering and their mindset. More of China’s younger generation are engaging in a long-term effort to support the causes that they hold dear. And those causes are no longer limited to local issues, but ones affecting the wider community both at home and abroad.

The UNDP now has some 200 Chinese volunteers working overseas, for example. Meanwhile, domestically, the New Generation are volunteering everywhere from charities for the disabled, to hospices and schools, to environmental projects.

So what’s encouraging a greater sense of social responsibility? Much I feel can be attributed to the opening-up of China. The scope and capability of charities and NGOs here have changed over the past forty years. And an increasingly open media is playing its part too.

Two of the volunteers I interviewed were influenced this way: one by a radio host who was highlighting autism, and the other by seeing volunteers at work whilst she watched the news. (Indeed, a member of our staff texted me after watching my television report, and now wants to volunteer too.)

HOPE Founder Priscilla Lightsey conducts a therapy session. /CGTN Photo, by Lan Hao

Meanwhile, the opening-up of China has led to rising living standards, which allow more people to be in a position to give to others, and to appreciate the importance of one’s quality of life.

In my video report, I visited HOPE, a horse-riding therapy charity based in north Beijing. There, around 300 volunteers, (many of whom are young Chinese people), join a team that enriches the lives of children with disabilities.

This is my exclusive digital report on HOPE and how the therapy works.

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The children who attend the therapy can benefit enormously, and you can read more about the charity’s work at their official website. And HOPE is one of the countless charities and causes across China I could have highlighted, each championing as invaluable and noble a cause, each unable to function without their volunteers.

There are many members of China’s New Generation who have a big heart, and from what I see, that number is growing.