Angels Volunteer Project
| Origin: |
| Yuen Long District Support Centre started to run the Angels Volunteer Project in September 2003. Volunteer training was provided to about 200 people who were above 18 and had interest in serving people with disabilities to increase their understanding of the needs of people with intellectual disabilities and prepare them for helping with the centre’s programmes. Some of them were abled persons from the community and the rest were intellectually disabled persons. |
| Angels of Hope – Pursuing Service Goals: |
| The Angels of Hope Volunteer Project provides an opportunity for people interested in voluntary work to serve persons with disabilities and make friends with them. This project was introduced from the finding that many disabled persons living in the community were in lack of friends and chances to make new friends. What they needed was not merely visits but someone they could entrust their minds to. To strengthen volunteers’ concept about social inclusion, the centre will explain its goal of social inclusion to every volunteer. We hope to find people who have enthusiasm for serving disabled persons to pursue together with us our beliefs and goals for the service. |
| Rainbow Angels – Advocating Empowerment of People with Disabilities: |
| After the Angels of Hope Volunteer Project had been run for about a year, we started to find some disabled people with potential to form a volunteer group called Rainbow Angels. They provided voluntary service out of the spirit of utilizing their abilities and caring for others. Over the years, they made visits to different parties in need, from families of people with disabilities in the community to people with disabilities and elders living in residential homes, to elders living alone in rural areas under cooperation with local bodies. They have had more autonomy in the more varied visits. Though there are still difficulties for them to overcome, they have gained a greater power from their unity and this power is bringing them the goal of empowerment. |
| Voluntary Services Provided by the Volunteers: |
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Angels Volunteer Support Project – People with disabilities and their families in need are paired up with the volunteers according to their preferences. The voluntary services provided include making regular visits to the service recipient at his or her home or at a residential institution, giving the service recipient lessons on certain skills, such as playing the piano, weaving or other handicraft, and calling the service recipients to have a chat with him or her. |
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Service to the community – The volunteers are encouraged to meet parties from the community and help with community activities such as flag days, stall games in a community education programme, tree-planting and visits to elders. |
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Service to the centre and its members – The volunteers plan and carry out services to the centre and its members, such as visiting members, helping with group activities of the centre, decorating the centre, hosting birthday parties for members, and visiting other service units of the Agency. |