Join Sai Kung elderly for a Poon Choi lunch

HandsOn is looking for Cantonese speaking volunteers to join us at a Sai Kung community center for a ‘Poon Choi‘ lunch with local elderly residents. Remote areas of Sai Kung were badly damaged by Typhoon Mangkhut and some of the elderly had housing and possessions destroyed. Join us at this lunch to show your care and support for these individuals!

Date: Tuesday, 29 January 2019

Time: 10:30am – 1:30pm

Place: Sai Kung District Community Center, Sai Kung Sai Kung, Mei Yuen St, No.8

Registration: To volunteer for this worthwhile event and serve the elderly of Hong Kong, please follow this link. Limited places still available.

About HandsOn: Founded in 2007, the HandsOn Hong Kong mission remains to mobilize and empower the community to meet pressing social needs in Hong Kong through volunteer services.

HandsOn vision is for a caring community that gives its time and talent to transform Hong Kong.

In 2017 alone, HandsOn organized over 1,400 volunteer activities, serving more than 46,000 beneficiaries, including disadvantaged children and youth, isolated elderly, ethnic minority students, under-resourced families, refugees and people with disabilities. Join HandsOn in their mission to serve Hong Kong’s community together!

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Aberdeen Plog – 香港仔垃圾跑

Plogging is a combination of jogging with picking up litter (Swedish: plocka upp). It started as an organised activity in Sweden around 2016 and spread to other countries in 2018, following increased concern about plastic pollution. As a workout, it provides variation in body movements by adding bending, squatting and stretching to the main action of running.

Hong Kong has a huge trash problem, that is no secret.

Whether you are traversing through a country park, relaxing at a beach or walking through the busy metropolis, it is impossible to avoid waste.

Unfortunately, a lot of rubbish gets neglected until it is too late. Contrary to what many people may think, even waste in the city centre, through being washed into the gutter, can end up in the ocean.

Waste Free HK’s goal is to avoid this scenario as much as possible through urban cleanups, making sure to leave places spotless.

The plog of will take place in the Aberdeen. Meet at Wong Chuk Hang MTR Station exit A1 and head through the district as much as possible until 1pm, at which point you will call it a day and go and grab some food.

Reusable bags, litter pickers and gloves will be provided, however please feel free to bring your own.

To help Waste Free HK organise future events, feel free to purchase a small goodie bag at the end of the plog. Each event will have different zero-waste nick-knacks for you to take away. With plans to branch Waste Free HK’s organisation out into other ventures to continue raising awareness, your support is greatly appreciated!

Date: Sunday, 20 January 2019

Time: 10am – 1om

Place: Meet at Wong Chuk Hang MTR Station exit A1

Registration: To register for this plog, please follow this link.

About Waste Free HK: Waste Free HK is an organisation aiming to promote a sustainable lifestyle through education, events and campaigning.

Established in Early 2018, WFHK has begun organising various cleanup activities across Hong Kong, the first ‘Plastic Attack’ in the city with the aim of building a better relationship with major chains with the hope of stronger dialogue, as well as building a relationship with various government bodies with the goal of working together to reduce the waste issue blighting our beautiful city.

Mighty Oaks Green Charity Fair 奧恩慈善義

This shopping fair will feature green vendors from all over Hong Kong. Mighty Oaks will match each dollar you spend and donate it to Against Child Abuse Hong Kong. There will be other activities such as a Hand Cream workshop, a toy and book swap, game booths, free eye exams and much more.

Date: Saturday, 19 January 2019

Time: 10:30am – 4pm

Place: Mighty Oaks International Nursery and Kindergarten, 1/F, Lungga Mansion, 46A Belcher’s Street, Kennedy Town

About Against Child Abuse: Since its inception, Against Child Abuse has maintained its uniqueness among non-governmental organizations by providing services solely in the area of child protection, but with a strong emphasis on advocacy and prevention.

Mission:
To promote a caring and non-violent environment for the optimal growth and development of our children.

Belief:
Against Child Abuse believes that children’s survival, protection and development should be given priority, their views should be heard and given due weight. In the application of these principles, children of every race, creed and color should be given equal treatment.

Vision:
To equip and establish themselves as one of the leading non-governmental organizations in the East-Asia Region providing quality child protection programs of both remedial and preventive in nature.

Aims and Objectives:
1. To strive for the removal of all forms of child abuse and/or child neglect in Hong Kong
2. To establish, maintain and support a professional service for the assistance of abused or neglected children or parents having problems with their children.
3. To promote the awareness of the general public in Hong Kong towards the prevention of child abuse.
4. To take all lawful and necessary actions which are incidental or conducive to the attainment of the above objectives.

Throughout these years, it has been the policy and tradition of ACA to constantly review its directions, visions, and missions in order to keep abreast of developments of Hong Kong and meet its changing needs. Against Child Abuse shoulders four roles:
1. A Child Protection Agent
2. A Counselor & a Therapist
3. An Educator & a Trainer
4. A Child Advocate

Clean Silverstrand Beach – 24 January

After Typhoon Mangkhut, many beaches in Hong Kong were left covered with marine refuse, polystyrene, and fallen trees which is likely to take months to recover.

HandsOn needs volunteers ages 15+ to them clean Silverstrand Beach. This unmaintained HK beach is still covered in marine refuse, polystyrene and fallen trees months after Typhoon Mangkhut.
Sign up if you can and spread the word!

Date: Thursday, 24 January 2019

Time: 1:30 – 5:30pm

Place: Silverstrand Beach, address and directions will be sent to you by e-mail after you sign up.

Registration: For more information and to register, please follow this link.

About HandsOn: Founded in 2007, the HandsOn Hong Kong mission remains to mobilize and empower the community to meet pressing social needs in Hong Kong through volunteer services.

Their vision is for a caring community that gives its time and talent to transform Hong Kong.

In 2017 alone, HandsOn Hong Kong organized over 1,400 volunteer activities, serving more than 46,000 beneficiaries, including disadvantaged children and youth, isolated elderly, ethnic minority students, under-resourced families, refugees and people with disabilities. Join HandsOn Hong Kong in their mission to serve Hong Kong’s community together!

Justice Centre Young Advocates Programme

Young Advocates and Clinical Legal Education students

Applications for the 2019 Young Advocates Programme are now open. Please click here to read Justice Centre’s detailed information pamphlet.

What is the Young Advocates Programme?: The Young Advocates Programme (YAP) is a unique programme for high school students to gain hands-on experience in a non-profit setting.

Through the intensive programme, Young Advocates engage in all areas of Justice Centre’s work, from the provision of legal and psychosocial support to refugees, to anti-human trafficking research and advocacy. Young Advocates also receive one-to-one personal coaching and mentorship from Justice Centre’s highly-qualified international staff lawyers and policymakers, helping students develop important skills, knowledge, and experience as they begin applying for university courses.

Who can apply?: YAP is open to students who have Hong Kong residency and are aged between 15 – 18. Young Advocates should have a keen interest in human rights law, NGO management and refugee rights. The programme is aimed at students interested in a career in law, psychology, social sciences, human rights, politics, or NGO management generally.

Places are limited to four Young Advocates per programme to allow Justice Centre to offer a tailored programme to each Young Advocate.

Programme dates: Justice Centre runs four programmes per year; one in the spring and three in the summer.

Spring Programme 2019 (two weeks):
15 – 26 April 2019

Summer Programme 2019 (three weeks):
(i) 17 June – 5 July 2019
(ii) 8 – 26 July 2019
(iii) 26 July – 16 August 2019

How do I apply?: For more information on the cost and content of the programme, and to request an application form, please contact Justice Centre at YAP@justicecentre.org.hk

Open evening: If you would like to find out more about the YAP and Justice Centre’s work, Justice Centre will be hosting an open evening and information session for prospective applicants at Justice Centre offices at 6:45pm on Thursday, 17 January 2019.

To RSVP, please contact Justice Centre at YAP@justicecentre.org.hk

About Justice Centre Hong Kong: Justice Centre Hong Kong is a non-profit human rights organisation working fearlessly to protect the rights of Hong Kong’s most vulnerable forced migrants: refugees, other people seeking protection, and survivors of torture, human trafficking and forced labour.

Launched in 2014, Justice Centre Hong Kong was formerly Hong Kong Refugee Advice Centre, which over seven years, helped more than 2,000 refugee men, women and children on the road to a new life.

Building on their expertise in refugee issues, Justice Centre Hong Kong identified a clear need for an increased response to tackling forced labour and human trafficking in Hong Kong, and expanded their remit to fill this gap.

Justice Centre Hong Kong advocates with and for forced migrants, bringing their voices into the public debate. Justice Centre Hong Kong campaigns for legislative and policy change, conduct research and work with the media and civil society to fight root causes and change systems and minds.

Justice Centre Hong Kong provides people seeking protection in Hong Kong with free and independent legal information and specialised legal and psychosocial assistance.

Justice Centre Hong Kong receives no government funding. Instead, Justice Centre Hong Kong has spearheaded an innovative pro-bono working model that sees leading international law firms provide financial assistance and donate hours to help with legal research and support. Justice Centre Hong Kong also harnesses funding from a variety of trusts and foundations and through individual donations.

Sham Shui Po District Plog

Plogging is a combination of jogging with picking up litter (Swedish: plocka upp). It started as an organised activity in Sweden around 2016 and spread to other countries in 2018, following increased concern about plastic pollution. As a workout, it provides variation in body movements by adding bending, squatting and stretching to the main action of running.

Hong Kong has a huge trash problem, that is no secret.

Whether you are traversing through a country park, relaxing at a beach or walking through the busy metropolis, it is impossible to avoid waste.

Unfortunately, a lot of rubbish gets neglected until it is too late. Contrary to what many people may think, even waste in the city centre, through being washed into the gutter, can end up in the ocean.

Waste Free HK’s goal is to avoid this scenario as much as possible through urban cleanups, making sure to leave places spotless.

Waste Free HK’s first plog of 2019 will take place in the Sham Shui Po District. Meet at Mei Foo MTR Station exit B and head through the district as much as possible until 10pm, at which point you will call it an evening and go and grab some food.

Reusable bags, litter pickers and gloves will be provided, however please feel free to bring your own.

To help Waste Free HK organise future events, feel free to purchase a small goodie bag at the end of the plog. Each event will have different zero-waste nick-knacks for you to take away. With plans to branch Waste Free HK’s organisation out into other ventures to continue raising awareness, your support is greatly appreciated!

Date: Friday, 11 January 2019

Time: 7 – 10pm

Place: Meet at Mei Foo MTR Station exit B

Registration: To register for this plog, please follow this link.

About Waste Free HK: Waste Free HK is an organisation aiming to promote a sustainable lifestyle through education, events and campaigning.

Established in Early 2018, WFHK has begun organising various cleanup activities across Hong Kong, the first ‘Plastic Attack’ in the city with the aim of building a better relationship with major chains with the hope of stronger dialogue, as well as building a relationship with various government bodies with the goal of working together to reduce the waste issue blighting our beautiful city.

Donate unwanted Christmas gifts

Christmas is a time for giving, but unless you’re incredibly lucky, chances are you’ll have at least one gift that you don’t like – or can’t even stand the sight of. You can repurpose them, re-gift them, even sell online, but if you run out of ideas think about donating them to charity.

There are a number of charities in Hong Kong who would welcome your unloved gifts. Here are some suggestions

Too many chocolates, cookies, unwanted Christmas hampers? Donate to the People’s Food Bank. Run by local charity St. James’ Settlement they provide temporary food assistance to the poor. For a list of the food donations accepted and their collection points, please follow this link.

Found inside the grounds of St John’s Cathedral in Central, Castaways Charity Shop sells clothing, including shoes and handbags, along with books and household linens, with all profits going to small locally based charities. Donations accepted on Wednesday and Saturday mornings
They accept: Clothing, shoes, handbags, books and household linens.
Address: Castaways Charity Shop, St John’s Cathedral, 4-8 Garden Road, Central, Hong

Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is one of the most established organisations for recycling goods. Donated goods are sorted, distributed and sold in Family Stores in Hong Kong and Macau. The net proceeds will go to The Salvation Army for use across its invaluable community programmes. Some of the donated goods will be directly helping people in need, such as home alone elderly, street sleepers, ex-prisoners and CSSA recipients.
The Salvation Army accepts
– Clothing, footwear, handbags and accessories, either brand new or used in clean condition
– Electrical home appliances in working order
– Electrical office equipment (e.g. computer, fax machine, printer, etc.) in working order
– Toys (no soft toys), stationery, books, gifts and premiums
– Software / DVD / VCD / CD with copyright
They do not accept
– Furniture, used bed mattresses or bedding
– Medicine
– Food
– Worn-out or broken items
– Used kitchenware
– Used underwear or towels
Donations can be dropped off at one of their many Family Stores, a list of which is provided on their website.

Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth launched the Used Clothes Recycling Program in 2001, which collects all sorts of textile products: used clothes, shoes, bed sheets and handbags. Re-wearables are exported to neighbouring countries while the worn out pieces are turned into wipers for industrial use. They have over 200 collection points – check out their website and find the one closest to you.
If the amount of used clothes exceeds a certain number (e.g. 5 large bags of clothing or more), Friends of the Earth would arrange door-to-door collection service. Please notify them 1-2 weeks before in advance. Please call 2528-5588 for further details.

Po Leung Kuk
One of the oldest charitable institutions in Hong Kong, the Po Leung Kuk was founded in 1878 to rescue women and children from human trafficking. In it’s long history, Po Leung Kuk is best known as an orphanage, today it offers a wide range of social services in Hong Kong including adoption, integrated family services, elderly services, medical and integrated health services, education and much more. Po Leung Kuk welcomes donations-in-kind to fulfil the basic needs of their service recipients, particularly children, the elderly and low-income families! All kinds of items are welcome – electrical appliances, computers, stationeries, toys, books, household accessories, cookware, etc. For any enquiries, please email plkinfo@poleungkuk.org.hk or contact their Corporate Communications Department on 2277 8352 (Corporate Donation) / Social Services Department on 2277 8158 (Individual Donation).

So get rid of the unwanted clutter, donate, help our community and save our environment through recycling.