Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: student hopes to share the joy of volunteering
- From homeless adults to underprivileged children, 20-year-old helps them all
- Student’s team plans to bring hope to people by providing them with different services
William Wu Man-chun wants to spread hope in Hong Kong and help those in need through volunteer services.
The 20-year-old has been a volunteer since secondary school.
While his first experiences focused on providing free tutoring for primary school students, Wu also eagerly joined other projects to give back when he worked with various community centres and organisations.
Philanthropic work has remained high on his agenda since he entered university.
Wu and his team at the Rotaract Club, a community service organisation, at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology have visited elderly centres and distributed food to the homeless.
Working with The Hub Children and Youth Centre, which serves underprivileged children in Sham Shui Po, his team also taught basic computer skills to disadvantaged youngsters.
The team’s aim is to help the less fortunate develop digital literacy from a young age and provide them with a pathway to long-term training in STEM, a term which refers to science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
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“Many communities in Hong Kong need help,” Wu said.
“My team wants to bring hope to people by providing different services.”
His work to help various under-resourced communities in the city has earned him a nomination for this year’s Spirit of Hong Kong Awards.
The annual event, co-organised by the South China Morning Post and property developer Sino Group, honours the achievements of remarkable people whose endeavours may otherwise go unnoticed.
Josephine Leung Wai-lin, of The Hub Children and Youth Centre, nominated him for the Spirit of Youth Award, which recognises young people who have shown a commitment to the community or demonstrated courage.
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A marketing and management student, Wu said he had no leanings towards any particular field of community work or groups.
“I hope to expand my scope and try different things,” he said. “Each has its own significance.”
Yet he attached importance to passing on the spirit of helping others.
“I hope more people in need can get help,” he said.
