Peking University, Jan. 12, 2016: On Dec 1, 2015, Vice Chair of Peking University Council Ye Jingyi and renowned artists Qiao Zhen and Pu Cunxin unveiled the “PKU Volunteering Tree”.
This marked the beginning of the 3rd PKU Volunteer’s Festival, a series of volunteering activities organized by the PKU Youth Volunteer’s Association. With the help of various other volunteer’s organizations at PKU, students are showing immense passion as they participate in six themed volunteering activities.
The PKU Volunteering Tree is an online platform developed by students at the School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science. Students who are interested in volunteering opportunities are able to sign up for activities and follow their progress. At the same time, students may share what they have done on the Volunteering Tree. In one month, 41 volunteering opportunities have been made online and 545 students have signed up for a variety of activities via the Volunteering Tree. 900 posts – including giving directions to tourists and returning lost property – have been uploaded and shared widely.
Activities organized for the 3rd PKU Volunteer’s Festival are taking place both on and off campus.
On campus activities generally focus on improving the campus environment and the well-being of all students. Amid the heavy snow last December, volunteers cleared out paths for people to walk safely. They also lined up parked bicycles and cleared rubbish around the Weiming Lake. On World AIDS Day, members of the PKU Red Cross rode on bicycles to disseminate basic knowledge of AIDS. Dec 4 is the National Constitution Day in China. PKU Legal Aid Association propagated ideas of the rule of law at the Triangle Area.
Off campus, Loving Heart Society members visited the Xiangshan Geracomium to provide care for the elderly. The Guanghua School of Management sent volunteer advisors to Hebei to help middle school students. Volunteers have also worked at Peking University People’s Hospital to assist patients who are not familiar with various hospital procedures.
Routine activities such as donations of clothes have been sent to poor regions around China have also been organized. The variety of volunteer works and the innovative online platform have been well-received among students.
