Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd.

SHKP Vice Chairman and Volunteer Team Captain Raymond Kwok and Team Leader Michelle Leung (second row, fifth and sixth left) with volunteers at Recognition Day.

Sun Hung Kai Properties’ SHKP Volunteer Team was formed in 2003 and membership has since grown from 700 to more than 1,400. The Team is part of a number of long-term initiatives to contribute to the community. The volunteers put in over 50,000 hours of service in 2008, up significantly from 30,000 hours the year before.

SHKP is committed to 'building homes with heart' and living up to its corporate social responsibility to make Hong Kong a more harmonious place. The Volunteer Team follows this belief. The volunteers help a cross section of society, including the elderly, low-income families and people with disabilities. They also participate in programmes for underprivileged young people to promote healthy growth. The volunteers encourage their families to get involved, to achieve their goals and bring them closer.

Major Initiatives

Helping seniors move

Team members use their professional skills to help elderly residents affected by the redevelopment of housing estates relocate to new homes. More than 500 seniors have benefitted so far. The volunteers first helped seniors living in Shek Kip Mei Estate move some years ago, and then assisted households of elderly residents in So Uk and Ngau Tau Kok Lower estates to relocate in a similar exercise. The team continues to serve the community by helping other needy seniors.

The relocation programme applied the expertise of SHKP staff in construction and property management to help seniors pick and inspect their new flats, do basic housekeeping such as installing lights, tiling floors and cleaning. Team members visited the elderly before and after their moves, to ensure they were settled into their new homes.

Refurbishing dorms for recovering mental patients

The volunteers were involved in a 15-month programme organized by the Christian Family Service Centre, in which they used their professional skills to improve the living quarters for recovering mental patients at the centre. They used their construction expertise to plaster and paint walls, re-wire circuitry, fix pipes and more.

There were also seminars and activities as part of this programme where the volunteers and residents got acquainted and built rapport. The volunteers taught the residents how to do home maintenance – helping build their confidence and independence – and organized an outreach squad with trained residents to help other recovering mental patients.

Encouraging children in low-income families

The Team and the Tung Wah Integrated Service Centre in Tin Shui Wai are running a two-year campaign to help low-income families in the district. Children in the programme learn how to socialize through different activities and regular interaction with the volunteers, facilitating their personal development.

Child mentoring scheme

The Team and Neighbourhood Advice-Action Council Tung Chung Integrated Services Centre ran a three-year child mentoring scheme. The volunteers used their experience to guide the children's growth. The team organized a parent-child reading workshop, followed by a session where participants could talk about what they learned from the books they read. The volunteers also took the children to the Ma Wan Park Nature Garden, where adventure games helped develop their interpersonal skills and team spirit.

The volunteers help seniors pick new flats and get them ready to move.

Volunteers and recovering mental patients bond with a gift and good wishes.

Baking cookies helps the mentors and children build friendships.

Volunteers teach children about the importance of conservation at the Ma Wan Park Nature Garden.