Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) has long served the community in keeping with its Building Homes with Heart ideal. To mark the SHKP Volunteer Team's 15th anniversary this year, a recognition ceremony was held with SHKP Chairman and Managing Director Raymond Kwok presenting awards to outstanding volunteers.

The Team has put in about 1.1 million hours of service and helped over 500,000 people since its establishment. At the event, Raymond Kwok complimented the Team's efforts over the years and said, 'In response to Hong Kong's SARS outbreak in 2003, the SHKP Volunteer Team was set up to promote positive energy and a spirit of caring for society. The Mencius, a collection of writings reflecting the wisdom of ancient Chinese philosopher Mencius, advocates the notion of "honouring the elderly like honouring one's own aged parents and caring for children as one's own". This, I believe, is the earliest reference to volunteerism. In recent years, based on the concept of "nurturing one's children and other's children", the SHKP Volunteer Team has furthered its commitment by serving the community along with the younger generation in order to pass on a sense of dedication.' For 15 years, volunteer Mak Hing-cheong has participated in different volunteer work with his children who are now adults. They think they are more empathetic and caring than their peers because of their experience doing volunteer work.

SHKP Volunteer Team Chief Leader Michelle Leung said, 'The word "Team" in "SHKP Volunteer Team" highlights the Group's Building Homes with Heart philosophy and its dedication to giving back to society through solid team work. "Team" also means "more" in Chinese. Apart from the support of management and staff, our families, friends and residents have also joined in our volunteer work over these past 15 years. We have even partnered with the Social Welfare Department, different social welfare organizations and a host of volunteer teams from other corporations in order to add "more" positive energy, care and harmony to our home – Hong Kong.'

Caring for both the physical and emotional needs of the underprivileged, the major initiatives of the SHKP Volunteer Team involve 'nurturing youth', 'helping the elderly', 'helping people with disabilities' and 'building homes'. The first three involve visits and long-term plans while the fourth calls upon the professional construction and property management skills of the Team to provide repairs and basic refurbishment services.

Through the SHKP Building Homes with Heart Caring Initiative, the Team leverages their professional skills to help the elderly in need by refurbishing their homes for free, including varnishing, tiling floors and replacing lighting fixtures. This helps reduce their financial burden after being allocated public rental housing flats. The volunteers said that during their volunteer work, they not only help the elderly in need, but also learn a variety of simple, daily home renovation skills. They are actually helping themselves too while helping others.

Moreover, the Team actively engages in and promotes a series of community activities, such as the SHKP Experience Scheme for HK Children, the Social Inclusion Programme, and Mural for Love and Inclusion, in order to help create a caring community by involving different volunteer bodies. Among the activities, the weCare Inclusive Volunteering Scheme trains youth with disabilities in Tseung Kwan O to join the Team so they can help themselves while helping others, which is the ideal promoted by SHKP. This also helps the passing on of volunteerism. This programme was recently named second runner-up by the Social Welfare Department's 2016-18 Best Corporate Volunteer Service Project Competition.

The SHKP Volunteer Team's 15th anniversary recognition ceremony summarized the Team's efforts over the years as well as presented awards to 393 volunteers and 30 volunteer families in recognition of their active contributions during the past year.