THEY come from different walks of life and different backgrounds. They are diverse ages. But the one thing volunteers in Minhang have in common is a giving heart. We went out into the community to talk to some of the people who are making a difference in the world of charity work.

Baby's Home

Seventeen babies who are ill and were abandoned by their parents in the poorer areas of Henan and Anhui provinces, are now under the loving care of surrogate mothers in Minhang.

A villa at the Tianlaiyuan residential community on Minhang's Dushi Road has been converted into a refuge for sick children whose parents either can't afford to keep them or don't want to keep them. It's called Baby's Home.

Nappies, toys, milk powder and baby clothes fill the scene upon entering the care center. There are three rooms upstairs for the babies. Some are sleeping in cradles; others are playing with volunteers. The aura is one of peace and happiness.

Li Xiaoxiao, 11 months old, suffers from the birth defect spina bifida. Dang Xi, about one year old, has congenital heart disease. Li Wenhao, 14 months old, was born with cleft lip.

The home was set up by 10 Shanghai mothers about three years ago. They met via a baby care website, where postings from mothers in financial straits who couldn't care for ill children captured their attention and their hearts.

"At that time, the idea of providing free treatment and care for disabled babies flashed through my mind because these disabled children are even more disadvantaged because they don't have the love and care of their parents," said Zhang Min, one of the mothers who worked in administrative management before shifting her attention to the Baby's Home.

The home focuses on babies from welfare agencies in Henan and Anhui that don't have the funds or capability of caring for the babies. "We provide a shelter for them," Zhang said.

The home now counts hundreds of volunteers on its rolls, but only about 40 of them very active.

The average age of the surrogate mothers is 35, and many come from white collar ranks or own their own businesses. Most are mothers themselves.

Xu Pu, another mother who helped set up Baby's Home, said she has grown to love the children brought to the home. "Although they are different, we treat them as our own babies and will give them even more love and care," she said.

The volunteers set up their own website, shbabyhome.org.cn, and started raising funds through donations. They have undertaken their own promotional campaign, contacting hospitals, devising fundraising efforts and writing adoption plans. Each visits Baby's Home at least once a week.

The volunteers said response to their appeal for help and funds has been overwhelming. Some people donate money or baby items such as diapers and toys. Others volunteer to work in charity bazaars or ferrying the babies to hospitals for treatment.

Everyday, at least one child in the home goes to a hospital for inoculation, physical examination or other treatment.

The youngest baby at the home is only two months old; the eldest 18 months.

These kids are weak because they were abandoned when they were born with defects, usually hard to cure, said Zhang. "They didn't receive proper inoculations and are vulnerable to fever and coughing."

The goal of Baby's Home is to find permanent homes for the children. More than 20 babies have already been adopted out to local or expatriate families.

The villa is about 300 square meters and the rent is 6,800 yuan (US$1,046) a month. The home pays about 3,000 yuan a month in utility bills, and medical costs per child can run as high as 50,000 yuan.

Baby's Home employs 12 ayis (domestic helpers) to cook, clean and provide round-the-clock care. Each of them earns only about 2,100 yuan a month, a low wage for that sector.

One of the ayis comes from the southwestern city of Chongqing. The babies at the home have become like one of her own children, said one of the helpers, who has been at the refuge for more than a year.

The stories the volunteer mothers tell are touching.

Linda Wang, a crew member of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, recalled driving one baby to the hospital for a vaccine inoculation.

"The girl from Henan, about six months old, weighed only 6 kilograms when the average for her age should be nine," Wang said. "Her health is poor. That makes me feel very sad because I am also a mother."

Wang, who has two children of her own, visited Baby's Home twice in July.

"I am not very busy in July, so I could spare more time for these kids," she said.

Luo Yan, a small business owner in her 30s, said she learned of Baby's Home from her friends and said she found the organization well-run. She spoke after returning from the hospital, where she took one of the babies for Chinese traditional medicine treatment. She's both a donor and a volunteer for the home now.

There are some limits to what Baby's Home can take on. For example, the home doesn't accept babies suffering from cerebral palsy or leukemia because the costs of medical treatment are beyond its means.

The home is always looking for volunteers and welcomes any offers of help, Zhang said.

HandsOn Shanghai

At the newly opened volunteer center of HandsOn Shanghai in Minhang's Xinzhuang area, 32 migrant children are chatting with six volunteer English teachers who come from Spain, the United States, Jordan and Switzerland. The theme of their first session is just getting to know one another through chatting, games and picture drawing.

HandsOn Shanghai, a non-profit organization, kicked off its 2011 summer camp program in July. Both Chinese and foreign volunteers teach classes in English, science and reading and provide activities such as dancing, painting, drama, calligraphy, photography and handicrafts.

There will be a carnival marking the end of the summer camp on August 28.

There are six English teaching sessions that run through July. Students are drawn from six migrant schools in Minhang, including Hongmei Primary and Yumiao Primary. The children are mainly from the poor areas in Jiangxi and Anhui provinces, and their parents have come to Shanghai to try to seek a better life.

One of the volunteer teachers from the United States said she spent two days preparing for the first class. She invited students to tell a little about themselves and their families, and gave each of them an English name.

HandsOn Shanghai, founded in 2004 by a group of young foreign professionals, has 4,700 registered volunteers, who contribute 16,000 hours a year. About 60 to 70 percent of volunteers are white-collar workers and 5 percent are expatriates.

Minhang will be a highlight for HandsOn programs since it opened its office in the district, said Richard Brubaker, the organization's president.

A partnership between the Minhang government, the Communist Party Youth League of the Xinzhuang township, and HandsOn Shanghai has been forged. The new volunteer center will serve as a base for volunteer training.

HandsOn's projects include English teaching at Shanghai's migrant schools, a shutterbug club that teaches children simple photography skills, an English drama club, a Big Brother-style mentoring program that pairs adults with young people needing adult guidance from outside the home, basketball club and a school library project.

Shirley Mabin, a shipping company executive who moved to Shanghai from Hong Kong in 2004, has been working with the organization since 2007.

At least twice a month, she visits the Xuhui Elderly Care Center and Fahuazhen Elderly Care Center, trying to bring smiles to wizened faces.

"We do rehabilitation exercises, play games, do art works, sing and perform little dramas," Mabin said. "Eighty percent of volunteers would choose children's programs because they think it's difficult to communicate with the elderly. I have made it a point to learn how to improve those communications."

She is not short of enthusiasm, which she cites as a key trait for a successful volunteer.

Judy Lee, a South Korean student at Concordia International School Shanghai, teaches English to disabled adults every Saturday. A resident of Shanghai for three years, Lee is also a member of HandsOn.

"At first, I was really worried about not being able to speak Chinese, but it turned out that it wasn't a really big problem, since the teaching assistants I have are very helpful," Lee said. "I was quiet surprised that there were lots of volunteer activities available for foreigners like me in China."

Minhang District Lawyers Volunteer Group

In Minhang, there are about 70 lawyers who provide free legal advice in their spare time to poorer residents. They are members of the Minhang District Lawyers Volunteer Group.

Every day, two volunteers from the group show up at the Minhang Legal Aid Center on Xintan Road to help people who can't afford a lawyer.

Established in 2005, the group provides free legal aid in an average 1,000 civil and criminal matters a year. All lawyers in the group are 35 years or younger.

"The group not only provides an arena for young lawyers to display their talents, but also serves as a vehicle to demonstrate their sense of social responsibility," said Jiang Chen, director of the group and an attorney at the Zhongxia Xubo Law Firm.


Where to look to lend a helping hand:

Minhang's volunteer website at zyz.shmh.gov.cn. The website contains lists of volunteer events and registration forms for those who want to become volunteers.

Minhang Branch of the Shanghai Charity Foundation, at 143 Xinjian Road. Those who want to donate money, time or products may call 6492-8231.

Blood donation sites in Minhang. One is located at 3155 Qixin Road. Telephone: 6419-6727. The other is at 7388 Humin Road. Tel: 5417-7866