SHANGHAI'S youth volunteer services are becoming increasingly creative, diverse and professional, say authorities from the Shanghai Committee of China Communist Youth League.

Young people account for a big chunk of volunteers in Shanghai. According to a report on local voluntary services released at the end of 2012, there were over 1.2 million volunteers registered to the volunteer association in the city. Of those, more than 38 percent were between 18 and 45 years old, making this the largest age group.

Youth volunteer organizations were founded on a large scale in Shanghai in early 1994, in response to the call of China Communist Youth League and All-China Students Federation. It encouraged millions of students to help passengers navigating their way in railway and bus stations, as well as poor people in communities during the Chinese New Year festival, according to the Shanghai Committee of China Communist Youth League.

An association of youth volunteers was established the next year to carry the campaign forward, while many district governments and universities built up their own voluntary service teams. They provided daily life assistance, health care, professional training and legal aid to old childless people, law violators and migrant workers.

With the rapid development and internationalization of the city, more important forums, conferences and other events were held more frequently in Shanghai, including the Asian-Pacific Economic Conference and 2010 World Expo. Those events promoted fast development of voluntary services, such as traffic guidance and interpretation, said the committee.

And with the national strategic policy of supporting development of poor and remote areas, thousands of local volunteers have been involved in Shanghai's programs to aid economically underdeveloped regions such as Yunnan Province and Tibet Autonomous Region.

Some Shanghai volunteers even have served in foreign countries, including 72 sent to Laos to carry out Chinese-English bilingual teaching, health care and training people in agricultural science and computer skills.

The massive 2010 World Expo was a big learning experience for the volunteer community. More than 2 million domestic and overseas volunteers contributed their efforts during the six-month expo, and hundreds of thousands of university students in green and white uniformed clothes were nicknamed “little cabbage.” The event further awakened awareness of voluntary opportunities for the public, and more creative and diversified voluntary services have since emerged.

Shanghai now has more than 15,000 youth volunteer teams providing high-quality services in all walks of life, said Wang Xiaochun of the Shanghai Committee of China Communist Youth League.

Under the administration of the Communist Youth League committee in Shanghai, 455 volunteers have provided continuous help in life and studies to nearly 177,000 students at 396 schools for migrant workers in the city. Other examples include hemopoietic stem cells being donated by young people and successfully transplanted to 302 patients; and foreign language talents serving the public hotline 12345 since last year, helping foreigners in the city to solve all kinds of problems.

Though university students make up most of the young volunteers due to their having flexible time and every college having volunteer teams, more and more high school students and even pupils are now seen in voluntary activities, said Wang.

“With parents or upper schoolmates dedicated to voluntary services, younger teenagers are also increasingly active,” he said.

Among the 719 volunteers working during the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia held in Shanghai in May, 96 were pupils who were responsible for greeting guests.

Private volunteer groups, too

Besides government-organized activities, many more privately run volunteer organizations are also very influential now. For example, the Star Umbrella, initiated by lawyer Lu Yan, is the only voluntary program devoted to help over 20,000 autism sufferers and their families in Shanghai with legal consultation and psychological counseling, as well as donations. The 36-year-old Lu recently was recognized by the local Communist Youth League committee as one of this year's top ten youth volunteers in Shanghai.

Another younger award recipient was Bu Jiaqing, 27, founder of an AIDS-prevention service center who has educated countless people about AIDS prevention and successfully encouraged over 10,500 susceptible people to take HIV tests in the past six years.

“Shanghai volunteers are also very creative and fashionable to help others,” Wang said.

The Walking Egg is one of those creative programs. As hiking is popular among young people, its organizers asked participants to hike 50 kilometers to purchase eggs for students in rural areas so they could have nutritious lunches. The effort has mushroomed into numerous other causes, such as protection and education of children.

Authorities encourage volunteers to create their own programs, but also recognize that many face competition with other organizations.

To help develop their service and management skills, the Shanghai Committee of China Communist Youth League and United Nations Development Program launched a program last year to improve the capability of 500 local volunteer organizations within four years by providing training and subsidies for them.

Last year, it also established a multimedia platform named “I Volunteer,” which includes a website, weibo and WeChat account and mobile phone app, for all youth volunteers. Registered organizations can release recruitment information on the platform, and volunteers can use it to apply for activities.

It now has over 75,000 registered volunteers and 308 organizations. One program aims to recruit 36 volunteers for next year's Milan World Expo. It has already attracted more than 18,000 applicants.

The youth league committee also wishes to collect more data about volunteers via the platform and help potential leaders to design their own projects.

In order to inspire volunteers, their service records will be included in their personal credit report and benefit them throughout their lives, Wang said.

“As voluntary service is becoming a popular, fashionable living style among young people, we hope they can help build Shanghai into a better city with better life,” said Wang.