“EdU Santa” to Promote Love and Care
“EdU Santa” to Promote Love and Care
More than 200 staff and students gathered today (1 December) at Central Plaza on The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) Tai Po campus for a mass community service project entitled Action By Care – EdU Santa cum Guinness World Record Attempt for “The Most Letters to Santa” to promote love and care.
Organised by the Wofoo Whole Person Development Centre of the Student Affairs Office, “EdU Santa” is the third mass community service project under the Action By Care (ABC) programme. Unlike other similar projects, “EdU Santa” is not simply about caring for the community. It also encourages students to model themselves on Santa Claus – to share love with and bring joy to other people.
In the first stage of the three-phase project, about 70 EdUHK students formed a group of EdU Santas, and professional training was provided to equip them with the skills and knowledge they needed for upcoming service visits. In the second stage, the EdU Santas applied the skills they acquired to bring joy to over 600 service recipients from different backgrounds including the elderly, mentally handicapped persons, low-income families, refugees, among others.
As the highlight of the project, the third stage was EdUHK’s first attempt at the Guinness World Record through the collection of “the most Letters to Santa collected in 24 hours” to promote a caring culture and bring joy to the campus. Immediately after the launch, the EdU Santas began to walk around the campus to invite people to write letters to Santa, conveying positive messages and expressing thankfulness.
Speaking at the ceremony, Professor Stephen Cheung Yan-leung, EdUHK President, called on the University community to spread positivism as far as possible. “Everyone can bring joy to others regardless of timing – whether it is at Christmas or on normal days. It is always a good time to share love and caring if you wish,” he said.
To nurture students as caring leaders, the Wofoo Whole Person Development Centre launched the ABC programme last year. The programme includes mass community initiatives and various regular service teams, such as the Volunteer Barber Team, Volunteer Food Assistance Team and other service teams aiming to serve youth-at-risk and mentally challenged students, among others. By providing important services, students can gain first-hand, multidimensional experience. The University also inspires them to use different resources within the community helping people with various needs.
