Helping others always has its own rewards, and there’s no shortage of volunteering opportunities in Beijing. Last year, beijingkids dedicated an issue to Time, Love & Charity in December, and our theme for our last issue of 2019 will be Charity again.
Meanwhile, we are thinking about our team building theme. It shouldn’t be only about dining out or a happy hour drinking session; we could instead choose to gather people together to accomplish a common goal for the benefit of the community.
There are a lot of institutions championing different causes and opportunities to share your passion to help the needy. As one of the most active non-profit organizations in the city, Migrant Children’s Foundation (MCF), founded by Helen Boyle in 2009, supports the lives of disadvantaged children through various forms of voluntary work, sponsorship, vocational activities, and events. In addition, it brings together people from different backgrounds who use their talents and experience to provide a platform of opportunity for all.
This time, we caught up with Christina Mack, who’s responsible for CSR Businesses Development, and Marcus Vanderjack, Education Programs Manager, to share their suggestions on how to arrange a volunteer experience with them.
beijingkids: We’ve known MCF for a long time, but the possibility of arranging a team building outing is still pretty new to us. Can you share more with us?
Christina: We already welcome students from international schools as Friends of MCF as part of their CAS and IB programs. Based on the positive experience, we decided to offer this opportunity also to companies as fun and engaging element in their CSR activities. At the same time we see this as a chance for our community to grow further and create lasting partnerships.
Do we register or fill in any forms to be volunteers at MCF? How can we apply for it?
You can first get in touch with us via the csr@mcfchina.org email address. We will then schedule a meeting to make sure the kids and company teams get the most out of their visit. MCF has a lot of experiences and teaching materials to support the visit, at the same time we’re open for companies to bring in their own ideas.
How can we support MCF?
In our CSR Program, MCF Allied, we have listed different opportunities for corporate partners to get involved with us. You can get the booklet by contacting us through the above email address. If you choose education part, you will have the opportunity to visit our partner schools and teach a subject that you will prepare. For individuals who would like to get involved please contact friends@mcfchina.org
As donations, besides money, can companies also donate educational materials or clothes?
Generally we do happily accept different types of donations based on the needs of the schools and children we support. To run our non-profit organization, in most cases, by far the most valuable contribution will be one that meets the cost of teaching materials, organizing the cultural sessions with our more than 80 friends of MCF and partner schools, running health checks for as many students as possible, and supporting our special cases like long-term medical treatments.
What kind of activities do you suggest we should do during our outing with the children?
We have a wide selection of resources and experience. The teams could either access our resources or bring in their own ideas related to their area of expertise, such as photography and drawing lessons for companies in the creative field, environment sharing sessions, or experiments for those in the sustainable field. We are certainly open to any other creative activity as well.
Where are the schools?
Most of the schools are outside Beijing at the end of subway lines. Although they are accessible by subway, they will likely require a longer traveling time.
What time can we visit and arrange a team building outing there?
Marcus Vanderjack: We have a set time and there are two sessions on both Friday and Saturday, from 9.15 am to 11.30 am. Friday session will be at an infants’ school for ages 4-6, it is focused on English but the emphasis is on playing, singing songs and arts & crafts. For Saturday, it will be older children.
Is there anything you want to add here for people who want to arrange a visit?
We want to build a long-term community and a safe environment for these children. All of these achievements have been provided by a dedicated body of people who are committed to “making a lasting difference”. It’s out of good intentions to arrange a team building for a company, but we also need to be aware of the impact for these children, and it is important you can commit to it.
If you want to know more, please visit here or email csr@mcfchina.org for more details to arrange a team building outing.
Photos: Courtesy of MCF
