THE number of people applying to join the city volunteers association had increased sharply in recent months and most were students, the association said Sunday.
More than 500 people had registered each month, the highest number in years, said association official Chen Hong.
The number of student applicants has increased significantly because many students wanted to participate in voluntary work during the winter vacation. Meanwhile, the Universiade has also attracted them to do something for the city, Chen said.
The association held training sessions for newcomers every two weeks and at least 30 student newcomers had been attending each training session recently.
We have several volunteer teams, such as environmental protection, social culture and social research, and at least 10 percent of those attending were students, he said.
I ve participated in voluntary work every week for years, helping children at the social welfare center. It is very nice to help others and I also have a chance to gain more practical experience, a student volunteer surnamed Li told the Daily Sunshine.
The association now has 256,542 registered volunteers. There are 1,465 suborganizations, offering more than 20 regular services.
The city plans to recruit about 1.27 million volunteers for the Universiade and so far nearly 70,000 people have applied. Shenzhen will set up a Universiade volunteer service center in each community 60 days before the opening of the Universiade, offering voluntary service.
(Wang Yuaunyuan)
