SHENZHEN is known for its large number of volunteers who devote time to helping others. Jiang Hai, an active member of numerous volunteer campaigns for several years, is also the founder of a government-recognized emergency-response team. Jiang joined the Shenzhen Volunteer Association 14 years ago in Huaqiangbei. He was working in the fashion industry at the time and happened to see a recruitment post for volunteers. Since then, Jiang has volunteered for various events such as at the Universiade, the annual China High-Tech Fair and the cultural industries fair. His efforts in voluntarily helping others helped him gradually stand out from the crowd. At the beginning of 2009, Jiang received a special mission from the municipal committee of the Communist Youth League and the Shenzhen Volunteer Association to establish and lead a rescue team under the association. For the next nine years, Jiang expanded the team from 300 to more than 3,000 people. The team has served the public on over 10,000 occasions and has accumulated as many as 120,000 service hours. The rescue team’s major mission is to safeguard major events taking place in Shenzhen. It also runs a U-Station in the Huaqiangbei area that looks out for pedestrians crossing the street and assists those asking for directions. A legacy of the Shenzhen Summer Universiade in 2011, U-Stations are scattered across the city to provide help and simple first aid to residents. Jiang has also organized a squad for dealing with emergency cases. The squad receives regular training from Shenzhen’s armed police officers so as to gain professional knowledge in handling emergency situations. With experience and resources accumulated over the past several years, Jiang decided to establish his own organization to provide professional rescue services. In 2012, the Shenzhen Zhihuihai Rescue Service Center was established and moved into an incubator for social organizations in the same year. The center founded by Jiang gained official approval from the Shenzhen Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau to become a recognized social organization the following year. “We wanted to do something meaningful for society when we first decided to set up the team,” said Jiang. What was most satisfying about doing volunteer work in Shenzhen is that even after so many years, the number of people taking part in volunteering never stops increasing, according to Jiang. The rescue center has been actively providing nationwide quick-response services since its establishment. Team members reach out to people who are victims of natural disasters and need help re-establishing their livelihoods, for instance, in the aftermath of the destructive typhoon disaster in Hainan and the earthquake in Ludian, Yunnan Province in 2014. Recalling his experiences in Ludian, Jiang said the rescue missions were full of difficulties and danger. “When we heard about the earthquake, we were still trying to help people suffering from the mega-typhoon in Hainan. So I rushed some of our team members to the disaster area overnight,” said Jiang. It turned out that they were the first professional rescue team to arrive at Huodehong Township, the area that experienced the most powerful tremors. Local residents, authorities and armed police officers praised Jiang and his team’s rescue efforts. Besides rescue operations, the rescue center also organizes safety training courses every month at schools, corporations and communities. “There’s only one starting point for doing volunteer work and no ending point.” Jiang said he will continue offering his helping hand for the years to come.(Zhang Qian) | 