(March 20, 2014 Shanghai）The 1st ceremony for the Pramerica Fosun Spirit of Community Awards, a program honoring Shanghai’s top youth volunteers of 2014, was held in Shanghai Jin Jian Hotel on March 20.  The program is sponsored by Fosun Foundation and Pramerica Financial, in partnership with Youth League Shanghai Committee and Pramerica Fosun Life Insurance Company Limited.

At the event, 15 teenagers from age 13 to 18 were awarded “Star Volunteer” and the silver medal.  Among them, Zhang Yitian and Li Chaowei were awarded “Philanthropy Ambassador,” the gold medal and the opportunity to join top youth volunteers from several other countries during a special award ceremony in Washington D.C. in May.  Yitian, 18 years old, a 12th grader at Shanghai High School International Division, was honored for establishing funds in communities to help senior citizens with post-surgery recovery.  Chaowei, 17 years old, a 12th grader at Fuxing High School, was honored for collecting books for children in poor areas and raising funds for blind children.

Guests of honor at the ceremony included representatives from Youth League Shanghai Committee, Horizon Center of Youth Entrepreneurship for Society (YES), Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, Shanghai Educational Press Group, Fosun Foundation and Pramerica Financial.

The Program’s 1st Year in China

The program originates from Pramerica Spirit of Community Awards, which is United States’ largest youth recognition program based exclusively on volunteer community service. The program's goals are to applaud young people who already are making a positive difference in their towns and neighborhoods, and to inspire others to think about how they might contribute to their communities. Over the past 19 years, more than 100,000 of them have been officially recognized for their volunteer efforts.  In addition to the U.S., the program is held in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Ireland and India, where it has attracted thousands of applicants.

In 2013, Pramerica Financial, in partnership with Fosun Foundation, brought the program to China. The China program was kicked off in June 2013. The application platform opened in September and closed in November.  In those three months, the work committee received 190 applications from over 50 middle schools and high schools in Shanghai. Black Apple Youth of YES assisted in the preliminary judging while a panel composed by five youth or volunteer experts made the final decision.  The competition has selected 30 “Excellent Volunteers” and 15 “Star Volunteers.”  Among the 15, two were honored as “Philanthropy Ambassadors.”

Glow the Volunteer Spirit

In earlier 2013, Pramerica conducted a survey among students of grades 9-12 in Shanghai to gather insights of interest and attitudes towards volunteer work among Chinese youth. It showed 79% were interested in volunteering and 87% agreed that volunteer work had a significant impact and made a difference in the community. Yet 36% did not know how to start and what opportunities were available for volunteering. Responding to that, the China program developed a tips guide on how to start volunteer activities and how to search for resources, and shared it with over 600 middle and high schools in Shanghai.  “Start from daily life, start from small things, start from the hobby” – this is how the program encourages students to approach their volunteer work.

Pramerica Fosun Spirit of Community Awards focuses on inspiration, effort, results and reflection. For example, it evaluates what role the student plays in volunteering and also evaluates the time and efforts of each applicant. Lastly, the program also examines how many people benefited from the volunteer work and what new skills the applicant acquired as part the initiative. Students have been involved in projects like creating a website to recruit volunteers, going overseas to build libraries for children in need and recycling school materials. 

Mr. Wu Ping, chairman of Fosun Foundation said “youth are the most valuable assets of the world.  We hope your work will encourage more youth worldwide to help others, serve their communities and contribute to society through volunteer work.”  Mr. Greg Loder, Executive Director of Pramerica Spirit of Community Awards thanked the program honorees for looking beyond themselves and taking action to solve problems they saw in their communities.  “I hope that you are inspired to continue serving others, and that you encourage your friends to volunteer,” he said. “We look forward to celebrating many excellent youth volunteers from China in the future.”

To learn more about the Pramerica Fosun Spirit of Community Awards, visit http://www.pfspirit.org/.