A Guide To Volunteering and Charity Work in Beijing

Volunteering In Beijing

If you can spare even a few hours a week, there are plenty of organisations in Beijing which are in need of willing volunteers. As well as improving the lives of others, volunteering provides a great way to meet new friends and learn new skills. Here are just a few suggestions of how you can get involved. For much more detailed information, please contact info@apachina.com

1. Children’s Charities

Bethel www.bethelchina.org/

Bethel is a training center for the Chinese visually impaired orphans. It is a self-sustainable, environmentally friendly center. Their mission is to provide foster care, education and professional training to foster independent living skills.

Fang Shan District, Beijing

BEAM  www.beamalliance.org/

Project Big Brothers and Sisters requires potential volunteers to make a long-term commitment to spending a few hours each Saturday with one migrant child.

Blue Sky Healing Home www.blueskyhealinghome.org

Blue Sky Healing Home provides in-house care of orphans with medical needs in a homelike setting, and rehabilitation training sessions for disabled orphans and their caregivers.

Chaoyang, Beijing

Included (Formerly Compassion for Migrant Children) www.cmc-china.org

A nonprofit organization founded in early 2006 to help China’s urban migrant children, primarily through offering social and educational programs. It also seeks to be a ‘think tank’ for all things related to migrants and migrant issues in China. Many teaching opportunities currently available.

Chaoyang, Beijing. Email Stacy Wu at stacy.wu@cmc-china.org 

Sun Village  http://www.sunvillage.com.cn/eng/organization_intro.php

Home to over 100 children whose parents are in prison. Volunteers can drop in for one day, or schedule weekly visits over a longer period of time. Some of the activities include educating the children in subjects like English or music, working on the facility's small farm, and teaching the kids how to perform simple domestic chores.

         

2. Community Charities

Operation Blessing www.obchina.org

Operation Blessing aims to "help alleviate suffering, restore human dignity, and give hope for the future." To realize these goals, Operation Blessing conducts a wide array of internationally recognized projects, including free medical clinics for those without healthcare access, free life-saving or life-impacting surgeries, water cisterns for those without access to clean drinking water, disaster relief for those who have lost everything, educational grants for orphans or poor children unable to pay their public school tuition fees, as well as volunteer assistance, medical services and nutritional aid for orphans.

Chaoyang, Beijing

Roundabout Charity Store  www.roundaboutchina.com

A Shunyi- based charity store which needs volunteers to sort donations and run the shop.
Contact Leslie Simpson – Roundabout Founder -

13718 777 761 or Thecharitystore@gmail.com

 


Hua Dan  http://www.hua-dan.org/

A program which uses drama to reach vulnerable groups, although it tends to work with migrant women and children. To date, Hua Dan has helped over 1,000 migrant women gain confidence in themselves and learn skills relevant to their lives. Volunteers with skills in English, art, drama and management are especially sought after.

Prevention Through Education http://www.pte-china.org/ 

A charity that supports AIDS victims in China. Currently, it needs volunteers to assist with research and also has a tremendous need for experienced fundraisers.

Huiling http://www.huiling.org.cn/ 

A Beijing-based organization that helps the intellectually disabled reach their full potential. It helps place adults in group homes, and runs an education center for the intellectually disabled. Huiling is most in need of volunteers with music, art or dance skills, but if you aren't skilled in those areas, volunteers who can come in and interact with the intellectually disabled are also appreciated.

Tongyu   http://www.tongyulala.org/

An LGBT center that needs volunteers. English translators, event planners, legal experts and mentors are some of the positions that are available.

Little Bird 

Helps give legal advice to migrant workers, informing them of their rights and helping them resolve labor disputes. If you have great Chinese and legal expertise, consider giving your time to helping vulnerable groups understand their rights.

Animal and Environmental Charities

Beijing Human and Animal Environmental Education Centre (BHAEEC) www.animalschina.org

An animal shelter 40 minutes outside of Shunyi

Friends of Nature   http://www.fon.org.cn/

One of China's oldest environmental activist groups. It does a tremendous amount of grassroots activism, which helps raise awareness about China-specific environmental issues among all classes of society.

Beijing Cat    www.beijingcat.org

This Wudaokou-based organization works to rescue homeless felines from the streets of the capital. You can help out by fostering a kitty until a new home is found for it or welcome it into your family on a more long-term basis via adoption. All cats are healthy, de-wormed, neutered and vaccinated.