Ensuring our sponsored students are in real need of support

SHSR Home Visits 2021

Shanghai Sunrise enables local students from low-income families to continue their high school education. In order to find those most in need of financial assistance, every year we work closely with the Shanghai Charity Foundation (SCF) and social workers to identify and assess scholarship candidates. As part of this process, Shanghai Sunrise volunteers conduct a home visit with every family who applies for our scholarship program to verify their personal situation.

All accepted students are in real need

The workflow of Shanghai Sunrise home visits is complex and involves many people: SCF staff, local community workers, Shanghai Sunrise staff and volunteers and last but not least the students’ families. This year, our long-term volunteer and former Executive Director Lillian led the home visits. “It is a group effort that requires good communication, friendly cooperation and firm principles,” she explains. “These home visits are important and necessary. They guarantee our sponsors that all students in our scholarship program are qualified and that their families have an actual need to be helped.”

116 families visited in six weeks

Over the course of six weeks in August and September, small teams traveled from early morning until late in the evening visiting numerous families each day. In total, we spoke to 116 families in seven Shanghai districts: Pudong, Chongming, Jinshan, Qingpu, Fengxian, Baoshan, Yangpu and Changning. Thanks to great team work and dedication, our staff and volunteers managed to complete all family visits on schedule – in the scorching summer heat, despite the COVID-19 outbreak and a typhoon hitting Shanghai. We want to thank everyone involved for their time and effort.

Lillian, thank you for 11 years of home visits!

A special mention goes out to Lillian who has been involved in the home visits since 2010 and will move to England with her husband and cats later this year. She has been motivated to volunteer for Shanghai Sunrise for more than a decade.

“From the first day of doing home visits, I experienced that many families in Shanghai are facing financial difficulty and struggle to get their children through high school and into university,” says Lillian. “Shanghai Sunrise brings hope to these families. Thousands of children completed their high school education thanks to a Shanghai Sunrise scholarship.

“Another reason I have been doing volunteer visits all these years is Ding Laoshi,” she adds about the co-founder of Shanghai Sunrises who ran the student selection process for 24 years. “Her experience, passion and integrity have always inspired me.”

While Lillian will be missed, she has trained a very capable team to carry on her work. Her volunteer spirit and dedication to helping provide an education to children in need will long be remembered.