Shanghai Sunrise Highlights: At a glance

In case you are wondering what the Shanghai Sunrise community has been up to, here’s a roundup of the last quarter. Despite many challenges faced in 2022, we were able to provide students with developmental and skills-related programs.

Here are a few highlights that we would like to share:

Christmas Markets

Shanghai Sunrise manned a table at the Shanghai Expats Association (SEA) Christmas market at the Pullman Hotel on 14 November 2022, and participated in the Paulander Christmas Market at the end of December 2022. This time around, Shanghai Sunrise volunteers together with two Shanghai Sunrise-sponsored art students, created unique gifts such as coasters, puzzles and cushions that were sold at the markets.

Shanghai Sunrise Pairing Ceremony

Due to the pandemic, we had to brush up on our technical skills and conduct the 2022/2023 Pairing Ceremony online. Thinking out-of-the-box, volunteers created nine groups to introduce new students and sponsors to one another and play a few “Getting to know” games.

We had 42 sponsors and 103 students join the online Pairing Ceremony. Once again, we are grateful to our generous sponsors. Shanghai Sunrise has 18 new individual sponsors who are sponsoring 20 students. In addition, corporate sponsors Henkel and Goodman Group have each added 10 students to their sponsorship programs.

Online English Chat

Two Christmas workshops were held in December 2022 as part of the Shanghai Sunrise online English Chat initiative. The workshops are designed to help students improve their English listening, reading and speaking skills while also familiarizing them with western culture. Ten students joined the workshops, and they all seemed to enjoy learning about the traditions and customs of Christmas. Students asked many questions and shared their own experiences of celebrating Christmas.

During the first session, the students were asked to watch and listen to a short clip from the first Harry Potter movie and answer questions related to the movie clip. The second session tested the students’ reading skills when they were asked to read a short article about the popular Christmas movie, Elf. All the students fully participated and expressed that they learned a lot from the classes.

Clothing donations

Shanghai Sunrise recently received a donation of gently used and new clothing. Items including warm clothing, backpacks and shoes were packed, and 10 students received these gifts.

Through the due diligence and home visit program, Shanghai Sunrise volunteers can identify students who may need such items. Shanghai Sunrise volunteers are continuously looking for ways to improve the livelihoods of underprivileged youth in and around Shanghai.

Sponsor Collaboration: Career Day

To provide students with career advice and a professional development opportunity, Shanghai Sunrise collaborated with Goodman Group, a leading real estate company, and Hays, a business specializing in recruiting talent worldwide, to host a Career Day event.

On 4 February 2023, 37 students participated in our Career Day event. The day started with an exhilarating welcoming speech from Benson Zhao, Shanghai Sunrise Board member, and Grace Hang from the Goodman Group. Following the icebreaker, Goodman representatives elaborated on the key roles within a business function. These include finance, legal, marketing, human resources and more. Thereafter, Hays presented a curriculum vitae (CV) workshop. Students were divided into five groups to receive customized interview tips and professional career advice.

“By attending the Career Day, I've learnt basic interview etiquette and will now update my professional Resumé,” explained Fei Xiaoyu a Shanghai Sunrise student.

Laptop ceremony: Do Good, Be Good Tech Scholarship

You will recall that the Goodman Group launched their Do Good, Be Good Tech Scholarship towards the end of 2022. Applications were open to all Shanghai Sunrise students. Students were encouraged to explain how having a new laptop will alleviate some of the challenges they are facing with their studies.

A highlight of Career Day was announcing the recipients of the Do Good, Be Good Tech Scholarship and awarding 20 students with new laptops. Fei Xiaoyu was delighted to receive one of these laptops. “Now that I have a laptop, I cannot wait to install software to assist with my video making and editing skills,” said Fei.

What a rewarding day! As students navigate through this important phase of their student lives, they can implement the knowledge and skills learnt, to secure fulfilling job opportunities.

With 2023 well underway, we are proud of what we have achieved in 2022 and look forward to what the rest of this year has in store for our Shanghai Sunrise community. We want to express our sincere gratitude to all our sponsors, volunteers and partners for your ongoing support and dedication.

Here’s to new challenges, growing and learning in 2023!