Jungnang-gu is working to spread a culture of community giving through a range of volunteer activities in which residents share their skills and goodwill with neighbors.
To broaden opportunities for volunteer participation and promote talent-sharing, the district is running a training program for specialist hand-knitting volunteers.
The program runs every Tuesday through Sept. 22, for a total of six sessions, with 30 residents selected through advance recruitment taking part.
Participants learn step by step — from the basics of hand-knitting through hands-on practice making a variety of items — building their capacity to contribute their skills as volunteers. After completing the course, they will serve as specialist hand-knitting volunteers, donating handmade works to the community and sharing what they have learned with neighbors.
Alongside this, the Myeongmok 3·8-dong Volunteer Camp held a "Volunteering by Your Side" activity at the Myeongmok 3·8-dong community center on Tuesday, where participants made companion plants together with elderly residents and delivered care packages.
Rather than simply handing over goods, the activity was designed so that residents could make the companion plants themselves while sharing conversation, deepening communication among participants and strengthening bonds between neighbors. The Myeongmok 3·8-dong Volunteer Camp continues to pursue a wide range of giving and volunteer activities grounded in the voluntary participation of local residents.
The district is training volunteers across a variety of fields so that residents' hands-on learning and participation can translate into community giving, with residents sharing their talents and time through self-motivated volunteer work. Initiatives including Volunteer Day events, agricultural support activities, and training for new and specialist volunteers have driven results: last year's volunteer participation reached 12,085 people, a 44.7 percent increase from the previous year.
"I am grateful to the volunteers across our district who share their talents and warm hearts with their neighbors," Jungnang-gu District Mayor Ryu Gyeong-gi said. "We will continue to support a wide range of volunteer activities that allow residents to connect with one another and turn what they have learned into acts of giving, building a warmer Jungnang."
seouldream01@heraldcorp.com
