Event marks 10th anniversary of 'Happy Sharing, Love Connecting' program

Caregivers who support elderly people living alone pose for a photo at a healing camp hosted by SK Innovation at Walkerhill Hotel Arcadia in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, on Monday and Tuesday. [SK Innovation]
Caregivers who support elderly people living alone pose for a photo at a healing camp hosted by SK Innovation at Walkerhill Hotel Arcadia in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, on Monday and Tuesday. [SK Innovation]

SK Innovation held a two-day healing camp for caregivers titled "Caring for the Carers" at Walkerhill Hotel Arcadia in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, on Monday and Tuesday, bringing together 50 lifestyle support workers and social welfare workers who care for elderly people living alone, the company announced Tuesday.

The event marked the 10th anniversary of "Happy Sharing, Love Connecting," SK Innovation's volunteer program that pairs employees with elderly people living alone.

This year's camp was organized around three themes: caring for the mind, restoring body and spirit, and making new commitments. On the first day, participants attended a lecture on identifying personal strengths and reflecting on the value of caregiving work, followed by a backdrop painting and floral arrangement activity designed to support emotional recovery through art and horticulture. The second day featured a mind-body vitality session at SK's Haengbok Nalgae training center and a lecture by an outside expert on overcoming burnout and managing mental well-being.

SK Innovation has worked over the past decade to build a social safety net for vulnerable groups through its elderly care activities. From 2017 through this year, about 25,000 SK Innovation employee volunteers and roughly 10,000 lifestyle support workers — more than 36,000 participants in total — have provided economic, emotional and social support to around 33,000 elderly people living alone.

"Attention and support for the frontline workers who sustain these care activities are just as important for ensuring their long-term viability," an SK Innovation official said. "SK Innovation will continue to strengthen its protection system for elderly people living alone and build an ever more robust social safety net."


yeongdai@heraldcorp.com