This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Church Welfare Program. Today, that program has expanded to all corners of the globe and assists people of all faiths.
Speaking at the April 2011 General Conference, President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency, invited members worldwide to participate in a day of service to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Church Welfare Program. Church members in Hong Kong enthusiastically organized and participated in various service projects in November and December this year to celebrate the satisfaction and the joy of serving others.
- Members of China Hong Kong Stake participated in charitable walkathon
- Members help assembling hygiene kits
- Members help move old furniture
- Young kids helping garden work
- Members of Hong Kong China District involved in service project with Crossroads
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
Wearing the yellow “Helping Hands” vests, members of the Hong Kong China Stake participated in a walkathon to help raise money for food and materials for distribution to needy children. United in a good cause, with one heart and one mind, participants, including young and old and those who came as families, rejoiced in this meaningful activity.
The event organized by Hong Kong China Kowloon Stake and held in the Kowloon Tong meetinghouse offered a special day for about a hundred school students and their parents from low income families. Church members set up and decorated the open space and car park area of the Kowloon Tong meetinghouse with game booths and snack kiosks. The activity was so well received that President Peter Siu Fai Lee of the Hong Kong China Kowloon Stake said he would like November of each year to include service. “It is our desire to work with different organizations to organize more service activities for the needy of the community. This is the gospel in action,” said President Lee.
Members of the Hong Kong China District chose to partner with Crossroads, a charitable NGO, in providing and assembling hygiene kits for distribution to the needy. Experiential simulations where people experience what it is like to be homeless, poor, or a refugee, were offered to Church members who participated in this service activity.
“The opportunity to experience poverty from the viewpoint of a third world family was life-changing. This experience provided a wonderful context for our work of assembling hygiene kits for disaster victims. Our day of service has caused me to think deeply how we can better assist Heavenly Father’s children,” said President David Berrett of Hong Kong China District.
Other service projects included visits to old people by members of Hong Kong Tolo Harbour Stake as arranged by Family Welfare Organization in several areas in Hong Kong, and a drive by Hong Kong New Territories Stake to collect food from members for donation to the food bank.
The commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Church Welfare Program provided Church leaders and members in Hong Kong service opportunities and perspectives on how we can better serve the needy. “Though Hong Kong is considered to be a more affluent city and is void of any serious natural disasters, it abounds with lots of opportunities for serving others, particularly those in need,” said Elder Sam Wong, Area Seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hong Kong.