Two weekends in a row, we have taken the girls for their hands on volunteering experiences to let the 4 and 6 years old get a taste of helping those who are in need.
Last weekend we went to Soap Cycling to volunteer ourselves from 10:30-12:30 where we had to crave out the dirty portions of the used soaps collected from different hotels in town. The “clean” upcycled soaps will then be delivered and shipped oversea to those in need.
During the time we were at Soap Cycling, my two girls enjoyed the great aroma from the soap while diligently craved out the dirty portions of the used soaps. Although my younger one could not last too long, she enjoyed walking around and doing quality control check for our deliverables to make sure they are all “clean”.
On the other hand, my six year old who’s an introvert and highly sensitive kid found it very rewarding to be able to achieve something on her own without being much disturbance by her sister.
We took the opportunity to examine the big pile of used soaps in the box and started educating the girls to be mindful about opening a new pack of soap whenever we stay at a hotel in the future.
This weekend, we were out to Sam Pak Wan beach of Discovery Bay to join the Plastic Free Seas Community Beach Cleanup. From Sunny Bay, we took the bus arriving the Discovery Bay North Plaza and walked for 5 minutes to walk to arrive this unattended beach.
There were already a group of volunteers there upon our arrival – rolling up their sleeves and getting ready to clean. We were assigned to 3-4 of us in a team with one recycled bag or black garbage bag.
We thought we were there to help clean up the beach, indeed we were there to learn. There is a story in every piece of junk we collect at the beach. We took this opportunity to do a treasure hunting and go through with the girls to guess where each of these pieces come from.
Something about the author:
A marketer, an entrepreneur, an advocate and a mother, Lena has a strong calling to push forward workplace diversity and flexibility. She believes there should be no boundary to how works should be done. She was a finance professional who left behind her decent livings and devoted herself to the family when her first daughter was born. She has eventually landed herself in her own marketing consultancy for small enterprises and also dedicated herself in founding Hong Kong Momtrepreneurs – a non profit organization in Hong Kong supporting moms and families in their entrepreneurial journey. Lena also appreciates the impacts from social innovations and further pursues her works in promoting UNSDGs.
In her leisure time, Lena enjoys sipping a glass of wine or coffee with friends and she contributes herself as Advisor and Trainer at Junior Chamber International and as Program Chair in HK Association of Business and Professional Women.