The mental and emotional well-being of Hong Kong youth have been in crisis, even before the pandemic. Teens report feeling stressed with academic pressure and lack of agency. Youth Empowered puts 30 selected high school students in the driver’s seat to learn about Hong Kong’s social needs, engage with nonprofit leaders and develop and run service activities that engage hundreds of youth participants—from supporting the elderly to educating children and refugees, to rescuing discarded food and supporting plastic reduction efforts. HandsOn saw a 300% increase in youth volunteering rates following the launch of this change-making program.

Our 2021-22 cohort of student leaders have developed and launched a series of 6 change-making programs for other teen volunteers on the HandsOn calendar 

How do the our Youth Empowered student leaders work with the HandsOn team?

• Learn about Hong Kong's evolving social needs and how volunteers can make a difference
• Participate in workshops to help shape 6 community service programs-addressing issues important to youth
• Work in teams with students from different schools to lead service activities throughout the year
• Act as ambassadors for HandsOn Hong Kong

 

Watch highlights from Youth Empowered 2020-21
              

How can other students get involved?

• YOUTH EMPOWERED enables the creation of new service activities that are ideal for youth volunteers
• 2022 programs will support six non-profit organizations:Christian Action, HKLSS Harmony Garden Lutheran Centre for the Elderly, Plastic Free Seas, Feeding Hong Kong, Help for Domestic Workers, & HKLSS Martha Boss Lutheran Community Centre
• Interested students should check out the HandsOn calendar for youth opportunities and sign up!
 

YOUTH EMPOWERED student leader: “As part of Youth Empowered, we’re in charge of starting our own volunteering programs... Every student here came with a passion to serve, and when you’re working with a group of people who are all working towards a common goal, you learn so much from the people around you. I’m proud of my team for ensuring the success of our first event (a beach clean-up in Cheung Chau!) as well as the other teams for what they’ve accomplished as well. I’m inspired by the passion that these students have and their drive for tackling the issues that we see around us, and it is my hope that we share this passion with the larger Hong Kong youth community as well. I’m endlessly grateful for everyone that made this happen and for believing in a group of students. To the entire team at HandsOn, thank you for giving us the opportunity to show everyone that you’re never too young to make a difference.”