Volunteer Activities Operated Together by Yeongdeungpo Residents and Public Officials

Yeongdeungpo-gu Operates Public-Private Joint Volunteer Group ‘Volunteer Day’ on the First Saturday of Every Month

After the ‘Volunteer Day’ Proclamation Ceremony on February 11, the District Mayor Joined in Cleaning Storm Drains

Monthly Volunteer Activities Planned Including Storm Drain Cleaning, Plogging, Kimchi-Making Volunteer Work, and More

Choi Ho-gwon, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo District, is attaching stickers prohibiting illegal dumping around Damppegongcho after cleaning rainwater drains in the Dangsan-dong area following the Volunteer Day proclamation ceremony on the 11th.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yeongdeungpo-gu (District Mayor Choi Ho-kwon) announced that on the morning of the 11th, it held a ‘Volunteer Day’ proclamation ceremony at Yeongdeungpo Art Hall, followed by storm drain cleaning and plogging activities.

The proclamation ceremony was organized to establish a public-private joint volunteer group with the district mayor and to carry out consistent volunteer work for marginalized groups and the local community on the first Saturday of every month.

The ceremony was attended by Choi Ho-kwon, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, the head of Yeongdeungpo-gu Volunteer Center, members of the public-private joint volunteer group, representatives of social organizations, and professional groups.

Volunteer Day is a day when the public-private joint volunteer group, composed of district office executives and volunteers, conducts various volunteer activities for the local community on the first Saturday of every month. The group not only volunteers but also continues to show sustained interest and care for marginalized neighbors.

Going forward, the public-private joint volunteer group plans to carry out various volunteer activities such as ▲cleaning school commuting routes at the start of the semester ▲cleaning cigarette butts near residential areas ▲cleaning storm drains in preparation for the rainy season ▲cultural exchanges for multicultural families ▲kimchi-making activities, among others.

After the proclamation ceremony, the district mayor and the public-private joint volunteer group cleaned areas near residential neighborhoods with many cigarette butt complaints. They also conducted storm drain purification activities filled with fallen leaves and trash to prevent damage caused by heavy summer rains.

Yeongdeungpo-gu has been operating a volunteer center since 1997 to promote volunteerism and strengthen public-private network cooperation. A total of about 90,000 volunteers engage in volunteer awareness education, food sharing for marginalized groups, home repair volunteer work, and more. Especially last year, they focused on wallpapering and flooring replacement for low-income households affected by flooding.

Choi Ho-kwon, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, said, “I am grateful to the residents for coming together and participating to create a warm Yeongdeungpo. We will become a strong support for marginalized neighbors through continuous monthly volunteer work, not just short-term volunteering.”

He added, “Through the Volunteer Day proclamation ceremony, we will spread a culture of volunteering in the community and create a warm Yeongdeungpo that walks alongside neighbors.”

Kim Tae-woo, Mayor of Gangseo-gu, Appointed Vice Chairman of UNICEF Child-Friendly Cities Local Government Council

Leading the Creation of Child-Friendly Cities in Cooperation with 100 Member Cities

Expanding Our Neighborhood Care Centers, Establishing Kids Cafes, Efforts to Prevent Child Abuse

Kim Tae-woo, Mayor of Gangseo-gu, Seoul, was appointed Vice Chairman of the UNICEF Child-Friendly Cities Local Government Council in 2023.

The UNICEF Child-Friendly Cities Local Government Council was launched in 2015 with the goal of creating child-friendly cities through cooperation among local governments. Currently, 100 local governments participate as member cities. Gangseo-gu, which has been involved since the launch, is actively engaged.

Kim Tae-woo, a father of two children aged 11 and 8, emphasized from a parent's perspective that “a happy child means a happy family” and declared in his inaugural speech that he would create “Gangseo, a great place to raise children where children's laughter never stops.”

Gangseo-gu is working on policies related to making the district child-friendly, such as expanding ‘Our Neighborhood Care Centers’ to solve after-school elementary care issues, establishing ‘Kids Cafes’ where children can always play regardless of season or fine dust, and building a ‘One-Stop Comprehensive Support Space for Children and Adolescents’ to support balanced child development.

Additionally, plans include installing additional shelters for abused children and strengthening ‘a tightly knit care system’ through early detection and prevention activities for child abuse.

Gangseo-gu was first certified as a child-friendly city by the UNICEF Korea Committee in December 2017 and, as a result of various projects to promote children's rights, received ‘advanced certification’ last November.

Mayor Kim Tae-woo said, “I feel great joy and an immense sense of responsibility upon being appointed Vice Chairman of the council. I will actively strive to realize a society where children's rights are respected and children are happy through active exchange and cooperation with member cities.”

Gwanak-gu’s ‘Our Neighborhood Care Group’ Active in Preventing Solitary Deaths

70 ‘Our Neighborhood Care Group’ Members Familiar with Local Conditions...Checking on At-Risk Households and Supporting Emotional Activities

Seonghyeon-dong and Haengun-dong Also Implement Ministry of Health and Welfare Pilot Project for ‘Social Network Formation’

“Grandmother, are you feeling unwell?” “I just have no appetite and no strength!” As soon as the ‘Our Neighborhood Care Group’ member in Gwanak-gu hung up the phone, they made porridge and visited a single elderly resident’s home in Inheon-dong, Gwanak-gu. The elderly resident, who had no appetite, soon smiled brightly and expressed gratitude.

Also, a member of the ‘Our Neighborhood Care Group’ discovered that a single elderly resident living in Namhyeon-dong had suffered a fractured arm due to an accident in the bathroom and was facing physical and daily life difficulties. They connected the resident with the Care SOS project and the Senior Welfare Center, linking public and private resources to help restore daily life.

‘Our Neighborhood Care Group’ refers to members who provide care services by visiting or calling once a week to households at high risk of solitary death, such as socially isolated or vulnerable groups.

Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) formed the Our Neighborhood Care Group with 70 residents who are well acquainted with local conditions and interested in volunteering to manage and support households at risk of solitary death.

The group regularly checks on the well-being of elderly living alone, provides necessary welfare services, and promptly informs welfare planners at local community centers in case of emergencies, closely monitoring the elderly.

Last year, the Our Neighborhood Care Group conducted 5,091 visits and 34,210 phone check-ins for 2,879 households at risk of solitary death and vulnerable groups. They also linked a total of 8,375 public and private welfare services to households in need, playing a significant role in preventing solitary deaths.

Meanwhile, in Seonghyeon-dong and Haengun-dong, Gwanak-gu is promoting the Ministry of Health and Welfare pilot project ‘Social Network Formation’ in cooperation with the Our Neighborhood Care Group and social welfare centers. Programs tailored to each neighborhood’s characteristics, such as cooking and experiential learning, help restore social networks for households at risk of solitary death.

Additionally, the district actively pursues various solitary death prevention projects such as the ‘Public-Private Cooperation Project for Solitary Death Prevention in Single-Person Households (Neighbor Watchers),’ ‘Happy Meal Sharing for Middle-aged and Older Single-Person Households,’ and information and communication technology-based services like ‘IoT Smart Plugs’ and ‘AI Well-being Check Services.’

Park Jun-hee, Mayor of Gwanak-gu, said, “This year, we started care group activities in January and will monitor households at risk of solitary death throughout the year to prevent welfare blind spots. We will continue to actively watch over neighbors’ safety and do our best to build a tightly knit welfare system where no one is left isolated.”