The community is the cell of the city, the basic unit of social governance, and the most direct embodiment of the urban temperature, 26°C is the most comfortable temperature perceived by the human body, and it is also the most ideal living temperature of the community. Community youth workers warm the community with a little bit of light, and strive to create the most livable and safe living environment for residents.
26°C, the most comfortable temperature
Wearing a brightly colored work vest, running through various community activity sites, although trivial matters, always smiling, this is people's first impression of the role of "social worker". There is a romantic saying about the definition of social worker: a social worker is a person who writes poetry for society. However, in reality, social workers are often faced with trivial matters, and need to deal with and solve the "big and small problems" of residents in every detail.
My interviewee has neat short hair, wears glasses, smiles crooked eyes under the lenses, and has a soft voice that gives a light-hearted feel. Her name is Qian Ying, and she is a young social worker in the Greater Shanghai International Garden Community in Qibao Town. She is not only a mother of two children, but also a person who writes poetry for society.
Qian Ying won the first prize of the 3rd Shanghai Youth Skills Competition of the "Struggle Cup" for her excellent community governance ability
Before coming to "Big Garden" to become a "gardener", Qian Ying worked in the media, worked as a reporter, wrote interviews, and was also the leader of a hospice public welfare project. Later, she became a stay-at-home mother, and her life was child-centered day after day, which also made her lose her way for a while. "I want to find myself, realize my self-worth, and gain a sense of accomplishment in my career path", in order to balance family and career, Qian Ying worked as a social worker at the doorstep of her home.
The community has a large area, a large number of residents and a complex population structure, including nearly 1,200 young residents and more than 2,600 elderly people over 60 years old. When she first started working, Qian Ying wanted to "do everything", but in the face of such a large number of service people and tedious work content, she was always worried that she would not do enough and not be good enough. In order to take into account the needs of all ages, she has taken a step by step approach, first focusing on the "old and young" ends of the community work.
A bowl of noodles, a love
On the eve of the Chung Yeung Festival, an event planning about respecting and caring for the elderly was hotly discussed in the conference room of the Greater Shanghai International Garden Community. Every year, the Qibao town government will send Chongyang noodles to the elderly over 70 years old in the community, and in previous years, this work was completed by the social workers, property and building team leaders in the community. "After we discussed, we found that the old people not only like to be lively, but also like children, so why not let parents bring their children to the door to deliver longevity noodles?" This idea was quickly unanimously endorsed by colleagues. To this end, Qian Ying decided to organize a neighborhood friendly activity for parents and children to send longevity noodles.
Qian Ying asked the residents in the community group: Are you willing to take your children to send Chongyang noodles to the elderly in the community? Unexpectedly, the parents responded to the call, and once the registration notice was issued, it was quickly "killed" by 30 groups of families. Qian Ying and her colleagues worked non-stop to prepare, from personnel allocation to distribution area division, and made a list of tasks.
On the day of the Chung Yeung Festival, the sun shines through the clouds and sprinkles every corner of the community, and the breeze blows lightly, bringing a faint fragrance of osmanthus flowers, and the whole community is immersed in a warm atmosphere. The parent-child family received longevity noodles at the neighborhood committee, walked through the alleys, bypassed the garden, and started a friendly activity of parent-child longevity noodles. When the old people opened the door and saw the parents and children, the excitement and surprise were overflowing, they warmly greeted everyone into the house, while chatting with the volunteers, while holding the children's hands, and couldn't stop saying: "How old is the child, it looks similar to my grandson, the girl is really good......" Before leaving, they had to stuff snacks into the child's arms.
Qian Ying's 8-year-old daughter also "took the initiative to invite Ying" to participate, "I was very impressed to send longevity noodles to an elderly person who lived alone, she took my daughter to her study, talked endlessly about the Chinese paintings she created, and gave her the paintings." The old man sighed: "Thank you, you are so kind, you still remember us old people." On the way home, Qian Ying's daughter told her that next year, she would like to continue to send longevity noodles.
Qian Ying's daughter also participated in the team to send Chongyang noodles
A small change can reap the hearts of the people, depending on whether the heart is truly pretending to be a community. Qian Ying said: "The elderly and children can benefit from the event, which is the original intention of our organization, and this is meaningful." ”
Big Shanghai, small master
In this 330,000-square-metre area, there are 3,496 households and only 10 young social workers. Thanks to her previous work experience in dealing with different groups of people, Qian Ying is also very aware of the difficulties of grassroots community governance. "To solve the various problems of the community, it is not enough to rely on the power of adults, but it is equally important for young people to think and think, and if they can participate in community governance, they can also become the 'little masters' of the community."
A large garden "Youth Council" activity project was in full swing, through the public account, community bulletin board and other ways to carry out extensive recruitment, soon, a group of energetic, thoughtful teenagers "little masters" gathered together. Everyone sat around the conference room and expressed their opinions: some suggested replacing the old children's play facilities in the community to avoid potential safety hazards; Some suggested that some interest groups for teenagers could be organized, so that they could have some sustenance in their spare time...... Each suggestion has received an enthusiastic response from everyone. "The young social workers have learned a lot of valuable lessons from the old social workers, and the young people have truly experienced the feeling of 'being the master of the house' through deliberations and voting."
At the end of last year, the Greater Shanghai Residential Area launched the 2024 Party Organization Service Mass Project Collection, and Qian Ying visited Mr. Wang, a resident of the community and enthusiastic about community affairs, to discuss the "Greater Shanghai Little Master" brand project. Qian Ying believes that the community is not only a place to live, but also a harbor of emotions and a melting pot of culture, so she proposed to design activities around multiple sub-brands such as "Little Master of Public Welfare", "Little Master of Environmental Protection" and "Little Master of Culture" to enhance the sense of belonging and responsibility of young people to the community. The proposal was unanimously approved at the meeting of party members in the residential area.
Among them, the "little cultural master" took the lead and "became an instant hit". Qian Ying organized a team of young social workers to recruit enthusiastic storytellers among the residents, including not only parents but also teenage siblings, to introduce life education into the community. Under the guidance of expert teachers, everyone started from how to select picture books, recruited actors, rehearsed plays, executed activities, and closed case analysis, forming a complete set of "project-based learning" process. Nowadays, the "Little Cultural Master" has gradually become a self-governance project for residents. Residents have given full play to their strengths and advantages, actively participated in the project, discussed activity plans, shared stories, exchanged experiences, and contributed to the cultural construction of the community.
Residents of the Greater Shanghai International Garden Community watched the cultural masters perform picture book plays
Now, the youth community brand of "Big Shanghai Little Master" has gradually "branched out" and has become a beautiful business card of the Greater Shanghai International Garden Community. It is not only a link that connects the emotions of residents, but also a carrier of community culture. Under the leadership of Qian Ying, the young social workers continue to water the "big garden" with enthusiasm and creativity, and the community "contends" and a hundred flowers bloom.
The big garden grows little stars
"The community is the cell of the city, the basic unit of social governance, and the most direct embodiment of the urban temperature, 26°C is the most comfortable temperature perceived by the human body, and it is also the most ideal living temperature for the community. Community youth workers warm the community with a little bit of light, and strive to create the most livable and safe living environment for residents. In May this year, Qian Ying stood on the stage as a representative of young social workers to deliver a speech in the theme activity of "Youth Out of the Ranks, Standing Up and Responsible" - Minhang District to commemorate the 105th anniversary of the May Fourth Movement and Minhang Youth Post Meritorious Activities, and the "26°C" she said was the key word of Minhang Youth Social Workers.
During the summer vacation of 2023, more than a dozen children from the Greater Shanghai International Garden Community gathered together, holding paintbrushes, incarnated as "little painters", and participated in a public welfare painting theme activity. Their little hands waved across the gray wall, splashing their creativity, and the otherwise empty wall was filled with children's whimsical creations: flowers growing on the wall, lifelike animals, wonderful space ...... Colorful colors lit up a corner of the community, and residents passing by couldn't help but stop to look at the world through the eyes of the children, and smile, saying that they were "warm".
Children are concentrating on decorating the large garden community with paintbrushes
Qian Ying said that the "Children's Painting Garden" welfare activity was planned by social workers and young friends in the community for the young volunteers in the community, and she also affectionately called the young partners the "think tank" of the community. It turns out that the big garden often organizes youth salons, and strives to tap out talented and talented people in the community.
During the May Fourth Youth Day in 2023, a salon activity called "Stars Attract, Liaoyuan Community" explored a new path for community governance. This event also recruited 18 new youth "think tank stars" for the community.
"I firmly believe that only with a sense of giving can there be a sense of gain, and only with attraction can there be centripetal force." Through a series of "golden" community activities, it can stimulate the subjectivity and sense of belonging of community residents, and at the same time, it can also radiate and influence more people around them, so that they can actively join the community governance team and constantly glow with new vitality.
"Since the first youth activity, my young friends and I have planted little stars in the big garden, and we have a common wish: in a few years, when the little stars grow into shining stars, we can recall the time in the big garden, with a smile on our faces and strength in our hearts." Qian Ying said with a smile.
Source: Minhang Today