Xuhui launches flagship volunteer booth at railway station
A new flagship volunteer service station has been unveiled at Shanghai South Railway Station, featuring a nursing room, first-aid, book sharing and bilingual services.
The station, named after China’s altruist icon Lei Feng (1940-1962), originated from a volunteer booth established during the World Expo 2010. Volunteers have served nearly 100,000 railway passengers and tourists since then.
However, the structure suffered severe weathering after eight years of operation, the equipment has been aging and the 5-square-meter space can hardly meet the demands of the large number of daily passengers, according to the Caohejing subdistrict in Xuhui District.
A renovation project launched this year expanded the booth into a 30-square-meter station. Its color and appearance has also been redesigned to fit the ambiance around the railway station. It now offers a ticket service, tourism information, labor services and mobile phone charging.
The volunteer station has had 14 station chiefs, who lead students from nearby middle schools and universities as well as white collar workers of nearby companies offering voluntary services. It also regularly hosts concerts, Spring Festival couplets writing and other cultural activities, officials said.
The railway station has also begun offering bilingual language services at three visitor counters to foreign passengers. Twenty newly recruited graduates from local universities are staffing the counters.