Come Together

This is a series introducing associations and clubs that expats can get involved in. This week, Expat Living spoke to Chris Green of Busan Volunteer. ― Ed.

● Name of organization: Busan Volunteer.

● Locations: Busan and South Gyeongsang province area, we also team up with Daegu Volunteer for events.

● Number of members: Close to 900 Facebook friends, although of course it is hard to keep track who is still in Busan or not. There are about 20 that volunteer regularly either at the women’s shelter, orphanages or making events.

● Started: July 2010.

Who is it for? It is a group of volunteers that help those in need throughout the city of Busan.

Are there any membership fees? No.

What goes on? Weekly volunteers teach English, yoga and music. We make monthly visits to four orphanages, wherein we have activities for the children such as arts and crafts and playing sports. Bi-monthly beach clean-up, weekly soup kitchen to feed homeless people, habitat for humanity repairing houses in Pohang, as well as several fundraisers for organizations we help including food and toiletries drives for the women’s shelters, toy drives for the orphanages at Christmas, and other events to help raise awareness about what is going on in Busan.

Plans for the future? Increase the number of locations for volunteers, and create new events that benefit those in need in Busan.

How to join: E-mail abusanvolunteer@gmail.com or join busanvolunteer on Facebook, then find a volunteering avenue that suits you and join in.

What is the highlight of the year? There are many, but the biggest event last year was the orphanage Christmas extravaganza. We raised 1.3 million won in donations and received over 200 toys to distribute to orphans. There were two orphanages involved, Saebit and Heerak, and each orphanage had approximately 50 volunteers that played with the children. Both locations had a small play, games and activities, and a gift giveaway. All proceeds went to the children and orphanages.