Volunteers support the needy, in spirit and in action A new initiative has just begun at the Federation, supported generously by the Au Bak Ling Charity Trust. This service project organizes 240 young volunteers to go to ten Hong Kong districts, taking 7kg of rice every month to 2,000 families in need. These families have been nominated by other local NGOs. The project is part of Global Youth Service Day, and is one of hundreds that address critical problems in 86 different countries. The Federation is the lead agency for this international programme in Hong Kong. Most of the volunteers are secondary students and their work fills a need, while showing support and concern. Their message is one of continuing care for the needy in our prosperous city. This year-long service gives hope as well as material comfort. Contact Idy, tel 2169 0032, for more information about this caring campaign, called Rice for the Needy, Volunteers in Action. Events Sunday 9 May HKFYG Summer Youth Programme registration day Registration for summer activities coming up this year will take place at all HKFYG's Youth SPOTs from 9am onwards on Sunday 9 May. For full details please contact Katie, tel 3755 7076. Just published Prospects for the last cohort of Secondary 5 students doing HKCEE This youth poll (P195) was published by HKFYG on 15 April 2010. The survey of 1,551 Secondary Five students at 32 schools ran from 2-23 March 2010. They are the last cohort to do the HKCEE public examinations. Key findings include: 68.2% felt worried that they would not be competitive if they only completed S5. 60.3% said that on a scale of 1-10 (with 10 representing the greatest pressure) they felt pressure between 7 and 10. Only 43.8% reported pressure at this level in a 2008 survey and 44.5% in a 2009 survey. 50.3% expected to achieve 13 points or less in HKCEE result. [The minimum points needed for proceeding to Secondary 6 during Stage 1 and Stage 2 Admission phases is 14.] About 53% hoped to obtain a degree. Nearly 32% wanted a first degree and over 21% hoped to do a Masters or higher, if they had the requisite qualifications. 51.0% lacked confidence in their ability to make a suitable choice for further studies. A Chinese press release is at http://yrc.hkfyg.org.hk/chi/p195.html Call Sharon, tel 3755 7039, for more information.   Many thanks to partners Sony Science Exploration Workshops at HKFYG's CCST The HKFYG Centre for Creative Science and Technology (CCST) will soon be able to offer workshops for 800 senior primary and junior secondary students from low-income backgrounds as a result of funding from Sony Corporation of Hong Kong Ltd. The workshops will focus on astronomy and aerodynamics, firing the imagination and sparking creative talent. Twenty schools will be invited to nominate participants. Contact Elyse, tel 2561 6149 for more details. Community Chest Project Easy: counselling service for dyslexic students Project Easy is now underway, with Community Chest sponsorship. The project aims for early identification and treatment of dyslexic children and targets 1,000 students and parents annually, helping dyslexia sufferers cope with emotional, social and behavioral problems as well as improve their ability in word recognition, reading and comprehension. There is casework, training and self-help groups plus annual workshops for teachers and parents. Contact Siu-man, tel 3755 7066 for details. Education Bureau supports Hong Kong Jockey Club LEAD Centre Scratch Day at Cyberport On Saturday 22 May a Scratch Day will be organized at HKFYG's Jockey Club LEAD (Learning through Engineering, Art & Design) Centre. The event is courtesy of venue host, Cyberport, and has support from our partner, the Education Bureau. Scratch programmable software encourages students to create animated stories and video games. A seminar, workshops and exhibitions will take place on 3/F, Core E, Cyberport 3, 100 Cyberport Road, and all who attend will receive two 2009 LEAD publications, 'LEAD Creative Class - Moving towards Education in the 21st Century' and 'Easy LEAD Programming - Scratch Magical Forest.' Contact Joanna, tel 31060600, for more information about registration. News Child Development Fund Community Project Photo exhibition On Sunday 23 May 2010 at 11.15 am, a kick-off and a photo exhibition will take place on 1/F of Citywalk in Tsuen Wan, to celebrate HKFYG's Child Development Fund pioneer project, the Fly High With Us Young Savers Scheme. The exhibition is entitled 'Life Infinity Action' and guests will include representatives of the Prudential Hong Kong. There will also be a sharing session with Dr Tsang Fan-kwong, and Mr Cheng Ka-ho, winner of the 2009 award for Outstanding Young Persons, and World Wushu Championships winner in 1999, 2003, 2005 Contact Hui Po-kin, tel 2498 3333, for further details.