ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a review of current government policies that promote local volunteerism in Hong Kong. It is largely based on recent interviews with selected representatives from the Social Welfare Department (SWD) of Hong Kong, and from Agency for Volunteer Service, an NGO in Hong Kong which was mainly created to promote volunteerism. Often, many people who volunteer for various organizations and in different roles in Hong Kong are unaware how their day-to-day social welfare practice and community participation like volunteering are shaped by broader local and international policies; and a lack of such understanding will deprive us of a deeper understanding of volunteer acts. Indeed, we come to realize that we do not work or live in a vacuum, detached from external political, environmental, and social forces, and neither do the individuals who volunteer their time and service to help vulnerable persons living in Hong Kong.
