Everyone in the Pao School family bears the mission of passing down the values of compassion, integrity, and balance to each and every student. If you start with small things, like exercising and caring for others, you will keep surpassing your goals and grow to become the person you want to be in the end.
— Philip Sohmen
Executive Deputy Chairman
The Social Action Fund
Since its establishment, Pao School has always strived towards the mission of building a school today for tomorrow's China. Therefore, character education and giving back to society have always been integrated into students’ day-to-day education. Pao School believes that it is important for students to achieve academic excellence, adhere to the school’s core values of compassion, integrity and balance, use practical actions to inspire those around them to act generously, and do their utmost to be socially responsible. Developing these character traits will serve students well throughout their lives.
On the school’s 15th anniversary, the Social Action Fund was launched with the aim of encouraging Pao School students to carry out charity and public welfare projects. With the fund, the Shanghai YK Pao School Education Development Foundation hopes that students can use their learning and talents to make positive contributions to society. At the same time, these experiences allow the students to have new experiences at the same time as expanding their knowledge and understanding of the world.
Yuzhiyue Charity Ethnic Concert
The Social Action Fund is open to all Pao School students, with a focus on non-profit charitable public welfare projects. The projects cover a variety of different areas, including educational equity, ageing society, environmental protection, the health of minors, and support for groups with disabilities. Since the project was launched, it has received an enthusiastic response from the students. After a careful review, the approval committee funded more than 10 projects, such as Yisha Academy, which focuses on educational equity; the Yuzhiyue Charity Ethnic Concert, which is dedicated to promoting the culture of ethnic minorities; Be Your Eye, which supports the physically and mentally disabled; and, Swim for Love, which promotes the physical and mental health of young people.
Wujie Project used the Social Action Fund to set up a "reading corner" for the children of Liuhuang School in Dabashan in Sichuan Province
Treasure Home
This year, the Primary School and the PTA worked with the Wan Ai Charity Fund to support a non-profit organisation called the Treasure Home. Treasure Home aims to create a safe space for disadvantaged migrant children aged 1-12 by providing them with long-term, continuous, and diverse after-school services.
Student Council members helped lead small groups to facilitate the children in class
In order to support the project, Pao School students raised funds by taking part in a three-week Read-a-thon. For this, the students gathered donations based on how much they were able to read during the challenge. In addition, the PTA hosted a Spring Fair, which was attended by more than 1,200 members of the Pao School community. Portions of the fund raised by the event will be donated to Treasure Home, with the rest being donated toward the Rainbow Slides project to kindergartens located in the mountainous region of Sichuan.
the 2023 Spring Fair
the Rainbow Slides project in Sichuan.
In the meanwhile, the Year 9s took part in a service-learning day trip, giving them the chance to work collaboratively for the benefit of their local community. During the day, the students teamed up with migrant students from various communities to raise environmental awareness for Earth Day – allowing them to build friendships and understand more about the challenges underserved communities in Shanghai face. In order to meet different students' interests, there were a variety of activities related to various social issues on offer, including a day in the forest focused on environmental protection; the creation of art pieces using recycled trash; scientific experiments on pollution, which included brainstorming solutions to the problem; activities surrounding recycling and cleaning up the community; and, finally, building a hanging garden to serve the migrant community.
Sharing for public welfare
Pao School always strives to follow the philosophy of “reduce, reuse, recycle”. As part of this, the school donates unused furniture and books to schools in need every year during the summer vacation. For example, in the past, the school has participated in a project for impoverished primary schools in Kashgar, Xinjiang, which was organised by Meilong Town, Minhang District. In addition, the school has cooperated with Jiangchuan Street, Minhang District, to participate in the project of aiding poverty-stricken schools in Baoshan, Yunnan.
Donations were loaded into trucks at Songjiang Campus and sent to Yunnan
This year, in coordination with the Wuliqiao sub-district of Huangpu, Pao School made donations to schools in Lancang, Yunnan. Under coordination by Pao School’s purchasing team, three schools in Shanghai including Pao School, gave more than 390 sets of classroom desks and chairs, 147 sets of office furniture, 11 printers, and 69 computers to twelve schools across Lancang.
These donations are a representation of Shanghai’s support for the development of Lancang County. The donation was very much appreciated by the locals, who said that despite the distance, the love of Shanghai doesn’t feel far away.
