Around the Double Ninth Festival, which fell on Oct 28 this year, 39 volunteer groups visited nearly 100 empty nesters in Qingdao, Shandong province, as part of a campaign aimed at keeping company of empty nesters as often as possible. 

The visiting volunteers have been paired with the empty nesters and have visited them regularly before the Double Ninth Festival this year. They brought laughter and happiness to the senior citizens who live alone without their children checking up on them regularly. 

Local news outlet Qingdao Daily and its online portal Dailyqd.com initiated the campaign in 2013, together with the office for senior citizens affairs in Qingdao. 

All together, the program that offers care and companion to empty nesters has gathered 20,000 volunteers in 178 volunteer groups. More than 200 thematic activities were organized including visiting empty nesters at their homes and inviting them to cruise tours to take in scenic views of Qingdao. 

209 volunteer centers were set up in urban and rural communities and at selected enterprises and institutions. A hotline was established to take advantage of modern information technology to coordinate empty nesters’ needs for companion and volunteers’ services. As of late, 12,000 empty nesters in Qingdao have enjoyed the companion services. 

The volunteer works under this program have been regulated and systemized to a professional level, and the program has been recognized nationally.