"What matters most is that children can engage in interactions and find happiness in playing games. During the process, they keep trying and studying, showcase personal skills, and give each other support and encouragement," Han Zipeng, a freshman at Hebei Normal University in Shijiazhuang, the capital of North China's Hebei Province, wrote in his diary after he organized a badminton competition for four boys in his village in the run-up to the Spring Festival, also known as traditional Chinese Lunar New Year.

During the past winter vacation, Han built close friendships with the boys and he enjoyed the experience of imparting knowledge and social skills to minors at his hometown.

What brought them together was a charitable program, titled Guarding Childhood: Growing up Together. It was launched by the China Children and Teenagers' Fund (CCTF) in 2019 and it is designed to recruit college students as volunteers to spend summer and/or winter vacations with children whose parents work away from home and children in difficult circumstances in their hometown and encourage them to send love and caring to these children.

So far, over 4,000 college students have taken part in the program and offered volunteer services to about 20,000 such children from 28 provincial regions.

During this year's winter vacation, 50 college students at Hebei Normal University have signed up for the program. 

Han is the head of a four-person volunteer services team. All members come from the same village and have been familiar with each other since their middle or high school years.

Although they are now studying at different universities, it is still their common aspiration to get involved in volunteer services during the winter vacation.

Han said that many young people at the village have left their hometown to find jobs in far-off cities and had no choice but to ask their elderly parents to help them take care of children at home, adding that he had a similar experience as a child. Therefore, he wanted to do something meaningful for local children via the CCTF's charitable project.

During their visit to Guangming Primary School at Hanjiazhuang Village in Mancheng District of Baoding from January 25 to 29, Han and his teammates gifted 20 students special caring, interesting games and well-arranged presents from the CCTF.

Zhang Ming is a member of five-person volunteer services team from Hebei Normal University's Department of Elementary Education.

When visiting Beichen Primary School in Zhengding County of Shijiazhuang from January 22 to 27, Zhang and other members of the team came up with a special plan of action in a drive to impart knowledge to its first-grade students, foster their comprehensive competence and expand personal interest.

Zhang introduced that it is a tradition to engage in volunteer services in the department of elementary education and that all people in the volunteer services team are enthusiastic about getting involved in charitable activities using personal knowledge and services to help children grow up healthy.

Liu Yingche, a teammate with Zhang, said the thought of bringing warmth and joy to children through volunteer services made her full of energy, though the weather was very cold. 

During their stay there, Liu and other volunteers imparted to local students gesture dances, read illustrated stories, and showed them how to make paper-cutting crafts and traditional Chinese lanterns. 

A child writes best wishes and expectations on self-made paper plane. [CCTF]

Children wrote their best wishes and expectations on self-made paper planes before the conclusion of the special charitable program.

After the end of the week-long charitable program, the two teams of college student volunteers from Hebei Normal University have grasped a deep understanding of the participation in charitable activities, forged deep friendship with rural children, and create WeChat groups to continue their friendships. 

Liu said that it was the first time for her to teach so many children in a class and that it was their bright smile and innocent eyes that warmed up her heart and helped her become relaxed at the very beginning.

At the separate closing ceremonies of the charitable program, the two primary schools conveyed their thanks to the CCTF and college students from Hebei Normal University for bringing knowledge and warmth to children in the winter vacation.