Who Does JOBB Help?
The first round of enrollment for 2024 in the "Ruifeng Vocational Empowerment Fund" (JOBB project), jointly initiated by the Shanghai Ruifeng Urban Public Welfare Development Center and the Shanghai Soong Ching Ling Foundation, has concluded. This year's participants are composed of three types of students, whom we believe deserve more effective attention and support in today's China.
The first group of students includes individuals with special needs. JOBB has established a deep partnership with Ganlin Junior Vocational School in Putuo District, Shanghai, which has extensive experience in providing vocational education for students with special needs. Among the 67 special needs students currently enrolled in this school, many have conditions such as autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and varying degrees of intellectual disabilities. Through the collaboration with JOBB, these students can not only learn the latest skills in the baking field on a theoretical level but also develop their communication abilities and service awareness by interacting with customers in the JOBB public welfare bakery. This hands-on experience helps these students better integrate into society, providing them with broader career prospects in the future.
The second group of students comes from regions receiving targeted support from Shanghai, such as three Uyghur youths from Zepu County and Yecheng County in Kashgar, Xinjiang, who were admitted to the JOBB program this year. Due to the unique geographical and cultural history of their regions, the baking skills training they have received is relatively outdated and does not align with current market demands. Through JOBB, these students, who have never ventured beyond their county towns, have come to Shanghai to learn advanced pastry-making and baking techniques, fostering a sense of self-reliance and self-sufficiency. This lays a solid foundation for their future employment and entrepreneurship. We hope that through public welfare models like JOBB, we can deeply implement the concept of "precise assistance" and promote the sharing and exchange of educational resources between eastern and western China, offering more opportunities to young people from border regions.
The third group of students consists primarily of disadvantaged urban youth. This group often lacks practical skills and social resources, and their choices of job types and career planning are closely tied to changes in their external environment. In times of economic downturn, they may face enormous pressures just to survive, let alone secure stable employment. However, compared to the other two groups, they are the most hidden and easily overlooked. The JOBB project offers them a chance to change their career paths by teaching them solid basic baking skills and baking management knowledge closely tied to the market, helping them break free from the vicious cycle of frustration and despair.
Over the past twenty years, China has undergone significant transformations, leading to advancements in the country's public welfare efforts, including changes in the beneficiaries of public welfare and the ways in which public welfare is delivered. Through the JOBB project, we aim to move from "poverty alleviation" to "empowerment," focusing not just on economic aid but on providing the beneficiaries with real skills and opportunities through market-oriented training.
Public welfare for all, skills to strengthen the nation—JOBB is on the way!