Social-emotional Support for Children in China

As the Year of the Horse begins, we take a moment to reflect on the past year — a journey shaped by learning, collaboration, innovation, and meaningful impact.

In response to growing community needs, our Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Program reached 1,363 students across Shanghai, Gansu, Anhui, and Fujian in 2025. Additionally, 95 students attended our 2026 winter holiday camps in Shanghai, which have just concluded. With the support of dedicated teachers and volunteers, we delivered 901 lessons, helping children recognize, understand, regulate, and express their emotions.

Special attention was given to emotions often labeled as “negative” and frequently suppressed. By creating safe and respectful spaces, children were encouraged to express vulnerability through storytelling, reflection, and group dialogue — building self-awareness, empathy, and resilience. As one child shared, “It helped me know myself better.”

One of our most significant achievements in 2025 was the opening of the Stepping Stones Centre in Huacao, Minhang District, Shanghai. Established in response to long-identified community needs, the Centre provides a safe, welcoming, and structured environment for children, many from migrant and low-income families. 

This dedicated space enables us to deliver consistent, high-quality programs under one roof. More importantly, it offers children stability, belonging, and continuity — essential foundations for their well-being and long-term development.

Building on this success, we plan to expand SEL programming in 2026 by:

• Introducing additional emotional regulation techniques

• Providing training and support for local teachers and staff

• Offering more individualized support to children and families

• Strengthening engagement with parents and the wider community

   

We extend our sincere thanks to our volunteers, donors, and partners. Your continued commitment makes this work possible, and your support remains vital to sustaining and expanding our efforts.

We wish you good health, success, and happiness in the Year of the Horse, and we look forward to continuing this journey together to create even greater impact.

Links:

• Read more about our programs on our website

As the Fall semester unfolds, we are pleased to share the progress of our Social-emotional Learning (SEL) Program in 2025. The program continues to grow steadily, providing high-quality SEL education to disadvantaged children across four provinces in China — Shanghai, Jiangsu, Fujian, and Gansu.

From January to September 2025, more than 780 under-served students have benefited from SEL classes, supported by over 50 trained volunteers and trainers who together delivered more than 640 engaging and impactful lessons.

Our core goal is to nurture children’s emotional intelligence by developing essential life skills such as self-awareness, self-management, and social awareness. By cultivating these abilities, we help children build confidence, empathy, resilience, and stronger interpersonal relationships, which in turn promote motivation to learn and overall well-being.

We continuously assess our impact through pre- and post-program evaluations and stakeholder feedback. Post-program surveys show that students are better able to understand and express their emotions constructively, as well as resolve conflicts more peacefully. Many reported feeling calmer, more confident, and more capable of managing difficult emotions — underscoring the program’s effectiveness in transforming emotional awareness into practical, everyday skills

As the new semester continues, we are thrilled to welcome over 150 new students into the program. Our focus this term is on strengthening emotional regulation and interpersonal communication, ensuring that every child continues to thrive both emotionally and academically.

None of these achievements would be possible without the tireless dedication of our volunteers, the generosity of our donors, and the steadfast support of our partners and community members. Together, we are expanding access to transformative learning opportunities that empower under-served children across China to grow, connect, and flourish.

Links:

• Read more about our programs on our website