At around 5 p.m. on school days, a group of volunteers (志愿者) are waiting at the gate of a primary school in Qingquan Community (社区), Ningbo. Known as "shared grandmas", they are here to pick up children for young couples living in the community. Yuan Peijun is one of the grandmas.
Years ago, Yuan helped to pick up a little girl who went to the same kindergarten as her grandson. The girl's parents were busy with their work, so it was difficult for them to pick up the girl on time. Yuan decided to help the young couple when she found that they lived in the same community. Yuan kept on helping the young couple and they were thankful to Yuan.
Yuan's actions encouraged more elderly women to join her. In September 2019, they set up a club in the community. Now the volunteer team has 58 grandmas. They are mostly in their 60s and 70s. Over the past years, they have taken turns picking up over 600 children in the community from school.
The success of this club has made it popular. Now many other cities like Wenzhou, Chongqing, and Chengdu are doing the same thing. The club not only meets the needs of young parents but also allows the elderly people to do more for society (社会).
① They lived in the same community.
② The young couple lived far from the kindergarten.
③ The young couple couldn't pick up their daughter on time.
④ The little girl was at the same kindergarten as Yuan's grandson.