[2026-09-04] Shincheonji’s Volunteering Group Wraps Up Two-Month ‘Summer Service’ Campaign, Hotter Than the Heatwave

[2026-09-04] Shincheonji’s Volunteering Group Wraps Up Two-Month ‘Summer Service’ Campaign, Hotter Than the Heatwave

- Second year of ‘Wise Summer Life’ campaign benefits 1,700 people
- 15,000 items, including ice water, provided to help prevent heat-related illnesses
- Home visits also made to veterans vulnerable to extreme heat

Shincheonji’s Volunteering Group announced on the 4th that it had concluded its nationwide heatwave-response volunteer campaign, ‘Wise Summer Life,’ which ran from June 16 to August 14. A total of 2,633 volunteers took part in this year’s campaign, while the number of beneficiaries was 16,779 and the number of participating citizens was 16,232.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s emergency department surveillance system for heat-related illnesses, 3,859 cases of heat-related illness and 34 suspected deaths were reported nationwide between May 15 and August 26. During this period, Shincheonji’s Volunteering Group visited streets, homes, and rural areas to distribute 10,236 bottles of ice water and drinks, along with 5,542 heatwave preparedness items, including cooling arm sleeves, cooling towels, and glucose-salt tablets.

While last year’s heatwave prevention campaign focused on distributing supplies and providing health guidance to citizens, this year the group expanded its support by visiting the workplaces of outdoor workers, including delivery drivers who frequently move around outdoors. Home visits to Korean War veterans were also carried out, broadening the scope of the campaign.

The Hanam branch in Gyeonggi visited the area around Hanam Pungsan Station, a barefoot walking trail, and a water park, where volunteers handed out 100 bottles of ice water and glucose candies to delivery drivers. In Daegu’s Paldal Market, Cheonan Integrated Bus Terminal, and areas of Gwangju, Yeosu, and Mokpo, ice water and cooling supplies were also distributed to around 5,000 citizens. The Incheon branch provided hair and beauty services for seniors at a senior center in Bupyeong-gu and offered guidance on how to cope with extreme heat.

Volunteers also provided assistance during the busy farming season. At a farm in Okcheon, North Chungcheong Province, volunteers helped install supports in a pepper field and harvest 1,000 bundles of corn. A farm representative said, “It is not easy to find workers in rural areas, but thanks to the volunteers, we were able to finish the busy seasonal work.” The western Incheon and Gyeyang branches also joined the Marine Corps Sea Conservation Movement Headquarters to conduct a plogging activity on Palmido Island in Incheon, where around 200 volunteers and citizens took part in cleaning up the coastline, which had been suffering from an accumulation of summer waste.

◆ Remembering Veterans During Veterans and Patriots Month, Continuing with Summer Care

The activities to honor and remember Korean War veterans, launched in June during Veterans and Patriots Month, continued with home visits throughout the summer. Rather than simply looking back on the records of the war, volunteers visited the veterans’ homes to check their cooling conditions and living environments.

Volunteers visited the veterans in person, cleaning air-conditioner filters and electric fans and installing curtains to block out sunlight, helping them prepare for the extreme heat. Also, they provided 176 bowls of samgyetang, a traditional Korean chicken soup with ginseng, and 218 sets of ramie and hemp bedding so that the veterans and their families could get through the summer well. 

Kim Sang-muk (96), a Korean War veteran who received a visit from the summer volunteer group, said, “It felt so refreshing when they cleaned the dusty fan for me in this hot weather. It felt like finding an oasis in the desert.”

To remember the veterans who sacrificed for the country even during the sweltering summer, the group also organized various citizen-participation events to promote a culture of honoring veterans. At campaigns held to honor and remember veterans at Boramae Park in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, Deogyang-gu Office in Goyang, and Yeongildae Beach in Pohang, records from the wartime period were introduced, and citizens were given the opportunity to write letters of gratitude to Korean War veterans. A total of 1,188 letters of gratitude were written. Along with the letters, the volunteer group also delivered 52 tabletop frames featuring longevity portraits made by citizens to the veterans, providing emotional support in addition to material assistance.

A representative of Shincheonji’s Volunteering Group said, “Through this two-month campaign, we were able to address both heatwave preparedness and honoring veterans,” adding, “Next year, we will continue to follow Jesus’ teaching to give freely.”