Rotary Club Shanghai funds the formal training of migrant workers as caregivers for elderly folks who live at home. And that's just one of its many good deeds all year round.

For an organization with just 57 members, Rotary Club Shanghai punches above its weight, having raised more than US$2 million in the last two years for worthy causes across China.

The expatriate club helps charitable organizations in China, ranging from providers of wheelchairs to groups providing books to schools in poor rural areas.

The organization also works closely with the Shanghai Charity Foundation to implement projects in the community.

Rotary is a global network of community volunteers drawn from business and professional ranks.

It aims to provide humanitarian services, encourage high ethical standards and provide intercultural and educational activities.

The Shanghai club has extensive links to fellow Rotarians and Rotary clubs around the world and often receives matching grants for money it raises in Shanghai.

Rotary has a long history in Shanghai where it was first established in 1919.

The club was reformed in 1995 and operated as the Expatriate Rotarians and Friends in Shanghai until 2001 when it was given a provisional charter by Rotary International. It became a fully chartered club in February this year.

The club's membership represents a range of professions and businesses and draws members from more than 19 nationalities. More than 20 percent of its members are women.

At its last weekly meeting for the year last week, more than 40 guests and members heard about Rotary's ongoing projects.

One of these is an innovative program to provide formal training for caregivers to the elderly in Shanghai. They learn how to cut hair and bathe clients and to observe strict hygiene standards. They also learn some basic psychology to help the elderly. Rotary donated 350,000 yuan (US$51,083) toward the project that trained more than 1,000 caregivers this year, most of them migrant workers.

China faces the challenges of an aging population and a chronic shortage of qualified caregivers, says Kitty Xia, Shanghai Charity Foundation's executive deputy secretary-general. She gave a detailed account of the project's progress.