“The Charity Organization Has Disappeared”: The Collapse of a Volunteer Service Group
A volunteer service organization that had been operating for nearly a decade suddenly sparked rumors of “running away.” In recent days, numerous parents have raised complaints about “Chengdu Youth Volunteers” on online platforms in Sichuan Province and Chengdu. On November 10, staff from the organization abruptly dissolved their WeChat group, turned off their phones, and vanished from their office location.
Many parents were blindsided by the fraud, realizing they had been deceived only after the fact. According to China News Weekly, the “Chengdu Youth Volunteers” public welfare center was managed by the Chengdu Original Power Social Work Service Center, established in 2015 with government approval, and registered with the Chengdu Civil Affairs Bureau. Numerous individuals within the charity sector informed China News Weekly that cases of charity organizations “running away” are quite rare nationwide.
How Did the Volunteer Organization Collapse?
Parents reported to China News Weekly that Original Power, under the guise of public welfare, launched a series of “public welfare support projects or courses,” such as patent application services and scientific literacy courses. The organization’s leaders falsely claimed that the projects were government-supported, requiring only a deposit, which would be fully refunded. Many parents spent thousands to tens of thousands of yuan on these projects, and preliminary estimates suggest that the total amount involved exceeds ten million yuan.
“This incident has significantly impacted the credibility of the entire sector,” noted Lin Ling, a charity worker based in Chengdu. She emphasized that public welfare relies heavily on trust; in this case, many parents learned about the platform through recommendations from teachers and other parents, which has now been compromised.
The Disappearance of the Organization
According to the introduction on the “Chengdu Youth Volunteers” public account, the platform was established to provide registration, management, support, and services for youth volunteers in Chengdu, managed by the Chengdu Original Power Social Work Service Center, established on January 6, 2015.
In its years of operation, Original Power gained a reputation among students and parents. Data showed that within just two months of its establishment, over 5,000 volunteers had registered.
Shen, one of the earliest parents involved with Original Power, participated in a book donation event in her community in 2015 and later received a call from the organization. “I was invited to receive a certificate and then attended a meeting where they introduced their educational philosophies and courses aimed at helping children grow,” she recounted.
As a result, Shen and her child became registered volunteers. Many parents followed a similar path, getting involved in social welfare activities like book donations and clean-up events that led to their registration.
The organization employed a kind of “referral” strategy during volunteer recruitment. For instance, while they might only require two books for donation, they insisted on gathering ten people to contribute a total of twenty books. This model extended to other activities as well.
Afterward, volunteers were marketed various projects, such as “patent applications” and “competition planning,” starting at a minimum of 4,800 yuan in fees.
Shen has participated in numerous activities organized by Original Power and has invested nearly 30,000 yuan into the platform, covering courses like mathematical thinking and scientific invention, along with two patent application projects. Specifically, she paid 9,000 yuan for a patent application that she began in 2015 but has yet to see any results or refunds.
If Original Power hadn’t suddenly “run away,” Shen might still have been unaware of the risks involved. On November 10, the organization posted a notice at their office, stating they would suspend services for two weeks due to a relocation. However, that evening, staff members dissolved all WeChat groups, and the office was empty.
China News Weekly noted that early on November 11, the organization published an article titled “Brief Introduction to the Chengdu Youth Volunteer Service Platform” on its public account, with the IP address indicating it was located in Heilongjiang. Attempts to contact the number provided in the article were met with no answer.
Investigations and Repercussions
The Tianyancha platform shows that the Chengdu Original Power Social Work Service Center had a registered capital of 50,000 yuan, with a legal representative named Zeng Huiqiong. Sources revealed that the Chengdu authorities had contacted Zeng, who claimed to be in the United States and would return in two weeks to cooperate with the investigation. China News Weekly made repeated attempts to reach Zeng, but calls went unanswered.
However, media reports indicated that a man claiming to be Zeng’s husband stated, “We are also victims; the real owner is Yang Ruo.”
Yang Ruo, born on October 2, 1973, is noted as a chief draft expert in China’s “Family Education Service Standards” and has long been dedicated to developing social skills among youth. China News Weekly noted that Yang presented himself as the chief consultant for “Chengdu Youth Volunteers” while also holding titles as an expert in innovative education for primary and secondary students, frequently invited to speak at various schools in Chengdu.
The Breakdown of Trust
Many parents indicated that their trust in Original Power was primarily due to its approval as a public welfare organization and Yang Ruo’s credible persona.
In the 2023 “Double Random, One Open” inspection of social organizations by the Chengdu Civil Affairs Bureau, Original Power was reported as compliant.
“This organization claimed that all public welfare activities were free; if parents signed up and did not attend, it would waste a slot, so they collected deposits, promising refunds at any time upon request,” said Zhang, another parent.
According to Original Power’s public statements, the “Chengdu Youth Volunteer Service Platform” did not charge participants any fees for activities. Its funding was said to come from donations from public welfare individuals and government support for social organization development.
Strangely, rather than asking parents for donations, the organization occasionally provided “reward money” to children participating in activities. “For instance, after an event, staff would give children a small envelope with a certificate and ten or twenty yuan inside,” explained Yu, another parent.
Yu experienced more significant losses. In May of this year, she paid 36,400 yuan as a deposit to Original Power, which included 24,000 yuan for science competition tutoring and two other projects.
Yang had promised that children enrolled in the science competition tutoring would earn at least two provincial-level first-place awards before high school; if not, fees would be fully refunded. “However, this project never started,” she said. Just two days before the organization’s disappearance, she had contacted staff, who assured her that the project would begin soon.
China News Weekly found that experiences varied among parents. Some were able to apply for patents and receive refunds, while others, like Yu, saw little to no progress on their projects.
Tianyancha data shows that Yang Ruo is associated with 14 companies, half of which have been revoked or deregistered. On November 11, the registered capital for Chengdu Original Power Education Consulting Co., which Yang owns 51% of, was reduced from 50 million yuan to 200,000 yuan. Other companies he owns also saw their capital reduced similarly.
“Does the organization’s profitability rely solely on a few rounds of funding? I find that hard to believe,” Lin Ling commented. She recalled hearing doubts about Original Power’s “free courses” model as early as 2016, suggesting that “a wave of people would suffer, but you wouldn’t know who it would be.”
Lin also mentioned that she had advised some parents to request refunds from Original Power around 2019. After intervention from regulatory agencies, Original Power quickly returned the fees, and the matter was dropped.
“Science courses costing 4,800 yuan a semester were advertised as free, with all materials provided at no cost. After a semester, if students continued, the deposit wouldn’t be refunded; if they didn’t, it could be refunded. What more could parents demand?” Lin noted, making it hard for regulators to intervene directly.
The Impacts of the Charity Scam
Reflecting on this scheme, parents are divided on whether Original Power had constructed a near-decade-long scam or gradually descended into crisis.
On November 18, police from the Jin Niu District’s Guangrong Police Station informed China News Weekly that parents could file reports with payment evidence. The case is under investigation by the economic crime unit, and parents continue to register complaints daily. Chengdu Jin Niu District Civil Affairs Bureau staff stated that a task force has been formed to investigate the incident, but no further information was available.
Several parents informed China News Weekly that unofficial statistics indicate that less than 2,000 parents are involved, with amounts exceeding 17 million yuan.
Leveraging its status as a public welfare organization, Original Power chose to exploit the situation for profit. The root issue lies in existing regulatory gaps for public welfare organizations, compounded by the lack of enforcement power from supervisory agencies.
According to Lin, public welfare organizations must undergo annual registration and approval, but the financial reports are self-prepared and submitted. The only requirement is to find a third-party accounting firm to submit verifiable financial information.
However, parents noted that fees collected by Original Power for tutoring and training courses were funneled through personal accounts. No formal contracts were signed; instead, parents simply received receipts stamped by the Chengdu Original Power Social Work Service Center. There was no distinction between public and private funds.
The organization also launched a so-called “Double Diamond Moms” support project, encouraging mothers to promote various courses in their specific areas to other parents, which effectively developed a downline.
Another issue with Original Power’s unregulated operations is that the volunteer service activities it organized were disconnected from official platforms.
“We used government platforms to announce volunteer activities, with prior verification from relevant departments to ensure they qualified as public service activities. After confirmation, volunteers would register through their accounts, checking in on-site to accumulate volunteer hours,” Lin explained.
Lin highlighted that, with the introduction of the “Double Reduction” policy, tracking volunteer service hours became essential in schools, leading to increased enrollment in activities. “Before, it took a whole day to fill an event; after the ‘Double Reduction,’ it filled in five minutes.”
Parents reported that volunteer points and awards were considered for evaluations at various levels, which are linked to school admission decisions. Eventually, they discovered that the volunteer service hours counted on the Original Power platform did not connect to the national volunteer service network.
While cases of gyms and training institutions disappearing are common, the notion of charitable organizations doing so is rare. In Hao Jie’s view, the social impact of a charity organization disappearing is far more severe.
“Many parents, teachers, and community workers recommended Original Power after personally engaging with the organization, which is the core problem,” Lin stated. This behavior stemmed from mutual trust, which has now put those well-meaning recommenders in a difficult position.
