Youth Philanthropy Academy is Launched in Shanghai!

Helen’s Note on 181014, Sun:

Youth Philanthropy Academy was launched on November 23, 2017, Thanksgiving Day. I shared the news with close colleagues and friends in a letter. Now I’m posting it here, hoping it would give you some background information on China’s youth philanthropy and what YPA is set out to accomplish.

It’s really interesting for me to read what I wrote almost a year ago.  My passion and vision for YPA remain unwavering, but my thinking on China’s youth philanthropy education and YPA’s path has evolved significantly.  The evolution reflects a great learning journey for me and is also a clear evidence of how fast Chinese philanthropy is developing.  I hope to share more in my future posts.

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Dear colleagues and friends,

You are receiving this letter because either you as a person or your work has touched my life in a positive way, especially in the last few years. I am always grateful for your inspiration. Now that I am embarking on an exciting journey, and I would like to share it with you.

The Idea of YPA and Philanthropy’s Unique Role in Today’s China

In the last few months, my focus has been on youth philanthropy in China. I have been busy piloting projects, designing courses, and meeting potential partners. Things have gone very well. I am blessed to have Cisy Lin, a former classmate and currently senior executive at a Fortune 500 enterprise, share the vision and commitment. We are co-founding Youth Philanthropy Academy (hereinafter called YPA) in China.

As the name YPA indicates, we want to take a systematic and educational approach to promote youth philanthropy in China. For YPA, philanthropy is not an end, but a means to help Chinese youth to explore their values and purpose, experience the joy of giving and growing and eventually embrace philanthropy as part of their life.

News in China in the last couple of weeks has been extremely disturbing. You may check it out here and here.

Public trust is extremely low. However, people are voicing opinions on social media, often metaphorically, and venturing out to help those in need.

Due to historical and cultural reasons, we Chinese tend to conceive philanthropy as a virtuous act of doing good for others. At YPA, we have developed a closed loop model that builds intentional personal connections with philanthropic engagement.

Recent incidents have offered me a renewed sense of timing for YPA. I realize this is a critical time for China, as people have started to explore their own identity and redefine their role in the society. Philanthropy can play a unique role to facilitate the process, because I believe the essence of philanthropy is an interaction between ourselves and the society.

We haven’t worked with many kids yet, but some parents have reported that our work with their kid has been a positive learning experience for them, which has helped them ask questions about themselves they have never thought of before.

By introducing philanthropy to youth, we aim to help shape future generations. I’m convinced the impact may come earlier than we had expected.

 

More Than a Launch

After months’ work, we have chosen to launch YPA on Thanksgiving Day, November 23rd. Included is a small group of people who have directly contributed to YPA in the last couple of months.

We didn’t make YPA the center of the gathering. Through tools like visual explorations, we shared personal stories of gratitude and future aspirations.

Most members in the group were strangers. At the end of the event, they were surprised how much they had in common, and how inspired and energized they felt.

Trust and inspiration – these are exactly what we want to deliver at YPA, be it youth, parents, teachers and whoever we encounter.

To me, this event means even more. First, it shows me that people from different backgrounds can really be inspired by a shared purpose, no matter how new the concept it is to them. I was amazed how fast each in the group recognized what YPA was about; Secondly, it was encouraging to know that my education in the States, with adaptations, is relevant and helpful to people in China.

Messengers of Hope and Faith

Early Sunday morning following Thanksgiving Day, Cisy and I were on the train to NanJing for a school visit. A few minutes after we started discussing our program design, the woman sitting in front of us turned around and introduced herself and her daughter.

Lilac, the 9th grader, was shy and responded to our small questions in a brief and polite manner. Only when I asked her whether she liked charity work did her face immediately light up. With a smile, she said firmly, “Yes, I do!” Then she revealed to us that she always enjoyed helping people, and only wish she could have more opportunity.

The one-hour train ride quickly turned into a warm discussion to get teen perspective on our service learning projects and philanthropy course. Lilac’s feedback and insights were invaluable.

Lilac’s mother is a self-made millionaire without much education. She wants to do everything possible to advance the education and life of her daughter. She didn’t fully understand what we were talking about, but she believed our discussion would help her daughter to be a good student and a good person.

When Cisy and I got off the train, I saw Lilac quietly practicing the new word I had just taught her “Phil’s aunt throws a pea”. (yes, philanthropy)

In the last two months, I have had quite a few similarly random encounters with parents or kids. The road ahead involves lots of uncertainty. But people like Lilac and her mother do give me hope and add meaning to what we are doing. Sometimes I can’t help wondering whether the encounters are Godsent.

Invitation to Impact

We have made much progress in the past few months. In the following months, we have some exciting initiatives lined up and more are underway:

• We’ve begun testing our first philanthropy course, a new service learning project, a student-run philanthropy club with partner schools in Shanghai.
• We are planning to take 6-8 high school students to Michigan to attend the 2018 Youth Philanthropy Summit organized by Michigan Community Foundation Youth Philanthropy. They will be China’s first youth philanthropy ambassadors to the global stage. How exciting!
• We are preparing to launch China’s first social media focusing on youth philanthropy on WeChat, a popular Chinese social media service similar to Facebook.

In one sense this letter is a catch-up report, and in another sense an invitation to impact future generations in China.

It would require an essay to describe the current landscape of youth philanthropy in China. In a nutshell, it’s very much like a vacuum. Schools are not teaching it; parents don’t know how to do it; and the majority of nonprofits don’t have the capacity to accommodate even adults volunteers, let alone kids.

It’s extremely challenging to start something from scratch. However, this may also be the best timing to really leave a footprint for a country and for a generation. Looking back on how fast China has developed in the last 30 years, I know such opportunity for impact may only come once in a lifetime.

From my personal experienced in the last few years, we want to make human connections and global mindset from the outset. There are many ways you can help and impact, and you don’t have to be in the philanthropic field to make an impact. Ideas, stories, resources, insights, and introductions can all go a long way.

I plan to send updates on our progress, reporting success, failure, and learning on our exciting and challenging journey. Your thoughts will always be appreciated.

Cisy and I sincerely invite you to be part of this journey that may profoundly impact the years to come. As we move forward, we will have a better idea on how we can collaborate.

Together, we are positive that we will foster a new generation in China who will embrace the joy of giving and growing, and will make our shared planet a better place.

Last but not least important, I can’t thank you enough for all the help, support and inspiration you’ve given me, and I’m looking forward to continuing the meaningful journey with you!

Wish you and your family a very happy holiday season!

Sincerely,

Helen