The future appears bright for the coming generation of local philanthropists using their growing business savvy and creative powers to help Richmond’s charities.
That was the observation from Rob Howard, chair of the Richmond Christmas Fund, as he, and a collection of the charity’s board members, recently heard enthusiastic pitches from economics 12 students at Cambie secondary who have been tasked with generating ideas to increase awareness and raise funds for the organization which assists thousands of local families during the holiday season.
“This is remarkable to see a group of young people so committed and so professional,” said Howard while addressing the students. “I think our future is in very good hands, especially at Christmas, which is a very special time of the year.
“Part of what the Christmas Funds does is making sure we reach out to people in need and I can tell from the presentations that you have caught that spirit,” he added. “I hope we can do every one of these projects because they are all fantastic.”
Among the ideas presented were hosting a movie night for elementary school students and their siblings, a charity basketball game and carnival-style games at Aberdeen Centre.
The exercise is part of the ongoing involvement of two former Richmond high school grads, Jacky Tang and Gurdy Jagde, who co-founded Reach Richmond, a program which is designed to bring the aspect of philanthropy to various high school classes in the district.
Both were part of the Youth Now program that Richmond Cares Richmond Gives (RCRG) runs, which connects youth with local charities, and now they serve as board members.
“Our goal is to engage youth in being proactive leaders in our community with a strong understanding and sense of social responsibility,” said Tang, who graduated in 2012 from Burnett secondary and is now studying pharmaceutical sciences at UBC.
“Jacky and I had this idea to incorporate the work of the Richmond Cares Richmond Gives and reach out to schools and more specifically the classrooms to put into practice what they are learning,” added Jagde, who graduated from McNair secondary and is studying criminology at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. “And we thought the Christmas Fund would work really well.”
“There’s a lot of programs out there that develop leadership and engagement,” Tang said. “But often, those involve students signing up. And those are students who are usually already engaged.
“By taking this (Reach program) directly into the classrooms, we are hoping to instil that sense of social responsibility early in the students. And that also helps prepare them for a career in the future with all the practicalities they learn,” he added.
“And seeing the benefits of what you’re doing is huge,” Jagde said, adding he and Tang hope to champion other causes in Richmond by integrating similar projects through the other local high schools in the future.
Tania Basi, who teaches the economics 12 class at Cambie secondary, said, “I think that it’s key that it connects curriculum with something within the community. And going forward, my hope is that this will be something I can continue to do in my classes. And I am going to encourage these students to come back when they are in post-secondary schools to help run this project and maybe pass the torch.”
For their part, the students said the opportunity to take part in Reach has allowed them to gain knowledge and experience on a number of levels.
“After doing a lot of research, we found that a lot of families hold Christmas so special,” said Asha Sahota, a spokesperson for one of the groups. “And we’ve learned how rewarding it is to give back to the community, even though it represents a lot of work on our end. It’s all worth it at the end, because you realize you’ve been able to help so many families just through giving a little part of our lives.”
