May 2025
Message from Ching Tien
Dear Supporters,
The core of our Foundation’s work is to encourage and inspire our scholarship recipients to give back by initiating their own giving back projects to exercise their gained leadership skills and make an impact in their communities.
In this newsletter I am going to provide an update on our 2024 undergraduate cohorts’ and our Masters Scholars’ giving back projects. After a period of five months of consistent efforts, you can see the progress of the projects and impacts they have created.
Giving Back Project Summaries
Project 1 – Journey of Gratefulness
Xinyu Zhang – Undergraduate at Henan University
The key element of the Ching Tien Foundation’s program is for each young woman leader to create her own Giving Back project as our first step to making a positive impact in our communities.
Embracing this idea, I created a social media account to share stories that inspire gratitude and optimism.
In today’s digital world, young people get most of their information online and are isolated from real society. My platform aims to promote a sense of community and gratefulness, build a daily habit of expressing our gratitude through short journal writing and online sharing with likeminded youth. It was not easy to start and get it going. With considerable effort and support from 3 volunteers I produced 12 video stories that generated over 30,000 views. My efforts are proof that we can promote positive attitudes and habits to others through our online presence. It was a truly satisfying experience.
Project 2 – Mountain Clean-Up Hikes
Xue Peng – Customer Service at Decathlon, Hang Zhou
I started Mountain Clean Up Hikes as my “giving back” project in early 2025. I feel this is an important way to care for and protect nature and restore the connection between human beings and the natural environment.
On the first hike, I only had one friend join me, but gradually, I recruited 5 volunteers and organized 4 cleanup hikes with over 40 participants.
Each trip we hiked to different local mountains and collected litter, mainly plastics. Hiking is great physical exercise and a great social bonding exercise. Friendships were quickly and easily formed between participants on each trip. On each hike we collected bags full of plastics and gained a sense of achieving something meaningful. It has been especially rewarding to see some of our participants start advocating for eco consciousness in their own communities.
My takeaway is that consistency can be more important than scale, every person that participates in giving back creates ripples!
Project 3 – Helping Youth Get First Work Experience
Jie Ma- Assistant producer at Vivid Media, Shanghai
Since my early undergraduate years, I have always interned and worked during the holidays. This experience allowed me to accumulate resume writing and interview experiences which are valuable to students who are looking for internships and preparing for job interviews.
With the guidance of the Ching Tien Foundation, I started my giving back project in November 2024. In 5 months, I provided free resume polishing and mock interview services to 25 senior university students.
In China, students from middle class families often have access to paid services while others at a clear disadvantage when seeking their first job opportunity in a competitive market. By sharing my experiences and providing free services, I felt a sense of empowerment. I have been able to use my skills to help others, and it is so fulfilling to see them take a step closer to achieving their goals.
Project 4 – Helping Troubled Teens
Wenjing Ma – High School Teacher, Xian City
After completing the 2024 Summer Leadership Program at Royal Roads University, I started my teaching career at a high school.
I quickly discovered the challenges faced by teenagers, with some of them on the verge of dropping out. I saw a need and chose to work with five troubled teenagers as my “giving back” project.
Since last October I committed to weekly one on one time with these students to build trust by initiating conversations and carefully listening. I took part in activities they enjoyed including table tennis, jogging, and make-up.
Gradually I learned that these teenagers’ difficulties mostly stem from lack of love and attention from their parents, and feeling like no one understands or cares about them. By demonstrating my genuine interest in these teens, our communication channels opened, and slowly I started witnessing behavioural changes. Now, I have witnessed these five students making progress at school, and it is incredibly rewarding.
By they end of April, my fifth student, who suffered from stuttering and never spoke up in class, gave an oral presentation in class. I was in tears as I witnessed this stunning development.
I plan to continue this work, making a difference in the lives of my students, and especially those that can benefit from extra care and attention.
Project 5 – Eco Youth
Jiazhi Wu – Master student at Hainan University.
Haixia Wang – undergraduate at Xian Foreign Language University
Our learning at the Ching Tien Foundation and RRU inspired our giving back project aimed at raising environmental awareness and mobilizing youth to adopt sustainable living habits.
Since last November, we organized 4 used clothing drives across two university campuses, engaging 8 volunteers, 73 participants and generating over 2000 social media views.
Through our Eco Youth project, we have exercised leadership through social entrepreneurship, problem-solving and teamwork, and gained a deeper understanding of pressing environmental issues through our research work. Calling on others to “think green” has made us realize how consciousness affects behavioral patterns, which in turn can lead to lasting positive change!
Master’s Program Scholars Giving Back
Our Master’s Program Scholars continue their efforts to give back, through volunteer work in their communities as well as contributing to the development of the Foundation.
In particular, I would like to highlight the efforts of our three scholars who have taken on roles as Program Coordinators which requires countless hours of their time. And all of them have become ambassadors advocating for the Foundation’s work.
Huiming Ma
2022 – 2024 Master of Education – University of British Columbia
Currently Team Leader, YMCA Children Care Program in Vancouver
Last summer, I took on the role of Program Coordinator at the Foundation. Since then, I have dedicated nearly 200 hours to collecting applications, scheduling interviews and supporting the students as they embark on their study abroad journey and participate in the program.
Since arriving in Canada in 2022, I have assisted Ching’s work, been a lead organizer of EGRC Alumni online activities and volunteered within my university community. Before that, I was an active volunteer for EGRC, in Beijing.
As a Team Leader of a YMCA childcare program, I serve over 40 children and their families. I work closely with four special needs children managing ADHD and other social difficulties. One parent told me, “We’re so lucky to have you. Now you are my son’s favorite person!”
Giving Back has become part of my life. EGRC and the Foundation have provided opportunities I could never have dreamed of and now, I am proud to see more women accessing life-changing opportunities, supported by my efforts.
Jessie Huang
2023 – 2024, Master of Education Leadership and Admin, University of Nottingham
Since March this year, I have devoted about 160 hours to the Foundation’s work.
In May, I traveled from China to Hong Kong to assist Ching’s work. We spent 10 precious days together. My role was to schedule her meetings and assist her work as the Foundation establishes roots in Hong Kong. By attending meetings with Ching, I gained a deeper understanding of Ching as a person and as founder of EGRC and the Foundation. Her dedication and tireless work made a deep impression on me, as well as the people we met.
In March, I took on the role of Program Coordinator for the Foundation’s undergraduate program. My duties include arranging candidate interviews, overseeing the selection process, assisting the organization of bi-weekly online learning sessions and helping selected students with their passport and Canadian visa applications. Working closely with our students has helped me gain more of an understanding of people with different cultural and religious backgrounds.
Yaqi Sun
2024 – Currently pursuing Master of Business Analysis and AI, Ontario Tech University
As a volunteer Program Coordinator at the Foundation’s Master’s Scholarship Program since April, I’ve been involved in promoting the program through social media platforms, supporting students through the application process and organizing and reviewing submitted materials. I remember the encouragement I received when I was applying for the very same scholarship last year, and this volunteer role has given me the chance to pass on that warmth to others.
Since October 2024, I’ve participated in different volunteer activities in my community. I joined the Friendly Visiting program at Community Care Durham, where I help reduce loneliness and social isolation among local seniors. I volunteer at The Refuge (Oshawa), participating in the Friday Family Dinner program to provide support and companionship to youth in need. I also serve Blue Envelope, writing letters to a left-behind girl in rural China.
Since coming to Canada, I have completed 140 hours of volunteer work. Through volunteering, I have learned more about Canadian culture, made connections with locals, and had a positive impact at the same time as broadening my horizons.
Sijia Li
2024 – Currently pursuing Master of Digital Marketing – University College Dublin
I’ve explored several volunteer roles over the past semester. Some have been short-term, such as volunteering at a local science museum on weekends, while others have been longer term. I help at a senior’s community in Dublin, serve as a coordinator in a women’s entrepreneurship project and help with the marketing of a Chinese community charity organization that supports children with autism.
I have benefited from each of these volunteer roles. The seniors I work with remind me of my grandparents. They are kind and several offered to help me identify potential internship opportunities. The women’s entrepreneurship project has given me a strong sense of teamwork. Everyone listens to and supports each other’s ideas. Finally, the Chinese community project has allowed me to apply my academic studies to real-world marketing tasks. I am grateful for the enrichment that volunteering has given back to me.
Deng Xiajun
2024 – Currently pursuing Master of Computer Science & AI, University of Toronto
The Ching Tien Foundation for Women emphasizes the importance of learning about a different culture and volunteering within our communities. Currently, I am volunteering as a program coordinator at HER CODE CAMP, where we provide an annual coding program for girls in underserved communities. I am also part of the friendly visiting program at SOS (Society of Sharing), where I visit a senior once a week. The elderly lady I visit is suffering from shoulder and leg pain and the condition has confined her at home. My weekly visit has given her some comfort and joy.
In May, I started my internship at Roche. Here, inclusivity and belonging are highly emphasised. Everyone I met is kind, helping me to fit into this new working environment. Volunteering is highly encouraged by the workplace, and I look forward to participating more as a volunteer.