'Anything positive you do will make someone happy'

Joy Ding and Stephanie Zhang are students. Hardly in a position to donate money, they've given copiously of their time. They say their example is not hard to follow.

Ottawa Citizen
December 17, 2006
By Charles Enman
Page B4, The Citizen's Weekly

Last month, the Association of Fundraising Professionals gave special recognition to two young people who, together, had made a real difference for their peers in the city.

Joy Ding and Stephanie Zhang had co-chaired the Community Foundation of Ottawa's

Youth Advisory Committee and organized the foundation's first youth-led grants program.

The foundation was not that surprised to see their proteges honoured.

As the foundation's co-ordinator of youth programs, Medin Admasu, said, "As a team, Joy and Stephanie were an ideal match for what we needed. They left their egos at the door and just made sure the work was done."

That work, in Joy Ding's words, was to "see big improvements in the community in projects done by youth for youth."

Nine projects were funded, including the establishment of a drop-in centre for young people with HIV, the creation of a school display about African-Caribbean heritage, several leadership programs, and the establishment of a summer camp to help immigrant youth integrate into Canadian society.

The funds came from the Department of Canadian Heritage's Youth Community Action Project.

"There wasn't much going on in the city that invited youth to be involved in the community," Stephanie Zhang said. "This was a really exciting opportunity to help empower our peers."

Ding and Zhang had mutual friends but did not know each other well before each, without knowing what the other was doing, began looking into the foundation's project.

Both were intrigued to hear of an opportunity to do philanthropy among other young people.

"Those words, 'philanthropy' and 'youth,' just jumped out at me," Ding said. "I thought, 'I don't have much money, but I sure have time.' And now I had a chance to make a difference."

Zhang had the same reaction. "I had never really done anything you could call 'philanthropic,' and this was a unique opportunity. So I went to a meeting and liked what I saw."

Being gatekeepers for the grants program was a huge responsibility.

They had to find out where the gaps were in the services other organizations such as the United Way were already providing.

Then they had to invite youth groups to make applications for grants, and help those groups make their applications as effective as possible.

"Reading those applications, we almost always sensed that real need was there -- and when we could say 'yes' to an application, it gave us great satisfaction," Zhang recalled.

They focused on helping groups deal with discrimination, violence and poverty.

Admasu believes they brought nicely complementary skills to the table. "Stephanie brings lots of energy and a bottomline focus on getting things done, and Joy knows how to make sure that the process is working well and that everyone knows their part and no one gets left behind."

Both are now away at university -- Ding at McGill, where she's majoring in biomedical science, and Zhang at the University of Western Ontario, where she's studying business administration. They continue to do volunteer work on their campuses.

They say their example isn't that hard to follow.

"You can make time for these sorts of things," Ding says. "If you don't watch TV and things like that, you're available for the real priorities."

Zhang thinks of the 2002 movie, Pay It Forward.

"That title says it all. Anything positive you do will make someone happy -- and it's going to work well for you, too."

Illustration:

• Photo: Joy Ding and Stephanie Zhang co-chaired a youth advisory committee and organized the foundation's first grants program for youth.

© Ottawa Citizen 2006