Who am I?  Who is Brian Man-Kit Wong?  I am a product of many years of structured upbringing, a mix of love and nurturing, discipline and accountability, and freedom to choose within given limits.  It is impossible to talk about me without talking about my parents, who have helped me to grow into the person I am. When my father calls me by my full Chinese name, WONG Man-Kit, I know I am in trouble.  My mom has always been there to do whatever it takes to give me the best of everything. Thus, in some ways I have been spoiled, like many of my counterparts in middle-class America.  However, because of the guidelines set by my parents, I consider myself a normal teenager, full of hope for the future, believing that the world can be a better place.

I am 15 years old and am a junior at Alameda High School in California. In school, my strongest subjects are math and science. I love the freedom and lack of boundaries in those two subjects. As for sports, I love playing tennis. You could even consider me a tennis junkie. I play almost every day; if I don’t, I feel like I don’t know what to do with myself. I play tennis on the Varsity Team at my school, and I occasionally play tournaments. Last year, at my school, I was a member of Science Club and Frisbee Club.  This year I am planning to start my own club, Youth Reaching Out.  I want to spread the word of the importance of doing community service.

Out of school, I am involved in many extracurricular activities. In my spare time, I love to read.  My mom describes me as someone who gobbles up books, as fast as she can check them out from the library.  As for music, I listen to anything that appeals to me melodically.  I have been playing the piano for almost 10 years now. I love playing the piano because when I am playing a song, I don’t have to think about anything else, and I can just relax and enjoy the music.

Through piano, I perform weekly community service at a retirement home on Bay Farm, the Waters Edge Lodge. Every Sunday, I go to the retirement home to entertain the residents there through music from their generation. I play background music during their dinner time, and then I offer a sing along of their favorite songs.  Using this project as a springboard, I recruit sponsors to raise money for the Alameda County Community Food Bank to feed the hungry. I have been doing this for over a year now, and I have raised over $6500 for the ACCFB. It is difficult to describe the euphoria I experience when I can help others.

In this new school year, I hope to be able to improve my writing skills through practice; often it takes me a long time to start writing because the thinking process is always a challenge to me. From this internship program, I hope to learn how to write interesting blogs.  I also wish to learn more about the problems in developing countries and what I can do to help alleviate those problems.  If I were to choose one specific goal for this program, I wish to study the philanthropic practices among the big Chinese corporations.  Do these booming companies give back to the community like their American counterparts?  Also, do the young people in China do community service?  Is community service required in high schools for graduation just like in some American schools?  I would also like to explore ways to impact people worldwide, letting them know what people here are doing for their community in the United States, how volunteering is a way of life here.

Through sharing the stories of my two projects, I hope to influence other young people into starting their own projects.  I believe that the world can be a better place.  I am doing what I can – the best way I know how.  Let’s all do what we can – the best way we know how.  Together, we can change the world.

Overall, I am grateful to have been chosen for this internship. It is a real honor, and I am ready to get started!

Brian M. Wong

The Lessons I Have Learned

Martin Luther King once said, “Everybody can be great… because anybody can serve.  You don’t have to have a college degree to serve.”  As teenagers, we have time on our hands.  Some of us aimlessly hang out at the mall; others sit in front of the computer for hours, mesmerized by the meaningless numbers skittering around the screen.   Just imagine the impact we can make if more of us would give up an hour or two a week to do community service! 

Education makes information accessible to me.  My parents have given me love and have taught me respect.  However, it is community service that has allowed me to consolidate everything I have learned and put it into practice.  It has molded me into what I have become.  It continues to mold me into what I will be. That’s why community service is important to me.  By giving me a chance to experience the joy of giving, the opportunity to serve has shaped me into a caring person.  On the practical side, it has taught me to plan and execute my projects, solving problems as they pop up.  Also of great importance is that community service has moved me to take further action.  It has facilitated the inception of Youth Connecting All and Youth Reaching Out – organizations that will continue to help others.

As the urgency of the economic downturn hits home, images of poverty haunt my mind daily.  As a teenager who can fill his growling stomach when hungry and rest his weary body on a comfortable bed at nightfall, I recognize the responsibility of doing my best to help those in need.

Scenario 1:  Every day when I look around me, I see people in need. At the off-ramp from a freeway, I see a lean, hungry-looking man holding a sign that says, “Can you spare a buck?” In the park where I practice tennis, I see a homeless old woman pushing all her worldly belongings in a grocery cart.

My reaction:  I certainly can try to fundraise for an organization such as Food Bank, which is doing a great job in feeding the hungry.  Although I cannot make the problem of hunger go away, I can make a difference with every dollar I raise.

Another social problem I notice is that many young people do not appreciate the elderly and are impatient with them.

Scenario 2:  At the drugstore, I see a young cashier tapping her fingers and rolling her eyes impatiently as the silver-haired lady searches through her coin purse with trembling hands, trying to reach the elusive penny so as to avoid getting back a handful of clanging pennies, nickels and dimes in change.  The young lady behind the counter knits her brow in disgust.

My reaction:  I should put into practice what my Chinese culture teaches me – to respect and care for the elderly.  I certainly can teach other young people to respect the elderly by my examples.  In my Hum-N-Play project, I learn songs from the past decades so that I can connect with the elderly.  I learn their music and play their songs to make sure my performance is entertaining to them.

Catering my music to my listeners is top priority.  My dad used to beg me to play something “light” on the piano rather than practice the week’s sonata, which would usually lull him to sleep.  My mom would make her requests by stringing out names of songs from the 60s, 70s and 80s.  There was no way I could remember “Try to Remember” because I had never heard it before.   Then an idea struck me like a lightning bolt!  “If you can hum it, I can play it,” I told my mom.  She beamed and immediately started humming her favorite tunes into my ears.... This was the beginning of my career as an amateur entertainer.

When I started my two projects in August 2009, my goals were clear and simple: to enhance the lives of the elderly by entertaining them with songs they like and to help Food Bank raise money to feed the hungry.   I had no trouble reaching my goals.  By December, four months afterwards, I had already raised over $3000, and I had gained a stronghold at Waters Edge Lodge.  The senior residents now look forward to my weekly performance.  However, it is through the process of implementation that I have accomplished much more because of the lessons I learn every week. 

Unexpected outcomes came in a domino effect.  I thought I was enriching the lives of the people I served – plain and simple.  Instead, I have found there are many unforeseen beneficiaries.  Family and friends support my projects with donations as well as participation, especially after CBS aired the story of my projects on “Martin Luther King Day of Service” (January 18, 2010).  Some ask if they can bring their children to watch the activity.  Others volunteer to give a donation.  Perhaps the most treasured bonus is that my own family is guaranteed an hour and a half of quality time every week through the community service we perform together.  My brothers Spencer and Justin, 12-year-old twins, are learning to serve by entertaining the seniors when I take my break.  They prepare a piano and violin duet every week for performance.  On special occasions such as Christmas, Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day, I invited friends to help me make special favors and souvenirs for our audience.  Thus, on a small scale, I have started a positive cycle of events, which I hope will turn into a movement for change.

Personally I have developed social skills by interacting with my audience.  In a modest way, I have also helped to close the generation gap.  One day a senior friend asked me, “What kind of music do teenagers listen to these days?”  I promised I would share some of my music with her.  Now the challenge is to find some songs that are not too intimidating from my iPod to share with my senior friends.  I will make sure not to include the kind that will increase their heart rate.

The people skills and the practical experiences I have acquired cannot be learned in books or lectures.  On the other hand, the skills I have learned in school have helped me run my projects smoothly.  My organization skills prompted me to prepare a filing box for the lyrics when there were only twenty songs. Can you imagine what it would be like to have over 100 sets of lyrics and no filing system?  My communication skills acquired in my English classes came in handy when I was writing my emails and appeal letters to potential donors.  Another important lesson I have learned is the importance of teamwork.  As a leader, I have learned to delegate responsibilities.  Although I believe one person can make a difference, without the help of others, my ability has limitations.  My life will never be the same again because of the community service projects I have started.

My fundraiser has passed the $5,000 milestone, and I am targeting $6000 by the end of the school year.  When I first started, no one, including myself, would have believed that I could raise so much money during these hard times. I discovered the secret of the joy of giving, and it is contagious!  People are willing to help because I willingly give of my time to serve others without asking for anything in return. People around me can sense my enthusiasm, and they flock around to help.  Success breeds success. The Do Something Growth Grant of $500 recently awarded to me will help me recruit other teenagers to do community service.
 
Undoubtedly, my weekly performance has confirmed that I still have a lot to learn, and that teaches me humility.  I have learned that the people of the world have the same kindness in their hearts, but, most of the time, they just need a little push before taking action.  Through an article about my projects published in the e-newsletter of Kodak Gallery in March, a donation check came all the way from Texas.  Since last August, donations have come from as far away as Hong Kong, Toronto, New York and Kansas. Now I am not shy about asking for donations anymore.  And more often than not, people respond to a good cause with a “YES.” My supporters of the projects have commented on the creativity of my fundraiser.  By using my Hum-N-Play project as a springboard to my fundraiser, I have been able to touch the hearts of donors, who are very generous in giving to Food Bank.   The joy of giving is catching.  I hope my enthusiasm will catch on like wildfire.  I now realize what Martin Luther King meant when he talked about giving service.  At 14, I too can be great because I can serve.

 

About Me and My Projects – in Brief
 

My name is Brian Wong, and I am a 14-year-old sophomore attending a local high school.   During this year 2010, I am again involved in 2 community service projects.  I truly understand that my family, friends and supporters are most important in making them successful.

Project #1
Every Sunday I entertain seniors by playing the piano at a Senior Residents’ Home in Alameda.  I have been doing that since August 2009.  I have learned many songs from the 1930s onwards.  Most of my senior friends who come to my music-sharing sessions are over 80 years old.

At the sharing sessions, my brothers Spencer and Justin, who are 12-year-old twins help me with the distribution of song lyrics for the sing-along sessions.  They also play duets and entertain the residents when I take my break.  During the intermission, I mingle with the residents of the home. It gives me a chance to develop social skills while interacting with my new senior friends. 

Project #2
My second community service project involves raising money for the Alameda County Community Food Bank.  In the past 8 months since August 2009, I have raised over $5,000 for Food Bank.  Food Bank can stretch one dollar to seven dollars when it purchases directly from suppliers.  That means a lot of nutritious meals for low-income children and adults in our local community. 

This year I started early with my fundraiser.  In addition to reaching out to my family and friends, I am hoping to recruit corporate sponsors to donate to Food Bank.  So far, this effort seems to be working.  I search the Internet to find potential local businesses that might sponsor my Hum-N-Play project by donating to Food Bank.  I also get leads from family and friends of names of caring companies.