Author: Asia PEVC

During 10 years of philanthropic activism, Jicheng Lyu sets himself apart from the rest with an inspiring record of ongoing service and a nomination for a 2020 China Philanthropy Award.

From poverty alleviation to COVID-19 response work, Jicheng Lyu has been, is, and will continue to be on the front lines of serving communities. Nominated for the 2020 China Philanthropy Award, he leads a team of 300 staff and volunteers. Above all, Lyu believes in individuals making a difference.

Jicheng Lyu opens on his lifetime of service, saying: “I have always believed that local and grassroots organizations are the catalyst to change.”

Following this belief, he started the SINIC Foundation. “The SINIC initiative supports over 400 civil society organizations with over 1.49 million dollars of funding to carry out poverty alleviation projects in 516 villages and for 74,334 impoverished households.”

His continuous work in supporting villages and individuals has raised awareness and money. The recognition gained and donations have aided the continuation of service work, exponentially.

In fact, because of his work towards starting the SINIC Foundation and the good it has resulted in, Lyu and his team are now candidates for the 2020 China Philanthropy Award. This recognition is the most prestigious for social responsibility and accountability.

Going deeper into what Jicheng Lyu and his team accomplished that led to the Philanthropy Award nomination, the journey includes aid for different branches of relief. COVID-19 assistance, Save the Children project management and Johnson & Johnson service all highlight the road to Lyu’s philanthropy success.

The beginning of 2020 marked the start of a very stressful year in China. Hardship and distress were around every corner due to COVID-19. Many individuals did not know what to do. Fortunately, Jicheng Lyu knew he had to step up and provide help in every way he knew how.

This led to the “Promotion for Public Welfare,” a project that delivered meals and supplies to doctors and nurses in Wuhan. Between January and April of 2020, over 137,000 supplies were delivered to 6 different hospitals.

When asked about the supplies being delivered to members of the Jiangxi medical team, Jicheng Lyu responded: “The medical team lacked daily necessities, so we provided them with those basic daily necessities such as paper, soap, hangers, and washbasins.”

Hospitals in Wuhan were grateful that they had the essentials that were previously unavailable to them until Lyu assisted. This is only the latest of what Jicheng Lyu has accomplished as a practitioner of philanthropy.

Jicheng Lyu ran a forum with Save the Children that was considered “vocational education” and funded by Accenture. Migrant youth empowerment was emphasized, with workshops that taught skills and encouraged large companies to provide jobs.

As he describes, “in these workshops, migrant youth commented on policies and expressed what they needed in employment procedure. This became the input of topics discussed in the forum.” This beneficially impacted both marginalized people and companies who attended the workshops.

Through soft skills and education, over 10,000 youths were taught valuable lessons on career development. By teaching the attendees about workflow and the companies how to train and hire, it breaks the cycle of vulnerability.

After learning these valuable skills, each young person involved is able to maneuver through the challenges of the fast-changing world. Specifically, migrant youths aged 16-25 learned how to explore their strengths, build positive attitudes, effectively find jobs, make impactful decisions, be efficient, manage money, and understand health practices.

This was the first time that Save the Children had developed a program geared towards young people developing soft skills necessary for success. In the long term, the kids had the kickstart they needed to continue their lifetime of knowledge.

As the youngest manager in Save the Children China, Lyu headed a team of 5 staff members. He leant them a hand and led them through projects that impacted the lives of everyone involved. Through building a training model, the most effective tools were implemented for the highest level of student success.

The path towards building confidence and marketable strengths is taught through a process including lectures, participatory classes, and training sessions. From career conversations led by professionals to organized classes set to systemically elaborate upon lessons, the young adults discussed and brainstormed as a group.

This led to widespread success, as groups were able to learn and then perform that knowledge with each other. Because of their lessons, they are able to use the skills they learned with Jicheng Lyu and perform it in real life settings. Ultimately they may even use these skills to impact the world in a big way.

Before his work with Save the Children, Lyu worked with Johnson & Johnson, developing a volunteer manual that expressed opportunity and facilitation within the company. This manual resulted in a large number of J&J staff, supply chain members, and doctors serving many different vulnerable groups within their community.

Within the year of working on this project with J&J, 119 volunteers created 21 activities for the public to take part in. When numbers skyrocketed and over 1,000 citizens had benefited, J&J made the decision to create a fund of $20,000. For the first time, the fund created was to be allocated to support local grassroot, non-governmental organizations.

With his experience in philanthropy, Jicheng Lyu sees very different ways in which both people and companies decide to donate. In some cases, proving to have a good heart is more important than actually accomplishing a good deed.

Performance activism is enacted everywhere. When social capital becomes more important than the people who you stand to help, it no longer becomes charity. No company or person should wish to gain anything but delight and compassion when helping someone.

Lyu describes it perfectly when he says: “such is human nature that people are willing to donate money as much as possible for the privilege of becoming a lifesaver in the eyes of the government.” It is his hope that individuals as well as companies are able to see the difference between helping for the benefit of others and helping for purposes of self-gratification.

Through seeing the selfless actions of others, will sponsors be able to make altruistic decisions in the future? Jicheng Lyu hopes so and plans to have a positive effect on those who wish to do good for the benefit of others.

Media contact
SINIC Foundation
Jicheng Lyu
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jichenglyu/