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Lighting up every corner

Vivian Lai: “I hope everyone in Hong Kong can share happiness and joy.”

Some people in need are hidden in the community. Vivian, involved in volunteer services since she was a child, has long paid particular attention to these unprivileged groups. In her first year of university, she initiated a “Happy Influence” volunteer programme with a HK$5,000 start-up fund, recruiting 100 university students to give out blessing bags to grass-roots cleaners. While most of her classmates entered the commercial world after graduation, she established a social enterprise “Momenday” which thrives to create an inclusive environment for the able-bodied and disabled through workshops and interest classes. When COVID-19 struck, Vivian smartly connected with various companies to arrange corporate social responsibility programmes for them, connecting them with social enterprises and non-profit groups. In this pioneering way, she successfully increased the exposure of all parties involved, while enhancing public awareness of the needy.

"I don’t think I would make a good boss,” Vivian smiles, adding humbly that “I got the concept of managing social enterprises from my volunteering experiences.” These experiences brought her further when she was nominated to join the UNLEASH Innovation Lab under the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. Representing JC Scholars, she joined hands with over 1,000 young people from some 160 countries and regions to help solve social problems around the world with only low budgets but creative ideas. By exposing herself to these innovative concepts, she learned to think out of the box. After that, she seriously considered getting involved in social issues with a self-financing social enterprise.

In recent years, Vivian has taken a further step by joining a social welfare organisation. She looks forward to working towards a more equitable future by building a young and passionate team, inspiring the next generation through her story of striving and contributing to society.

Did you know?

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Scholarships programme hopes students it supports will not only fulfil their academic potential, but also serve the community.

Over the past 25 years, scholarship recipients have come from a wide range of backgrounds, from local Chinese students to ethnic minority students, and from those who pursue music, atmospheric science, aerospace engineering and zoology, to budding teachers and educators. The programme has supported a number of students with special learning needs.

All scholarship recipients are members of The Jockey Club Scholars Alumni Association, forming a close-knit group to perform community service.

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