Profile
Updates
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14 APR 2010
"I think I am like a fool: I study hard every day and have little gain"
I'm always inspired when I read the letters of the Peach Foundation students. We recently received several letters from the Peach students in Sichuan Province written in English (see below). I think it's really great to see these students practicing their English by writing to their Givology supporters. To me, this demonstration of basic proficiency is proof that through their education, they are acquiring marketable skills (competency in a foreign language) that will be useful to them when they graduate, regardless of whether they are able to continue on to college and graduate school. Having spent two summers in China, I feel that there are alot of opportunities for those who speak English, especially in industries such as tourism. So while I think it's great if Givology can sponsor students who go on to become doctors, politicians, teachers, etc., it's also very worthwhile if we can help students finish a high school education that will give them skills to earn a ... -
11 APR 2010
Givology at Penn: Social Impact Events and Case Competition!
The past few weeks have been extremely busy for the Penn Givology team! 1. Penn Undergrad Social Impact Conference : On March 26, the Social Impact Task Force, a coalition group of social impact oriented student organizations on Penn's campus, collaborated to host the 2nd Annual Undergraduate Social Impact Conference. As the Givology representatives on SITF, Catherine Gao and I were involved in securing speakers and panelists on topics such as corporate social responsibility, social enterprise, the effectiveness of international aid, and disaster relief. Most Givology team members attended some part of the conference. Keynote speakers included Chris Anderson, founder and curator of Ted.com, Dan Pallotta, author of Uncharitable, and Iqbal Qadir, director of the Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship at MIT. Ankit Shah, Givology’s campaign coordinator and a freshman at Penn, gave a brief presentation on Givology in between keynote speakers. At the end of the day, Givo... -
29 JUL 2009
Givology's message function: why it matters
Back in early April, I used Givology’s message function to send a note to Yincong Fan, a ninth grader from Sichuan, China who I support. I didn’t write anything particularly profound – just a little about myself and my family and a few words of encouragement. Several weeks later I received Yincong’s reply, a two-page handwritten letter (translated by our Givology translation team) directly addressed to me (https://www.givology.org/~yfan/blog/). Just from that letter I feel like I learned significantly more about Yincong than what her Givology profile provides. I learned that her favorite subjects are chemistry and Chinese, that she hopes to study literature and that she loves to write, and that she has a younger brother who will soon also enter high school. Yincong also sent me her best wishes, saying that she hoped I was happy at college. And now because of this letter, I have more questions for Yincong – what kind of writing does she like? Non-fiction? Short stories? Who are her f... -
17 FEB 2009
Discussing microphilanthropy with Nicholas Kristof
Last Monday, three members of the Givology team met New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, a respected journalist well-known for his insightful writings on international development and human rights. The presentation was fascinating, his stories ranging from the amusing to the tear-jerking to the cautionary. Possibly the most well-travelled man in the world, Kristof has traveled to 140 countries, all 50 states, every Chinese province and every main Japanese island. When he speaks, he draws upon an amazing wealth of experience, giving a whole new meaning to the word “cosmopolitan.” Despite the students vying for a chance to speak to him, shake his hand, ask for his opinion on the surge in Iraq, or get his autograph, he maintains a distinctive sense of humility and responsibility. As he described the terrors of sex slavery in Southeast Asia and struggled to figure out the technology system of Huntsman Hall (as a Wharton student, I will be the first to admit that it is not the most...