The epidemic has lasted for months and affected people from all walks of life. In order to support organisations to maintain their youth services in times of adversity, Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation has launched the Anti-Epidemic Support Fund in April. Due to the continuance of the epidemic, another phase of the Anti-Epidemic Support Fund 2.0 with a total of HKD 2.1 million was granted to 21 youth organisations. Each has received HKD 100,000 in October. The beneficiary organisations cover a wide spectrum of youth services, including sports, career planning, science education, music, leadership training, culture and arts, such as Hoops for Hope Basketball Asia, Hong Kong Life Planning Association, Hong Kong Youth Science Academy, Gip Percussion Ensemble, APAC Youth Development Foundation and Sky Dancers.

Mr. Daryl NG, the Chairman of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation said, “In view of the continuous impact of the epidemic, following to the first phase of the Anti-Epidemic Support Fund, we have launched the second phase with priority given to small-scale youth service organisations. We aim to encourage NGOs and charitable organisations to maintain their support services or to transform their existing services to benefit Hong Kong youths."

Hoops for Hope Basketball Asia Sow Seeds in the Hearts of Young

Hoops for Hope Basketball Asia, one of the beneficiary organisations, was founded in 2012 to provide free training for underprivileged youths and children. Its founder, Leung Kwok Shing, is a former member of Hong Kong Men's Basketball Team and one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons in 2015. He pointed out that their training programmes were cancelled because of the epidemic. The Anti-Epidemic Support Fund 2.0 supported them to develop basketball online teaching and physical training to service the youths during the epidemic. At the same time, they have also set up the Hoops for Hope school to help students to apply for skills training courses and contribute to the community.

Hoops for Hope Basketball Asia mainly serves the underprivileged youngsters in Tin Shui Wai, Sham Shui Po and Kwun Tong. It works in two major directions. The first is to boost the spirit of young people through basketball training; the second is to coach young people to become basketball teaching assistants to earn a living. The organisation has helped some teenagers at risk, including a young man who was prone to commit suicide but regained self-confidence in the basketball court. They have also encouraged a well-built junior high school student who used to be a NEET to regain his fighting spirit and became a basketball player. His school studies have been significantly improved too. Leung has also successfully awakened some youths who had been juvenile delinquents, heavy smokers or drugs addicts. With the guidance of Hoops for Hope Basketball Asia, they were trained as basketball coaches. Leung was grateful to the Fund for enabling them to continue to sow seeds in the hearts of young people through basketball to live a fruitful life.

CEO of the Foundation Mr. Bin YANG (third on the right), Deputy CEO Ms. Dionne Kung (first on the left) and
the founder of Hoops for Hope Basketball Asia Mr. Leung Kwok Shing (third on the left).

Career Planning Encourages Youngsters to Pursue Dreams

Due to the epidemic, most of the activities of the Hong Kong Life Planning Association were cancelled, this seriously affected the income of the Association. Its founder Dazza Hui said that the association aims to help young people to know themselves and pursue their dreams. The epidemic situation has made it difficult for young people to find jobs, so their services become more important. The Anti-Epidemic Support Fund 2.0 provides immediate support so the Association can concentrate on serving young people.

Tang Yung Yung, with her career in public health, was inspired by the Association which has given her continuous encouragement. Her dream shattered as she failed to enter medical school because of her grades. Fortunately, she participated in the activities of the Association and provided her with guidance to pursue her career goal at public health. She was admitted to the Department of Public Health of National University of Kaohsiung, then graduated from Master Degree of University of Glasgow. She also went to Vienna to participate in the United Nations Study and Exchange Programme. This year, she was offered the internship of World Health Organisation (WHO). Although it was cancelled due to the epidemic, she succeeded in realising her dream by entering the field of public health in Hong Kong. The Anti-Epidemic Support Fund 2.0 provides assistance to youth services organisations , so that more young people like her can get appropriate help.

Mr. Bin YANG, Deputy CEO Ms. Dionne Kung and the founder of Hong Kong
Life Planning Association Mr. Dazza Hui (second on the left).

Help Institutions Promote Youth Scientific Research

Hong Kong Youth Science Academy is also one of the beneficiaries of the Anti-Epidemic Support Fund 2.0. It has organised the ‘International Youth Science Fair for Discovery Videos’ and ‘Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Universities Students Science Image Competition’. Over the years, the Academy has promoted science education in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao. Dr. Jiang Dong-mei, President of the Academy, said that they encouraged young students, primary and secondary school students alike to use video recording as a research tool. They have organised summer camps to teach students how to make micro film as way of scientific discovery.

Science is regarded as difficult to understand. In order to make it simple to public, we teach students to do research through shooting short films, creating the Hong Kong version of ‘National Geographic Channel’! The short films produced by students are lively and interesting. One of the short films called ‘What Time Do the Early Birds Get Up’, with the film markers being junior high school students who sacrificed their sleep time and woke up at 4am to study and shoot the birds. In addition, some primary school students studied how Solenopsis use leaves to build bridges and nests. In order to record the poisonous caterpillars on banyan trees in Hong Kong Cyberport, the students were bitten by insects for days, and their skin turned red and itchy. With innovative learning methods, the Academy had successfully attracted many students to participate in scientific research and their scientific knowledge got improved as a result.

Hong Kong Youth Science Academy and the Earth Research Institute of Columbia University co-organises competition in Boston every year. Hong Kong students are encouraged to compete with students from all over the world. Due to the epidemic, the Academy's income was seriously affected that they were unable to pay for the judge fees of the competition. Thanks to the Anti-Epidemic Support Fund 2.0, the Academy manages to transform it as an online competition and make it happen.

 Mr. Bin YANG, Deputy CEO Ms. Dionne Kung and the President of Hong Kong
Youth Science Academy Dr. Jiang Dong-mei (third on the right).

Gip Percussion Ensemble

Founded in 2017 by young percussionist Gip Chan, Gip Percussion Ensemble is a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting percussion culture and training young professionals. A notable example is their member Cherry Chung, who has won the first prize in the Percussion Open Section of the International Fringe Music Festival Competition 2020. Percussion instruments are relatively expensive, large in size and high volume, Gip has to source budget and second-hand instruments globally in order to lower the threshold of learning percussion. By renting or reselling percussion instruments, he manages to maintain the Ensemble’s services and set up a performance platform for local youngsters. Their music studio is located in a factory building, adjacent to the rooftop. It is a place where parents can be rest assured and students can enjoy playing music together.

Impacted by the epidemic since early this year, the performances of the Ensemble have been cancelled or postponed, and teaching activities have also been affected, resulting in heavy losses. The Anti-Epidemic Support Fund 2.0 is timely to ease its tight financial situation.

Mr. Bin YANG, Deputy CEO Ms. Dionne Kung and the founder of
Gip Percussion Ensemble Mr. Gip Chan (second on the right).

Of the total 21 beneficiaries of the Anti-Epidemic Support Fund 2.0, others include APAC Youth Development Foundation and Sky Dancers, the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation hopes to provide practical support and encouragement to young people in times of adversity.

About Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation

The Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation, established in September 2019, is a charitable institution that mainly serves Hong Kong youths. To ride on the new era, new Greater Bay Area and new opportunities, the Foundation is a joint effort of youth leaders from various sectors. With a mission of 'For Our Youth For Our Future', we support youth development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area by bringing leaders, resources and ideas together.

The Foundation takes education and training as the leading direction, carries out services to promote exchanges and support the youth in study, career and business development in the Greater Bay Area. Young people can gain a better understanding of the business environment and culture, which will be conducive to their personal and professional growth.