About Love Your Neighbour Club

Details

Published on Saturday, 27 August 2011 21:51

Who We Are | History | Awards | Locations

Who we are 

Love Your Neighbour club is a volunteer club with an international network of branches. We are dedicated to serving both the communities we live in as well as globally.

Benefits

The club provides members with fun and unique volunteering opportunities both within their own communities as well as abroad. One of our unique aspects is our workshops that train up members in different aspects so they can serve more effectively.

We work with different charity organizations, NGOs and community individuals to provide services. One of our major partners is Light and Love Home, a non-profit organization that performs charity services internationally.

Mission statement

"Be grateful, cheerful and helpful."

---

History 

Back to top

2000 - Way Back When

• 
•  

The Light and Love Home (LLH) Youth Department initiated its campus-based Volunteer Club in 2000, through which it recruited volunteers to support its community work. Since 2000, LLH has been recruiting high school and college/university students to help facilitate its spring and summer day camps.

In subsequent years LLH expanded its volunteer training programs and service opportunities for youths. We've seen the many benefits that these volunteers have enjoyed.

May 2008 - The Birthing of the Love Your Neighbour (LYN) Club

LLH supported our initial members in starting up the Love Your Neighbour (LYN) club at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, Canada. We wanted to get fellow students to join us in giving back to the community by taking part in meaningful activities.

September 2008 - LYN Begins to Expand Locally

LYN's supporters also included students who attended two other campuses in Vancouver, Canada: the University of British Columbia and Langara College. So we established new LYN branches at these locations to involve even more students in giving back to the community.

2009 - National and International Expansion

• 
•  

Our globally-minded members encouraged their contacts to begin LYN branches at the University of Toronto and Staten Island College (in New York).

During the summer of 2009, a number of LYN volunteers journeyed to Fiji in our first volunteering mission abroad. Thanks to a lot of passion and commitment, we were able to inspire students at the University of the South Pacific to start up their own LYN branch.

2011 - To Africa and Beyond!

South Africa

Another team of LYN volunteers went overseas in 2011 to share the love. This time they went to Cape Town, South Africa where they assisted in running after-school tutoring and food provision programs in a slum area. They reached out to numerous students at the University of Cape Town and assisted in establishing yet another LYN branch.

Madagascar

LYN volunteers in Madagascar, who shared our global vision, started a program with Light and Love School in the capital city of Antananarivo.

• 
•  

View the embedded image gallery online at:
http://www.lynvolunteer.org/about#sigProGalleria6f6bf87f3a

Hong Kong

A team of volunteers visited a government high school in Hong Kong to host presentations about LYN's global charity work. We also held online presentations to further encourage students to serve their community. Later on we were able to establish a LYN branch at this school!

September 2011 - Peak to Peak

We're continuing to expand in the number of our locations and members, as well as the breadth of our services. We've taken a number of steps to enhance our ability to serve the community:

1. We registered as a non-profit organization this year: "Go Volunteer Love Your Neighbour Club".
2. Our newly-created board of directors lends clear operational guidance to the club.

---

Awards and Recognition 

Back to top

2009: LYN receives SFU Engaged Citizenship Award

The SFU Volunteer Services department recognized the community involvement of three of our members in 2009: Ray Zhang, Katie Law, and Wai-Ying Chau. These volunteers went the extra mile by helping out not just in local community events but joining our first overseas mission to Fiji. Read the article ...

2011: LYN appears in the SFU media and the 24 Hours!

A team of volunteers garnered media attention from various SFU media outlets when they returned from a 2-month stint in Cape Town, South Africa. In one interview with the student newspaper - The Peak - they shared about the joys of serving among children living in a disadvantaged slum area. Read the article ...

The SFU Online Learning Community conducted another interview where our team discussed how the South African trip opened their eyes, not just to a foreign culture but also how their spirit of volunteering touched the lives of others. Read the article ...

Finally, the team also offered tips on volunteering abroad in an interview with the SFU Volunteering Services department. The advice ranges from the tried-and-true "plan in advance" to simply "go for it!" Read the article ...

Later on this year, another article covering our club's work in South Africa was run in the 24 Hours, a well-circulated publication in the Vancouver metro. Read the article ...

2011: LYN appears in Fiji national media

In 2011 the Fiji Sun lauded our club members from the University of the South Pacific for their community service in the face of academic pressures. In the article, club president Darren Kwan also shares about the unique charity work that our club does on this Pacific island nation. Read the article ...

2011: LYN earns several awards at the College of Staten Island!

The student government of CSI handed multiple awards that highlighted our members' outstanding achievement during the 2010-2011 school year.

• Student Event Planning Award in recognition of our "Reach a Heart" Fundraiser
• President Recognition Award and Outstanding Leader Award to club president Si Zhong
• Club Officer Award to Yin Fung
• Club Mentor Award to our entire club

---

Locations 

Back to top

LYN is currently based in the following locations around the world. We're always expanding, so check back soon to see if we have a branch in your area!

Click on a location to read news and current events for that place!