UofT has a massive amount of clubs and organizations to join—there’s everything from Game Design and Development Club to the International Justice Mission. It’s easy to narrow down the choices depending on what you’re interested in, but it can be difficult to find one that truly expresses all facets of your passion. For On Kay Lau, joining a club is more than just being a part of an identity, it’s about giving back to the communities we are a part of.
Kay is a third year Urban Planning major and Human Geography and GIS minors. Like many of us, she enrolled in U of T knowing exactly what she wanted to study—but then changed paths after experiencing a diverse mix of courses. She originally came to U of T as a Philosophy and Art History major, but after expressing her interest in social housing in a geography course, she decided to make the switch.
Kay is a secretary at Love Your Neighbour U of T Chapter (LYN)—a non-profit charity organization dedicated to helping the people of various walks of life, globally and locally, no matter where they come from. LYN is a sister organization to Light and Love Home, an award winning charity organization dedicated to serving and educating orphanages all over the world and started in Vancouver by a group of students at Simon Fraser University in hopes of reaching out to students who are interested in participating in meaningful volunteer work. As Kay says,”LYN helps students see the bigger picture and be more socially conscious. Living in North America has its benefits of course, we shouldn’t take this for granted–but we also shouldn’t turn a blind eye to what is going on outside of North America or outside of the comfort of our own homes.” Not only is LYN aimed at helping others in need, it integrates international students who are passionate about global issues into the U of T community.
Being the secretary of LYN is no easy task. Kay has the responsibility of communicating and organizing the events that the club generates. Through various social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, she connects LYN members and the public all over the world. She is actively helping it to grow as it is only 2 years old, but in a strategic way. She wants to attract honest hearts that genuinely want to be involved, not just for the publicity and popularity. However, her tasks are not limited to her title. Each member of the team acts as an element to the LYN ‘salad bowl’. Everyone comes from a different place around the world and are studying different programs so there is definitely an abundance of perspectives during their meetings.
So what exactly has LYN done? A few weeks ago, the team went to Good Shepherd Ministries, a homeless shelter, to sort food for those in need. Through this experience Kay realized the needs of this city—even in a ‘rich’ city like Toronto, it is in fact quite poor. For Valentine’s Day, LYN made paper valentines to hand out to people for free on campus. Kay says that loving your neighbour doesn’t have to be helping out someone in poverty, “it could be a classmate sitting in a class of 300 people who just needs a hug.”
Immersing herself in social issues, Kay is determined to help shape the world to be liveable for everyone. She couldn’t have done it alone though; she thanks everyone on the LYN team for the amazing support. Now that’s a real life superhero if I’ve ever seen one.