At YCIS Qingdao, every student understands the importance of shaping a better world through helping others, from the Early Childhood Education department to the secondary school. "Loving our neighbour as ourselves" is the concept that the YCIS "Seeds of Hope" charity project aims to instil in students, and this "seed of love" has already sprouted in the students' hearts.

In 2022, the Association of China and Mongolia International Schools (ACAMIS) launched the annual Jim Koerschen Award for Innovation in Schools, which encourages students to apply their academic, social, and personal skills to create an innovative program, system, activity, or service for their school community. At that time, Leo and Justin, who were in Year 11, seized the opportunity to put into practice their long-cherished wish to give back to the school community and show their love.

"When our CUGO teacher introduced us to this award, the first thing that came to my mind was something related to charity. At secondary, we have a Service-Learning Week every academic year, during which we have the opportunity to interact with students from local deaf schools, accompany older people in nursing homes, and clean up beaches, among other activities. After communicating with the deaf students, I believe that children should not be deprived of the right to learn due to misfortune, so we want to create this institution to help those children." shared Leo.

The initial idea was to sell blind boxes to depressed people. The aim was to bring a sense of novelty and hope to their lives through the excitement and unpredictability of the blind boxes. The proceeds from the sales would then be donated to children with disabilities or those living in poverty.

The idea was approved by ACAMIS, and a month after submitting the application, Leo and Justin received the award certificate and $1000 USD service-learning grant.

However, the time of preparation, was the hardest because a lot of their original ideas were not able to work.

Firstly, considering the sensitivity of the target group with depression, explicitly marketing the blind boxes to a specific audience might create a backlash.

Secondly, as minors, the students could not independently set up an online store account.

Thirdly, selling creative products online would involve copyright issues, and designing multiple products would require bulk orders to cover the costs.

Despite these difficulties, Justin and Leo remained committed to the project and actively sought solutions amidst their busy academic schedules. Eventually, Leo contacted a local company in Qingdao, which has their products and characters. Justin took charge of designing the blind box packaging. After 12 months of submitting the project proposal, the "Lucky Box" product finally launched online!

After submitting the project proposal, Justin backed to South Korea due to family reasons. However, the two students continued their communication online, and their chat history became a testament to their efforts in ensuring the successful launch of the project over the course of a year.

By the end of September 2023, the "Lucky Box" had sold a total of 750 RMB online, and the proceeds were donated to the "Hello Kids" Love Package by the China Children and Teenagers' Fund. The students' "loving hearts" finally became a reality!

Justin and Leo have spent eight and nine years respectively at YCIS Qingdao. We are delighted to see how they have grown into the embodiment of what YCIS education strives for. They possess fluent bilingual abilities in Chinese and English, are global-minded, and embrace both Eastern and Western cultures. More importantly, they are appreciative and caring global citizens. We believe that as they step out of YCIS, they will undoubtedly become future leaders who create a better world.