- Founder and Project Manager of two global non-profit organizations: CARElderly and Little Library (2023–Present)
- South China Morning Post (SCMP) Student of the Year 2023-2024, Community Contributor – 2nd Runner-up
- Kiwanis International Community Service Award 2024
- President and Head of Education of the SISHK Green Club (2022–Present), Head of Publicity and Member of the SISHK Student Council (2021–Present)
- SISHK Community Contributor Award (2024) and Talent Development Scholarship Award (2021)
My journey with Generalized Anxiety Disorder has not been easy. I was not only faced with the Mental Health stigma in Asia, but also symptoms that have impacted many aspects of my life. However, instead of letting my anxiety hold me back, I decided to harness these feelings into a propulsive force for others.
When my grandmother got diagnosed with dementia and anxiety, I endeavored to create a solution. My experience with tactile stimulation from fidgeting with rings laid the groundwork for a new prototype: a fidget apron. Following my grandmother’s positive experience, I created 30 fidget aprons to test with seniors at a retirement home. The survey results were overwhelmingly positive, showing improvements in sleep, anxiety levels, and concentration. Because of this success, I founded CARElderly to produce and distribute fidget aprons to relieve anxiety in elderlies. Over 500 hand-made fidget aprons have been donated in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, China and the United States, and we have also hosted events and activities for dementia and visually-impaired patients in Hong Kong and in collaboration with Adream Foundation in Shanghai. To make my organization self-sustaining, I have started to restructure it into a social enterprise. My website, carelderly.org, sells fidget aprons; with each fidget apron purchase, we donate another. I have also employed seniors at a public elderly home to sew our fidget aprons, generating a stable source of income for them.
Similarly, I felt like I could personally relate to the crying children in the pediatric wards, anxious from the high-stress environment of the hospital. Hence, I founded Little Library to collect used children’s books and reuse them sustainably by redistributing them in book carts to public hospitals. So far, we have redistributed 988 books to 18 pediatric wards of 4 public hospitals in Thailand, with the books providing children with a distraction from their anxiety. I also set up book donations at school to educate primary students on the importance of civic engagement, instilling in them the values of giving back to society at a young age.
Through creating CARElderly and Little Library, I learned that my greatest growth didn’t come from overcoming my own anxiety in isolation, but from using my experience to empower others. In turning my pain into a force for connection and care, I’ve gained not only a deeper understanding of myself, but also of the quiet power that comes from uplifting others.