JENGYEE FOR A BETTER WORLD FUND

Purpose

To “better the world”, the Fund has three major goals:

Fight Diseases and Improve Health Care Systems,
Preserve Our Planet, and
Develop People.

Fight Diseases and Improve Health Care Systems

Having suffered the devastating effects of an autoimmune disorder coupled with the adverse side effects of treatment drugs, Jengyee was keenly aware of the need for supporting medical research developing new and holistic treatments for currently incurable diseases and for improving health care systems. She eventually died on November 10, 2008 at the age of 25 after bravely battling lupus for three years.

In her attempts to find an effective treatment for her condition, she became particularly interested in natural healing as she strived to minimize or even avoid taking drugs, seeing a doctor, and being hospitalized if at all possible. In the years following her lupus diagnosis in late 2005 she actively explored many natural methods that include: meditation, acupuncture, Longevitology (Chang Sheng Xue), Qi Kong, Zi-Chiu Kong (Self-Rescue Kong), and several other Kong practices, food as medicine, and exercises among others. None of these treatments proved to be effective in the long term but beg for medical research to study natural and alternative forms in order to understand and help the human body reduce suffering and heal effectively in a holistic manner.

Also, Jengyee became very familiar with the many facets, both positive and negative, of our current health care systems while seeking medical help during her three-year battle with lupus. Jengyee’s arduous journey with navigating the shortcomings of our current health care systems in America, namely, medical insurance, technical and caring quality of medical personnel, reliability of medical equipment, rigid hospital protocols, and a generally non-systematic diagnosis and treatment of a systemic disease like lupus, brought to her attention the dire need to develop efficient, humane, and affordable models of health care.

We will consider funding for innovative and integrative approaches to meeting these goals.

Preserve Our Planet

Examples of societal misuses and abuses of this planet and its resources abound. We need to work very hard to rethink and improve our current living conditions for all of us, our children, and our grandchildren. Spreading environmental awareness and promoting sustainable and green consumption habits were issues very dear to Jengyee, which manifested itself in her dedication to recycling and raising consciousness there of.

Protecting our environment is not only a matter of sustainability and conscience, but is also a matter of health. Our air, water, foods, and day-to-day household, commercial or industrial products have been polluted in many known and unknown ways. “Eighty thousand chemicals have been approved for use in our environment. Only a very small number of them have been tested for their effects on our body. For example, mice exposed to pesticides—at levels four-fold lower than the level set as acceptable for humans by the EPA—are more susceptible to getting lupus than control mice…” (See “The Autoimmune Epidemic” by Donna Nakazawa.)

Needless to say, preserving our planet is a gigantic and multi-front endeavour – policy, awareness, research, and action are all needed. Any proposal/project dedicated to this cause will be considered.

Develop People

Akin to promoting education, developing the mind and body goes far beyond a formal education, which is often reserved for the privileged few. In her lifetime, Jengyee was keenly aware of the negative effects of limiting development opportunities to a select few. On the other hand, she grew immensely through the opportunities open to her in extracurricular university services, community services and Toastmasters activities. She felt that any mind and body can be developed to better the self and the world if proper attention and opportunity are offered independently of the university classroom.

Service-oriented extracurricular activities and challenges were an integral part of Jengyee’s life. In highs school, she overcame her inability to swim and felt very fulfilled when she became a varsity relay swimmer. During her university days, Jengyee taught developmentally challenged kids how to swim. Even after her diagnosis, she volunteered in teaching local kids.

Jengyee liked to keep in touch with people and to help them grow. And in so doing she grew equally as well. She touched the lives of many and, even after death, has brought countless friends and colleagues together as a supportive community.

Community projects focused on developing people and community ties are encouraged.

Lastly, any proposal that addresses two or more of the above three goals at the same time is especially welcome.

Highlights of Her Life

Instead of writing a chronological description about Jengyee’s life and accomplishments, we provide some highlights via some samples of condolences letters and website links about her work (all links open in a new window):

Power point presentation at her wake by her father (ppt)
Letter from a primary school teacher together with a poem she wrote at 10 (pdf)
Letter and eulogies from UC Berkeley professors and the Dean of the College of Engineering (pdf)
Letter showing a tree planted for her (pdf)
Her Friends’ Messages on Her
Hello Real World, a book written by Jengyee on how to land on internships and entry jobs
Tips on Presentations
Interning–Preparing-for-a-Smooth-Transition
Be Careful What You Ask – Jengyee Liang, a Toastmaster speech of hers (pending)
One of Her Mentors, Shirley Rivera’s Blog on Her

Fund Administrators

• Mr. Tom Liang
• Mr. Ben J. Liang
• Ms. Jan Liang
• Mr. Al Liang

Donations

CharitySmith accepts donations in two ways:

By Mail:
Jengyee for a Better World Fund
CharitySmith Nonprofit Foundation
13100 Filly Lane
Truckee, CA 96161

Online:
Use credit card by clicking the link below:

The above Memorial Fund is established as a division of CharitySmith Nonprofit Foundation (EIN 87-0636433). All donations are tax deductible in accordance with federal tax law. Receipts for tax purposes are sent via US Mail within two weeks of donation. Please consider asking if your employer participates in a gift-matching program. If so, your donation may be matched by your employer. For questions regarding your donation or this memorial fund please contact CharitySmith.