Finding the Extraordinary in the Ordinary | Bryan Fok, Swire Trust Go-Givers of 2022

Written by Time Auction ．
3 mins
read ．
Posted on 27 October, 2022

Together with Time Auction, the Swire Trust Go-Givers Program encourages skilled volunteers for Swire Trust NGO partners from 2020 to 2022. 10 outstanding volunteers will be selected annually as the “Swire Trust Go-Givers of the Year” with special rewards & recognition. Meet our 10 Go-Givers of 2022!

Bryan Fok Blogpost Image 1

Meet Bryan

Practising law has always been a popular choice among aspiring students. Some are fascinated by the eloquence of barristers in the court, while others are charmed by the meticulousness of solicitors who are often buried under piles of legal documents. Yet, after they have progressed from “aspiring” to “successful,” what next steps await them? For Bryan Fok, it is to go from “successful” to “meaningful.”

A new case

Being a practising lawyer specializing in commercial law, Bryan is experienced not only through cases from his law firm but also through the Free Legal Advice Scheme of the Duty Lawyer Service. Bryan is no stranger to using his skills and profession to help others. 

So when he learned about Time Auction from his friends, he immediately searched the volunteer matching platform to see if there were any suitable opportunities. Soon, he found that the Sunnyside Club was seeking a legal and governance advisor. Undoubtedly, Bryan found his perfect match with the Sunnyside Club.

Established by volunteers from the Cathay Pacific Group, the Sunnyside Club is a Hong Kong charity dedicated to supporting disabled children and their families through sponsoring special equipment and organizing festive activities. Concretely and vividly, the NGO’s mission is to "put smiles on faces."

A seemingly ordinary project

Since the Sunnyside Club’s establishment over two decades ago, its Articles of Association have remained unchanged. Accordingly, the NGO’s committee would like a legal expert to overhaul its existing operation, update its guiding policies, and recommend suitable future paths. Ultimately, they hope to build a modern legal infrastructure to operate smoothly and generate the most significant possible impact on their targeted service users. Fortunately, Bryan can offer precisely such expertise. 

As the old saying goes, “every problem is an opportunity in disguise.” Indeed, unforeseen problems turned into new opportunities as they started the project. At their first meeting, where Bryan listed out everything to be done, the NGO was shocked to know that they had largely underestimated the workload and complexity of this task. 

This problem, however, posed a new opportunity for both the Sunnyside Club and Bryan: the NGO could recruit another volunteer into its organization to share the work. At the same time, Bryan could get a chance to work with different people outside of his firm. Bryan’s volunteer partner - a fresh graduate of law - offered him an alternative perspective on the industry’s landscape by sharing the new challenges which young lawyers face nowadays. Later, they developed a long-lasting mentor relationship as the aspiring lawyer asked Bryan for career advice.

Bringing extraordinary impact

Undoubtedly, such professional collaboration led to fruitful results. “Bryan is very committed and dedicated to helping us to revisit the details of Sunnyside Club Limited's Articles,” commended Vivian from the Sunnyside Club. “He produced a detailed and high-quality comparison summary of different aspects and made recommendations for every aspect for our consideration.”

Not only are the project’s outcomes reflected in the NGO’s updated Articles but also in how Bryan sees pro-bono work. “It is different from my daily work as these NGOs will not be fee-paying clients, and their concerns are very different since they are charities,” he explained. For example, these NGOs are not hoping to maximise profit with legal advice. As a result, Bryan can use his professional knowledge in an entirely different context when advising NGOs. “I think using my existing knowledge for new purposes is an interesting combination.”

This new purpose is also given further meaning through the Swire Trust Go-Givers of the Year award. Being nominated for this recognition, Bryan is delighted to know that his volunteer work is valued by the NGO, which thanked Bryan: “We truly appreciate his professionalism and expertise in the legal advice offered to us, which is of great help. His patience, can-do spirit, and endless support to Sunnyside Club meant a lot to us.”

Most importantly, by receiving this award, Bryan wants to become a role model.

“I want to show other people that what you do at work can also be used to help others outside of work."

By encouraging more people to volunteer, the impact of one single person can be multiplied infinitely. Indeed, doing something “meaningful” is not only limited to oneself or one NGO, but it can also be for all via volunteerism.

Thank you so much to Bryan for contributing 40 volunteer hours & beyond at the Sunnyside Club!

To see details of the Swire Trust Go-Givers Program and support their NGO partners, head over to Time Auction website.

Written by Margaret Ng, Volunteer Copywriter

Updated on 28 October, 2022
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由細到大屋企人都教我哋「食得唔好嘥」，不過有時候都少不免會浪費食物，尤其是餐廳同超級市場等等。其實如果將呢啲剩餘食物妥善分配同處理，可以幫到好多有需要嘅人。有無打算做技能義工 (Skilled-volunteers)，利用自己嘅專長同興趣回饋社會？以下為大家介紹一下喺香港與「食物回收」有關嘅非牟利機構 (NGO)，從而對佢地有更多認識之餘，仲可以了解多啲佢哋嘅服務同理念： 樂餉社 Feeding Hong Kong 樂餉社將食物從豐富的地方帶到有需要的地方，幫助有需要嘅人。 惜食堂 Food Angel 惜食堂係以「不浪費，不飢餓，有愛」為使命，拯救可食用嘅剩餘食物，並準備成營養豐富嘅熱餐，重新分配比香港嘅弱勢群體。 聖雅各福群會 St. James' Settlement FOOD-CO FOOD-CO嘅目標係通過技術和數據分析嘅進步，以更有效嘅方式促進食物捐贈，與志同道合嘅伙伴為扶貧徵集資源，培養節約同分享嘅文化，旨在減少食物浪費，創造更美好嘅生活環境。 膳心連基金 Breadline x Foodlink Foundation Breadline 係香港首創嘅食物救援公共數碼平台，主要合作夥伴為非政府組織和麵包店連鎖店合作，自 2 年前開始以黎，已經回收超過 100,000 個麵包，為生活貧困嘅人提供營養餐。  GREEN Hospitality GREEN Hospitality 係一個將酒店業、學術界、非營利部門、初創企業同政府聚集嘅平台，通過創新、協作同研究分享知識、建立聯盟同尋找解決方案。 認識左香港幾間同食物回收相關嘅機構後，如果想幫手又應該點揀到啱自己專長嘅義工服務？完全唔駛擔心！除左傳統嘅海灘清潔、賣旗、探訪外，宜家嘅義工服務已經比以前更多元化！想支持食物回收嘅你，即刻睇下有咩新穎有趣嘅服務可以出一分力： 義工服務（一）：麵包回收員（Bread Runner） 每日香港都會有3,250噸食物浪費，被棄置到堆填區。當中尤其是麵包連鎖店，都會有唔少嘅賣剩麵包。如果可以出分力，幫手收集方便機構再分配，已經可以減小食物浪費！義工只需要去到最方便你嘅區域，向Bread Runner計劃合作嘅麵包店收集賣剩嘅麵包，一晚2小時就可以完成！而且呢個義工項目可以一次性或間中支持，更容易係時間上作出安排！ 【立即申請】 義工服務（二）：攝影師（Photographer） 有無諗過識影相嘅你，都可以為食物回收出分力？例如香港有相關嘅NGO就有食物處理中心，作為回收可食用嘅剩餘食物，並準備成營養豐富嘅熱餐，重新分配比香港嘅弱勢群體。為咗俾更加多人認識回收嘅過程，你嘅攝影技能就可以幫到機構進一步推廣佢地嘅工作同理念，甚至方便機構係日後用係Marketing宣傳上，令更多人可以重視剩餘食物嘅資源分配。鍾意影相嘅朋友，就唔好錯過啦！ 【立即申請】 義工服務（三）：傳單設計師（Leaflet Designer） 本身做開Marketing（市場營銷）同Graphic Design（平面設計）嘅朋友，有冇諗過幫手設計宣傳物資都係義工嘅一種？例如係幫機構簡單設計並構思平價嘅食譜，向大眾宣傳節約同分享嘅文化精神。可以利用自己設計（Design）嘅專長去推廣有意義嘅食物文化，快D click入去睇下相關嘅project幫手啦！ 【立即申請】 香港義工配對平台推介 想知更多義工服務選擇同詳情，不妨瀏覽Time Auction技能義工服務配對平台 (Skilled-Volunteer Matching Program)！Time […]
How Jayne Gave Back to the Community with Skilled-Volunteering | Swire Trust Go-Givers of 2021
Together with Time Auction, the Swire Trust Go-Givers Program encourages skilled volunteers for Swire Trust NGOs partners from 2020 to 2022. 10 outstanding volunteers will be selected annually as the “Swire Trust Go-Givers of the Year” with special rewards & recognition. Meet our 10 Go-Givers of 2021! Meet Jayne! Jayne is a world-class photographer, whose […]
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True Impact — How We Calculate the Value of Skilled Volunteering
Introduction At Time Auction, we are committed to connecting skilled volunteers with nonprofit organizations, empowering them to get more done and accelerate their impact. The values of these volunteer engagement are multi-fold: the short-term value of the volunteer work completed new relationships and networks developed the long-term impact of the volunteer work and new skills […]
Developing Websites and Volunteerism | Blue Li, Swire Trust Go-Givers of 2022
Together with Time Auction, the Swire Trust Go-Givers Program encourages skilled volunteers for Swire Trust NGO partners from 2020 to 2022. 10 outstanding volunteers will be selected annually as the “Swire Trust Go-Givers of the Year” with special rewards & recognition. Meet our 10 Go-Givers of 2022! Meet Blue Imagine living with a health issue […]
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