Otis Yuen
VFR: Otis, tell us about yourself and how you got involved with Vancouver Food Runners.
Otis Yuen: Hello, my name is Otis Yuen, and I am a 15-year-old who has volunteered with the VFR program since June 2021. I was first introduced to this program by my mom. We downloaded the VFR app when we saw a post in which VFR organized people to deliver excess food to healthcare workers during the onset of the pandemic. Once I accepted my first food rescue, I kept taking part in this because it feels nice to see the surplus food you personally save each trip.
VFR: As a young person, do you see your peers discussing and acting on issues such as climate change, sustainability, and poverty reduction? Tell us about your perspective on this.
OY: Young people don’t sit around watching the world burn before their very eyes. In fact, most young people claim loud and clear that they care about the environment. Adolescents commonly try to start clubs for social justice and environmental sustainability and attend protests and whatnot. But I, personally, do not enjoy voicing my concerns as much as my fellow peers. As such, I appreciate VFR’s program for letting me do something worthwhile and impactful, and not forcing me to rely on speeches to do so.
VFR: What makes volunteering with Vancouver Food Runners meaningful to you? What has been your favourite volunteer “moment” so far?
OY: I think my favourite volunteer “moment” is the first time I saw the stats of my volunteer work in the VFR program. I think the presentation of these stats helps to encourage both myself and others to participate in food rescues. I feel very emotional when reading that I have just transported my 2,500th pound of weekly cinnamon buns! I believe the careful accounting and presentation of volunteer impact stats, alongside the constant mission of trying to make a tangible impact, is a true strength of the VFR community and those who back it. It is what motivates me to volunteer with VFR.
VFR: Have you gained any insights or learnings through volunteering with Vancouver Food Runners? Has anything surprised you?
OY: Looking back at my work, I realize that I began – and continue – this job mostly because I feel good after every food rescue. Because of the measures and procedures taken by VFR staff, this is one of the first recurring volunteer services that I am willing to partake in to make myself feel better.
This brings me to another talking point that I would like to mention to everyone, and I will call it the “volunteer’s paradox.” The standards for being admitted into certain academic institutions has risen considerably over the years. To strengthen one’s university application, you need to be a whiz and significantly contribute to your community. It does not take a genius to figure out that this mentality conflicts with what a volunteer is by definition. But if young people simply view “volunteering” as another odd job that pays in the form of “volunteer hours,” a currency solely for upping one’s chances of a dream job or getting into a prestigious American university, this may be problematic.
The sudden realization that I am doing this more as an immediate path towards building self-satisfaction, instead of adopting the indirect grind set of “I need to harvest more volunteer hours to get into a university to get a job to make money to buy stuff that I like to help me survive until retirement to finally rid myself of past regrets and be absolutely sure that I feel good about myself as I sit in my reclining chair looking out the window of my penthouse,” kind of hit me like a train. I have still yet to recover from the blow, while writing this very answer.
VFR: Anything else you would like to add?
OY: I enjoy this volunteer initiative so much that I plan to introduce VFR to other people in my life, such other family members, and peers outside of my school community, like those in the Scout group that I attend. If I introduce VFR in the future, I will try to persuade others in joining through the promise of just feeling genuinely good after each food rescue. This is one of the few volunteer services which has made me truly feel a benefit to both myself and the community, and I commend the VFR organization for this accomplishment.
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