Service
From music to community.
For Richard, service has grown from a simple question: how can something you love become useful to someone else?
Music offered one answer. What began as a shared interest among young musicians gradually became a way to bring people together—first through performances, then through fundraising, hospital partnerships, and a growing community of young people willing to contribute their time and talents to others.
That journey became Firefly Youth Network.
Young people. Shared talents. A larger purpose.
Firefly Youth Network
Richard joined Firefly Youth Network in July 2022 as one of its founding members, when the organization consisted of fewer than ten young people. Since then, he has helped grow Firefly into a network of more than 100 members, bringing together young musicians, organizers, and volunteers through music, service, and community engagement.
Rather than treating service as something separate from their interests, Firefly encourages young people to begin with what they already care about—music, creativity, leadership, or community—and ask how those interests might be shared in ways that matter to others.
For Richard, that idea has remained at the center of Firefly: young people do not have to wait until adulthood to contribute meaningfully to their communities.
Turning performance into purpose.
Light of Hope
One of Firefly’s signature initiatives is the Light of Hope charity concert series, which brings young musicians and performers together in support of hospitals and community causes.
Behind each concert is a much larger youth effort: recruiting performers, coordinating volunteers, developing programs, working with community partners, promoting the event, fundraising, and bringing families and audiences together around a shared cause.
Richard has been involved not only as a performer, but also in the planning and leadership behind these events. Through successive Light of Hope concerts and other Firefly initiatives, the organization has sought to make performance more than an artistic endpoint—it becomes a way of gathering a community around something larger than the stage itself.
Across its charitable initiatives, Firefly has generated more than CAD $70,000 in support for hospitals and community causes, including support connected with Richmond Hospital and BC Children’s Hospital.
100+
Youth Members
👥
$70,000+
Charitable Support Generated
♡
2,000+
Concert Attendees
♫
Richard representing Firefly Youth Network in support of BC Children’s Hospital’s Mighty Music Program · Light of Hope Charity Concert III · March 2026
Firefly Youth Network · Light of Hope III Charity Concert · March 2026
Bringing music closer to the community.
Melodies of Hope
Alongside Firefly’s larger charity concerts, the Melodies of Hope series grew from a desire to create smaller, more intimate spaces where young musicians could share their talents while supporting the community.
Richard plans, organizes, and leads the concerts, coordinating performers, developing programs, managing event logistics, and working with fellow youth leaders and volunteers to bring each event to life. He also performs in the concerts, taking part both behind the scenes and on stage.
For Richard, the series has offered another perspective on what service through music can look like. A concert does not have to be large to be meaningful. In smaller settings, the distance between performer and audience becomes much shorter: musicians meet the people they are performing for, families gather around the music, and the experience becomes as much about connection as presentation.
Under Richard’s leadership, successive Melodies of Hope concerts have brought young musicians together in support of BC Children’s Hospital Foundation’s Mighty Music Program. Beyond fundraising, the series creates opportunities for young performers to use their talents in service of others—turning individual performances into a sustained, youth-led community effort.
Richard performing with Firefly Youth Network at BC Children’s Hospital · August 2026
Music Across Generations
Sharing music with senior communities.
Richard has also planned and led Firefly outreach performances for senior communities, reaching out directly to senior residences, coordinating the programs and young performers, and helping bring each visit from an idea into reality. He also performs alongside fellow musicians, taking part both behind the scenes and on stage.
These more intimate performances have shown Richard another side of service through music. Without a large stage or fundraising goal, the focus becomes simpler: spending time with residents, sharing music, and creating moments of connection across generations.
Richard coordinating with young performers and volunteers before Melodies of Hope III · May 2026
Music beyond the Concert Hall
Bringing music directly into BC Children’s Hospital.
In August 2026, Richard organized and led a Firefly Youth Network mini concert at BC Children’s Hospital, bringing young musicians together to share live music with children, families, hospital staff, and volunteers.
Richard coordinated the performers and program and also performed during the concert. The afternoon featured classical voice, piano, cello, and traditional Chinese music, while Firefly members also prepared stuffed animals and chocolates to be shared through the hospital’s Child Life team.
Performing in a hospital gave music a different purpose. Unlike a traditional concert, families moved in and out as part of the rhythms of a hospital day. The experience became less about the stage or applause and more about offering moments of warmth, encouragement, and connection.
For Richard, the experience reinforced an idea that has increasingly shaped his work with Firefly: music can serve others not only by raising funds, but by being present where it may bring comfort, connection, and a moment of normalcy.
Richard performing at a Firefly outreach concert for a local senior community · November 2025