Aaron Chen Memorial Foundation
A federally incorporated Canadian nonprofit organization
You can choose either to donate to the Aaron Chen Memorial Foundation to support its various nonprofit initiatives, including student scholarships at universities and local schools (see details below and we will work with more educational institutions soon). All the donations are completely voluntary and will be used for charitable and non-profit purposes, as required by the Canadian laws governing registered non-profit organizations.
Alternatively, you can also donate directly to one of the designated registered charities below that have agreed to use the donations to support other children or patients in honor of Aaron's life and memories. We have listed three types of such charities: (1) university and schools; (2) the department for cancer treatment at a major children's hospital, and (3) an international scholarly association for cross-cultural understanding.
Disclaimer: Please note that we are a newly incorporated federal non-profit organization in Canada and can issue a receipt for your donation as such, but we have not yet received the status of “registered charity”, a status that may take several months or years for the Canadian federal government to review and process. Therefore, if a Canadian tax receipt for “charitable donation” is an important consideration for you, please either let us know of your intention to donate and wait for our approval as a “registered charity” or otherwise donate to one of the designated charities below. We thank you for your support regardless. Please also note that we are not in a position to offer tax advice and please consult your accountant or lawyer for the tax implications if you intend to donate in a significant amount.
A. For donations to the Aaron Chen Memorial Foundation,
You can e-transfer the fund directly from a Canadian or U.S. bank account by using the foundation's email address at aaronchenfoundation@gmail.com, with the fund immediately deposited to the foundation's official bank account. This is the preferred method since the other payment methods by Stripe, Paypal or credit card listed below will deduct more than 3 percent of your donation by the payment service provider.
Alternatively, you can use a major credit card or other international payment methods such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, Link, SEPA or IDeal by clicking the payment link or scanning the QR Code of Stripe (a major international payment processing platform similar to Paypal) here. If the options above are not available, donations in Chinese currency Renminbi can be made by scanning the the Wechat Pay 微信支付 bar code or contact us by the email address provided above. An equivalent amount of Canadian dollars would then be donated to the Foundation on your behalf.
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Scan to donate via credit card or other methods through Stripe
Scan to donate via Wehchat Pay
B. Designated Canadian/U.S. Registered Charities to Receive Donations
1. Educational: The Aaron Jingyi Chen Memorial Award at the University of Toronto
More donations will enable us to support more students in honour of Aaron’s name and loving spirit. You can click this link to donate to the award and find more about information about it. Please note that U.S.-based donors who are not U of T alumni or their immediate relatives might need to mail their checks to the New York Office of the Association of the University of Toronto for an IRS-recognized tax receipt for non-profit donations for their U.S. tax returns.
​Click here to donate to the Memorial Award Endowment at the University of Toronto
2. Medical: The Hospital for Sick Children (Sickkids)
Even though he did not survive the fatal fungal infection during his recent chemo treatment, Aaron received very good care from many doctors and nurses at Sickkids and its satellite clinics at the Rouge Valley Hospital in Scarborough. Many went extra miles to support us. Before his passing, Aaron specifically thanked all of them. We would like to raise fund to support the doctors and nurses for improving services and treatment of other children fighting life-threatening illnesses and their families so that they do not have to go through the same suffering. We hope to set up an endowment in Aaron's name to help their fight against cancer while we will also join other non-profit organizations to raise public awareness and call for more governmental and societal support for effective treatment of cancer as well as fungal infection.
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Click here to donate to the Sickkids Foundation​
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For U.S. donors who need a tax receipt, please click here to donate to the Friends of the Hospital for Sick Children and and please indicate on the Dedication session that the gift is meant for "the Aaron Chen Foundation, in memory of Aaron," so that the Sickkids Foundation can keep track and credit your gift to this fundraising campaign while you will get a U.S. tax receipt for charitable donation.
3. International/Cross-Cultural: The International Society for Chinese Law and History
Aaron was not old enough to attend college or become a scholar like both of his parents, but when he was still a little boy, he had already become too familiar with the life (or lack thereof) of full-time academics and the kinds of work his parents among many other scholars have been doing to promote cross-cultural knowledge and understanding. For instance, he literally counted the (tenure) clock of how many more years his parents had to work on their book manuscripts for tenure and promotion before they could free up more time to play with him. To honor both his memory and his cross-cultural heritage and to also pay tribute to children like Aaron for their sacrifice of part of their childhood playtime for their parents' academic career and scholarship (which in this case focuses on global media, Chinese culture, Sino-Western relationship, and Chinese legal history, etc.), the Aaron Jingyi Chen Memorial Foundation has partnered with the International Society for Chinese Law and History (ISCLH) to promote best international scholarship on Chinese law and history by raising fund for research prizes and grants.
As a 501c(3) non-profit organization with tax exemption status recognized by the IRS, the New York-based ISCLH can issue tax receipt for non-profit donations to U.S. donors if that is an important consideration for them.
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Your donation will NOT go through the Aaron Chen Memorial Foundation but will go directly into one of the two bank accounts of ISCLH specifically set up for the purpose:
(1) Click here to donate to the fund for the ISCLH Research Grant for Early Career Scholars in Chinese law and History.
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(2) Click here to donate to the fund for the ISCLH Prize for Best Book in Chinese Law and History.
4. Local Community and Schools
1) Bridlewood Junior Public School, likely through the Toronto District School Board, which is a Canadian registered charity.
This is the primary school Aaron attended for eight years since he started junior kindergarten there in 2014. Many teachers and several principals attended Aaron’s memorial and told us how much impact Aaron’s time and passing have left on the Bridlewood community. The page on “Shared Memories” includes some of their messages and comments about Aaron. Because Aaron spent nearly all his school years at Bridlewood, it would mean so much to us and to the community that his name and life story be recognized and remembered as an inspiration for students of future generations. We are currently working with the school’s administration to discuss various ways of commemorating Aaron, including book donations for a Aaron Chen book corner in the school library, etc.
The donation link will be added once it becomes available.
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2) J.B. Tyrell Junior High School, likely through the Toronto District School Board, which is a Canadian registered charity
Aaron attended the middle school for three months. We are currently working with the school’s administration to discuss various ways of commemorating Aaron, such as through annual chess tournaments and supporting the school’s extracurricular infrastructure.
The donation link will be added once it becomes available.
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Thank you all for your support. We have no doubt that with your support, the Aaron Chen Memorial Foundation and the charitable institutions it partners with will help fulfil Aaron’s wishes to return the favour and love he received from many people by supporting other children and young people.