My Story with Changier

Chen Yifei | Keynote Speech at 2025 "Stories of Charity Stars"

Honorable leaders, distinguished guests, parents and friends, good evening!

I am Chen Yifei, Caring Ambassador of the APEPCY from Hong Kong and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.

Many people ask me why I chose music as a means to advocate for social causes.

We are living in an age of both challenges and opportunities. While globalization has opened up endless possibilities, it has also exacerbated inequality and armed conflicts, creating greater challenges in our increasingly interconnected world.

In this context, I firmly believe that music is a universal language that transcends cultural and linguistic boundaries. Even as artificial intelligence advances, the way live music connects hearts and souls remains an irreplaceable experience. I have always believed that music has the power to nurture the human spirit and inspire positive change throughout the world.

I began creating during my college years. With psychology as my undergraduate major, I started exploring the relationship between our inner world and external reality. During this process, I ventured into music composition and gradually opened up emotionally.

My first original composition focused on environmental protection, with lyrics that read: "City lights and fading stars, as doves embrace the glamorous night, yet romance is merely the smog that envelops us." The lyrics won first prize at the NetEase Golden Song Awards, leading to my signing as a contracted artist with NetEase.

However, the path of a musician is not always smooth and plain sailing. When I was at rock bottom and on the verge of giving up, my mentor Xu Hening gave me the inspiration I needed. She said, "While singing can touch hearts, speaking has the power to transform lives." She encouraged me to embrace my gift and use music to influence, inspire and empower others. Since then, I began to explore ways to integrate singing with storytelling, spreading compassion and warmth through the combined art of vocals and narration. This approach not only created a deeper connection with the audience but also instilled a healing energy through the power of music.

This is what motivated us to organize the "Spark" charity concert in Shanghai in 2021. At that time, we had neither funding nor a team, and were inexperienced. Only my best friend Danling and I spent over five months working hard from the ground up.

We went from venue to venue, promoting our concert to strangers in restaurants and taxis, and seized every opportunity to perform and speak at friends' concerts and training sessions, aiming to gather broader support. We seize opportunities, one venue at a time, with a basic PowerPoint presentation. We held about five or six sharing sessions, reaching a cumulative audience of over 1,300 participants.

Support started trickling in with small scattered amounts: from donations of RMB 500, RMB 1,000, and RMB 10,000, to generous contributions reaching a few hundred thousand. It was this accumulation of support that made possible a charity speech and concert with thousands in attendance. During the pandemic, many friends came to Shanghai from different cities just to support the charitable work of APEPCY. This trust and support ignites a spark of hope that can spread far and wide.

I composed "Spark" specifically for that year's concert, and every line of lyrics embodies our feelings and determination. To save costs, we learned to make everything from scratch - promotional materials, stage backdrop, and invitations were all handmade by Danling and myself. For the ten days leading up to the concert, we worked until three in the morning every day. Throughout this process, there were countless moments of heartbreak and tears, but also times when we lifted each other up with high-fives and words of encouragement. Despite countless obstacles, we persevered. Because we share a common belief

When I first met Zhang Yinjun, the president of the Beijing Changier Education Foundation, I learned about AIDS prevention education for teenagers and heard many impactful stories of public service. I was deeply touched by what prompted President Zhang to establish APEPCY. One day, she entered a hospital and found that a doctor had just performed an abortion on a 12-year-old girl. Due to inadequate hospital management at the time, the girl simply came and went with her backpack, completely unbeknownst to her family and teachers.

Stories of AIDS entering our schools break my heart. A female undergraduate inadvertently contracted HIV during her first year of college, but the diagnosis wasn't confirmed until her junior year at the hospital. During this period, however, she unwittingly infected 16 people, triggering an exponential spread.

These real and brutal cases opened my eyes to the fact that individual efforts alone are far from sufficient. We need more people working together to prevent such tragedies and create a healthier, safer environment for young people to thrive.

Before getting involved in this project, I often felt my life was meaningless, with a profound sense of confusion and no clear sense of direction. Back then, I felt bursting with energy, but had no idea how to channel it. I believe many young people, like myself, have struggled with feelings of uncertainty.

When our mission aligns with the spirit of our times, our inner strength finds its anchor. I hope to help China become a powerhouse in healthcare, to help China become the first country in the world to eliminate AIDS, and most importantly, to protect all young people from the threat of HIV.

Looking back, I consider myself fortunate. Between college graduation and graduate school, I discovered my path in life. Since philanthropy is beyond personal gains or losses, I will pursue it regardless of my financial situation. My chosen path in public speaking and music is one without boundaries. If your heart is filled with love, you will possess its power; the more people you hold dear, the more support and strength you will receive in return. Thus, I have set my sights on this goal and am committed to dedicating myself entirely to this mission.

In the future, I aspire to continue my journey in both music and charitable causes.

Each person's life story is unique, and their impact on the world is irreplaceable. How can we maximize a person's impact and value in life by a hundred or even a thousand times? The answer lies in helping 100, or even 1,000 people like ourselves, while guiding them on their journey of growth.

Now, we're only about 100 days away from the first charity concert of 2025. I would like to invite more aspiring youth to join us in accomplishing this meaningful cause and speaking up for charity together. Change lives with your life.

Thank you all!