Local student's debate tournament raises money for Halton Children's Aid Foundation

An Oakville high school student spearheaded a GTA-wide debate tournament in his latest initiative to raise money for the Children's Aid Foundation of Halton (CAFH).

Andy Lin, a Grade 12 student at White Oaks Secondary School (WOSS), leads a team of students dedicated to raising funds for CAFH through various local initiatives as the founder of the Oakville Youth Group.

Lin started as a Grade 9 student with a strong desire to give back, and since then, he's found like-minded people who are willing to go the extra mile to help kids in need.

Read more here: Oakville Youth Group launches new holiday fundraiser for children in need

As this is his final year at WOSS, Lin is preparing to pass the torch of the Oakville Youth Group to younger students, but before the school year begins, he wanted to do something special to raise money for CAFH using his passion for debate.

"White Oaks used to be really famous for its debate program," Lin told Oakville News. "I first got into debate when I got into high school and I've been doing it for a couple of years now, so I'm pretty into the debate circuit and I think it's really fun!"

Organizing a debate typically involves formulating topics and teams, picking a venue and sorting out logistics. Luckily for Lin, he had help from his friends involved in the debate club as well as students from the University of Toronto.

With enough planning, they eventually established the Extraordinary Debate Championship (EDC) 2024 tournament.

Lin says the biggest challenge his team faced was promoting the debate, particularly since it took place near the end of June, around exam season. Their goal was to include participants from across the GTA, which required them to rely on students from various schools to help spread the word.

"Normally it would've been way easier to find a lot of people," said Lin. "But because it was right around exams, we had to work harder to find debaters who didn’t have exams during that time."

They realized they had to tap into connections from schools across the GTA and promote the contest through a variety of channels to get the turnout they wanted.

With the word spreading quickly, Lin and his team soon found themselves with nearly 100 participants, divided into 40 to 50 debate teams.

With a venue secured in North York, each participant paid a registration fee, bringing the total amount raised to approximately $4,600 for CAFH and the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA).

"I'm somebody who really enjoys debate," said Lin, "it's one of my passions and it's something I've been pursuing for a long time so it's great to see that there's a lot of younger debaters who are interested and getting involved in it."

During the competition, Lin and his fellow organizers chose to focus some debate topics and motions on themes related to the causes they were supporting, including mental health and the rise of AI therapy.

The topics later expanded to broader subjects, such as technocratic governments and the judicial system, which Lin says generated lots of strong debate.

Most importantly, Lin knew he was once again contributing to a cause that would benefit others.

"Each year, as I continue to help and collaborate with the CAFH, or every time I visit their office, I see the kind of amazing work that they're doing which really inspires me to want to continue helping in any way I can," Lin said. 

"I think, just looking at different parts of your community and seeing ways that you can give back and ways that you can help out, there's a lot of opportunities to do that," he continued.

Said CAFH Executive Director Tina Blatchford, "Andy and the team of students from the Oakville Youth Group continue to inspire us with their motivation to provide as many kids as they can with an opportunity to flourish within their own communities."

"This dynamic group has coordinated book fairs, a piano recital, toy/book drives, debate tournaments and even engaged young artists and local businesses to create greeting cards which are exquisite," she continued. "There is no end to their creativity!"

As he looks ahead, Lin is preparing to take on the mentorship role at Oakville Youth Group, but before he starts school this September, he knows he can look back and be proud of the lasting change he's made not only in his community but the lives of children across Halton.

Said Lin, "Now that I'm about to graduate soon, one of my bigger goals this year isn't to just run a successful fundraiser, it's to be able to run it with a group of younger students that can continue to run fundraisers in the future when I graduate."

"I think that kind of experience, with the help of someone who's older, that hands-on experience is the best way for them to learn how to be comfortable in those situations, not be scared to talk to people, not be scared to think outside the box, and being willing to think of big things and initiatives that they're willing to create," Lin continued. "Once you've done it once, you won't be scared to do it again."