Continuing the Legacy
of Nathan Yip

The Nathan Yip Foundation was founded in 2002 by Denver residents Jimmy and Linda Yip, after they tragically lost their only child, Nathan, in an automobile accident. Nathan, 19 years old, was a freshman at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania.

As a high school student, Nathan was involved in many philanthropic projects and was vice president of Future Givers, a group started in 2000 by Kent Denver High School students. The organization's mission was to encourage young people early in their lives to begin helping others through philanthropic efforts.

Nathan traveled the world with his parents. Many times while visiting the more remote areas of China, Nathan was overwhelmed by the poverty and lack of educational opportunities for so many young people. It was during these trips that Nathan and his father spoke of starting a foundation to fund educational opportunities for impoverished children worldwide. It was their thought that by providing educational opportunities, they can begin to end the cycle of poverty that exists in so many rural areas. The family made a promise that when Nathan finished college, they would work together to establish this foundation.

Jimmy Yip, who came to Denver from Hong Kong in 1970, and his wife Linda, who came from Taiwan in 1979, have dedicated the last few years to making Nathan's dream his legacy. The Nathan Yip Foundation will build and expand resources and opportunities for tomorrow's world citizens who have great natural, innate talents, but lack the material means to reach their personal goals and to contribute to a better world.

"Nathan was a young man with great empathy and concern for world problems," said Jimmy. "As a Chinese-American, he knew how fortunate he was to be born in America and knew that by connecting with children in other countries, he could make a true difference and begin to help create a more global society."

It is Jimmy and Linda's hope that the Nathan Yip Foundation will build upon Nathan's legacy and bring positive energy and fulfillment from their most tragic loss.