By CHRISTINE CHEAH
alltherage@thestar.com.my

REMEMBER the youth convention last year that saw girls go gaga over YouTubers Jason Chen and David Choi? When Pushpa Basnet, 2012 CNN Hero of the Year winner, spoke about her fight to educate children living in prison with their parents in Nepal?

Well, if you enjoyed that event, or if you’re kicking yourself for missing it, fret not, because the Reach Out Youth Volunteer Convention and Celebration is back with more inspirational speakers and YouTube sensations this April 5 at Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus.

Organised by 1Malaysia For Youth (iM4U), a non-profit organisation that encourages volunteerism among Malaysian youths, the line-up of speakers at Reach Out 2014 will include Earth Hour co-founder Andy Ridley, Skate4Cancer founder Rob Dyer, 2009 CNN Hero of the year Efren Penaflorida and entertainer Scott Hammell.

Apart from the speakers, YouTube sensations like Madilyn Bailey, Kina Grannis, Jun Sung Ahn and Malaysia’s own Elizabeth Tan and JinnyBoyTV will also be there.

The idea behind the event is simple – to inspire young Malaysians to kickstart their own initiatives.

“We want to educate and enlighten the youths to be proactive, to tell them that volunteering can be a way of life,” said Reach Out content manager Edwin Raj.

When iM4U first came about, Edwin said they found that young people just didn’t find volunteerism interesting. And even if they somehow developed an interest online casino canada in it, they wouldn’t know where to start.

iM4U content manager Edwin Raj (right) said that they picked up the lineup of celebrities of the Reach Out Youth Convention and Celebration based on the voluntary work they do in their own country. With him is project manager Hairul Eksan.

Hence, after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced 2013 as the year of volunteerism, iM4U came up with this flagship event that would feature successful founders of various initiatives around the world to speak in Malaysia.

Even the celebrities performing would have to be volunteers at heart. “We made sure the performers are doing voluntary work in their own countries, so they could speak during the convention too,” said Edwin.

One of this year’s performers, Joe Flizzow, for example, has his own recycling initiative, where he uses his barber shop as a drop-off centre for recyclable products. Malaysia’s Tan, who was featured in R.AGE last month, volunteers for a community service programme at Trinity Children’s Home in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Besides planting ideas and encouraging youth volunteerism, iM4U also provides financial support for youth who want to implement their own projects.

“We also want to create awareness for the DRe1M Fund, which supports projects in line with the different pillars of iM4U,” said project manager Hairul Ekzan.

Unlike other grants and funds, the DRe1M Fund has no limit in the amount of financial support applied for. Applicants can submit a proposal for RM1mil if they can justify the positive impact the project could have on the country.

The five pillars supported by iM4U are youth development, social enterprise, community service, sports and arts, and culture and innovation.

Admission to the Reach Out Youth Volunteer Convention and Celebration is free. Participants will need to register by sending in their names, MyKad numbers and contact details to reachout@1m4youth.com.my.