AURORA | Jimmy and Linda Yip love seeing it rain when they’re in the midst of work for the charity they named after their son, Nathan.
Nathan Yip died in 2001 at the age of 19 in a car crash. In the midst of the tragic loss of their son, Jimmy and Linda Yip sought a way to help continue their son’s legacy of wanting to help children in need. So in 2002, the couple created the Nathan Yip Foundation to provide educational opportunities to rural areas around the world including China, Mexico and here in Colorado.
Linda Yip said after Nathan’s death, she and her husband knew they wanted to do something to help keep their son’s memory alive. Because of taking their son back to China for visits when he was younger, Nathan had developed a deep compassion for the children he met that didn’t have access to the opportunities he had here in Colorado. Before his death, Nathan had told his parents that he had wanted to start a charity to help provide some support for children in need.
“I remember when Nathan went to college, he told me that ‘I was fortunate and can we set up a foundation after I graduate so we can help kids who needed to be helped,’” Linda Yip said. “After he died, me and my husband thought that if he cannot finish it, in memory of him we will both work and do it for him.”
The foundation is currently teaming up with the Newcomb family, which has been lifelong friends of the Yips since Helen Newcomb and Linda Yip became friends through their shared bond of migrating from Taiwan. The Newcomb’s son, Ryan, was best friends with Nathan Yip, and almost two years after Nathan’s death, Ryan almost lost his life in a car accident.
Since Ryan’s accident, the Newcomb family have worked to support the foundation founded in memory of Ryan’s best friend. On Oct. 12, the family will be donating 25 percent of the sales from the 29 Subway franchises they own, including nine in Aurora, to the foundation for work in Colorado.
Gary Newcomb, Ryan’s father, said he saw a determination in his son develop through the adversity of a year-long recovery from the accident that caused some permanent nerve damage. Ryan Newcomb wanted to help give back, not only at Craig Hospital, where he spent part of his recovery, but also in keeping Nathan’s memory alive.
“Nathan’s tragedy was pretty devastating and eye opening to Ryan,” Gary Newcomb said. “It does make you a very tough and determined person. But throughout that time, in talking with him and spending a lot of time in the hospital, we talked about the traveling we did (with Nathan when he was younger) and the things he saw had a real impact on him. He was determined to help.”
Nathan’s Cantonese name means heavy rain. Linda Yip said as the foundation has worked in Mexico, China and Colorado, they are always met at some point by a rainstorm, something she believes is not a coincidence.
“For us even though we lost Nathan, we used to have only one son. Now we have so many sons from our work. There are so many people who are now part of our family,” Linda Yip said. “We go to visit at the schools, the kids are smiling. All the hard work we did is worth every bit. I always feel Nathan’s with us. Even though he’s gone and we’ll be gone someday, the Nathan Yip Foundation will continue.”
To find out more about the Nathan Yip Foundation and to find out which stores are participating in the fundraising, visit nathanyipfoundation.org.