Here is the story behind the name
AlinkA Group is a social enterprise that connects two countries: ChinA and CanadA.
Our work links the two countries and the two AlinkA Centres together.
The first centre was established in China a long time ago by AlinkA Group Inc. To this day, they offer various programs for autistic children and their families. In Canada, the story behind AlinkA began in 2006, when Molly Li, still living in Toronto at the time, dreamt of starting a centre in Canada. Her spiritual journey took her to beautiful Westport, Ontario. And AlinkA Centre was finally founded there.
Today, we offer a variety of programs in Westport, including social activities for families and children of all abilities, Bible study classes, volunteer programs, employment opportunities, art workshops, retreats for guests, and summer camping.
Question: How and why was AlinkA Farm started in Canada?
Answer: In 2006, Yajing (Molly Li) was living in Toronto, while maintaining her connections to the AlinkA Centre in China. She envisioned continuing her social and spiritual work in Canada and was looking for practical ways to do so. Her life in Ontario’s capital city was filled with a lot of events and insights. As a newcomer to Canada, Molly was learning English, meeting local people and other immigrants like herself, learning about the Canadian culture and Christian spirituality.
Molly had a lot of possible choices to make and jobs to take. She realised that people were active agents who could influence their own lives and the lives of those around them. So she wanted her thinking and her actions to be inspired by God.
As a Christian, Molly wanted to follow Christ and create more love and peace through her work. Her previous work in China, helping kids with autism and their families, was a good foundation to start a similar project in her new home country Canada. Molly bought some farmland and started a social enterprise in Westport, Ontario. She called it AlinkA Farm.
Thus, she created a link between ChinA and CanadA. A-link-A.
Question: What about your logo?
Answer: The logo was inspired by different symbols and events. Here is the story behind it.
AlinkA Logo
Firstly, as a convert to Christianity from Buddhism, Molly wanted Christian teachings to be reflected in the logo. She was greatly inspired by Christ’s vision of Heaven and God’s Love for His children – the kind of love that people could be inspired by while still living here on this earth in human bodies. So the Bible and God’s teachings from the New Testament were the reason why the organization was founded.
Secondly, the logo was inspired by… the shape of a beehive. Molly’s son Marco is a beekeeper who loves to take good care of his bees.
And, of course, the rose. Apparently, Alinka Rose is a roseplant bred by Patrick Dickson back in 1971. It has deep red and orange petals and blossoms until the last days of fall.
That’s what Molly learned when she went back to do some work in China in 2014 and a friend of hers told her where the name ‘Alinka‘ originated.
Also, the name of the house she acquired in Wesport – Hebden House – is related to rose plants. Heope in Old English means ‘rose hip‘.
There is another interesting link here. The ouline of the logo resembles a star. In China, people believe that children who have autism come from the stars.
The AlinkA logo was introduced in 2015, in China, when Molly was working there helping autistic children and their families in Xiamen. Then she went home to Westport and brough her work experience and the new logo to Canada. Now, the two AlinkA centres (in China and in Canada) use this logo in their brand promotion.