How long h
ave you been involved with the UBC United Way Campaign?
My involvement with the UBC United Way campaign began in 2005 as I started working in housing. I came to the University from outside and wanted to see more social events happen within the workplace.
I began to implement a birthday program where we would celebrate each person’s birthday with a lunch and cake of their choice. We would get together for lunch and sing happy birthday to this individual.
Later, I was requested to plan the holiday party for the workplace.
As I took on a new role at the University with UBC Food Services, my employers believed I was the perfect fit to work on the UBC United Way campaign as the result of all the social events I had previously planned. I worked alongside the former (now retiree) UBC United Way rep in food services. He showed me all the work he currently was doing for the campaign and we worked together on the campaign that year. I later took it on myself, offering new ideas to the campaign.
Why do you volunteer for this cause?
This stems from my childhood. My mother is a person that gives. We immigrated to Canada and did not have a lot of money. Still, my mother would donate to every cause that came knocking on our door – especially when it came to children.
We could not understand why she gave so much when we had so little. She explained to us that there were people out there that needed the money more than we did.
The life she leads is instilled in my brother and me.
She is retired now and still gives, more than I do!
My mother taught me to always be grateful for what I have. We have a responsibility to help out our brothers, sisters and our society. There may be a time when we are in need and hopefully there is someone that will be there to help.
My children are now dedicating some of their time to charity. My daughter is even involved in three not for profit committees! It is great to see the impact I have had on them to work for charity.
What is your fondest memory from your involvement with the campaign?
All of the years seem to blend into one, this is very hard.
One of my fondest memories is the kickoff event we held one year out front of the AMS. We had a BBQ and Andrew Parr (Managing Director of SHHS) was flipping burgers.
We asked for the mascot (CARE-y) to come to the event. This sparked a lot of buzz. People were engaged, wanting to find out what was going on. It felt truly special. It was held in a big open area and allowed for lots of visibility and promotion of the campaign; especially with CARE-Y jumping up and down.
What are your goals for next year? What would you like to see happen?
I will be stepping down from my role with the UBC United Way campaign next year. The demands of my job have grown so much over the years and I am unable to commit my time to the campaign. I would like to give 100% to the campaign and feel that with my workload I am unable to do this.
There have been talks of forming a committee for next year’s campaign. This committee could share responsibilities, ideas and goals; lessening the workload. Making sure that the campaign is just as good as previous years.
I would like to see UBC Food Services continue to support other groups across campus. The key to this success is for these groups to be organized and have a plan early into the campaign season.