This article is part of a continuing series 0f portraits of donors to Vancouver Foundation.
When Tung Chan emigrated from Hong Kong to Vancouver in 1974 at the age of 22, he decided that the best way to make friends was to volunteer his time to community organizations.
“During my first months here, I volunteered as a seniors’ group leader for S.U.C.C.E.S.S.,” recalls Chan. “That job required me to go down to Chinatown every Saturday afternoon and take a group of healthy seniors to the Villa Cathay Rest Home to visit shut-in seniors.”
“It was a very rewarding experience, talking to the single, mostly male shut-ins from the home,” he continues. “Those were the people who came at the turn of the century or soon after, leaving all their family back in China. I’ve never forgotten the stories I heard. They were pioneers who worked hard to the best of their ability but were never given the opportunity to fulfill their potential.”
That experience led Chan to volunteer with many other organizations while he worked his way through U.B.C., earning a Bachelors of Sociology, and after he began his career with the Toronto Dominion Bank, where he is now vice president of Asian Banking. It is also why, when the opportunity presented itself in 1990, he decided to run for election as a City of Vancouver councillor.
“Even though I was established in my job as a branch manager, I felt I should take the risk to enter politics,” says Chan, whose bid was successful. “Many of the seniors that I volunteered with when I first came to Vancouver went out of their way to campaign for me. They were knocking on doors on my behalf, phoning friends and making sure people could get out to vote.”
“At that time I made a pledge to myself to work as a bridge between the Chinese –
Canadian community, between those less fortunate people, and the rest of the community. And that’s why, looking at the places that I volunteer for now, a lot are non-Chinese Canadian organizations.”
Chan’s personal website currently lists some 40 past and present community service positions, including membership on Vancouver Foundation’s Development Advisory Committee. He jokes that he posted the list “purely to impress my high school pals from Hong Kong.” In reality, it is a testament to his heartfelt desire to make a difference.
Chan opted not to run again for council in 1993, primarily so he could spend more time with his wife and two growing daughters. Instead, he became a director of the Vancouver Civic Non-Partisan Association. He was subsequently elected president of the NPA and in this capacity led the association to its last victory. “I was pretty proud of that,” he says. “I’m the kind of person that likes to get things done.”
By his own admission, Chan is not the type to “hang around” or occupy a position for life. “I like to start-up things,” he explains. “When I was in Kelowna I started up the Kelowna Chinese Cultural Society. It’s still there. I started up the Toastmaster Club in Chinatown. I helped start a co-op radio program that was then the only program made for and by Chinese Canadians in English. I also started the Vancouver Chinese Choir Society. It now has 110 voices.”
When asked if he sings himself, Chan responds, “I used to, way back when. I’d sing bass, but only in a choir setting. I don’t sing solo. I like to provide support in the background.”
Given Chan’s interest in “startup things” and his desire to make a difference
by supporting community organizations, it is not surprising that he chose to establish a Start-Up Fund with Vancouver Foundation in 1997.
“Start-Up Funds are an affordable way for someone like me, who began in this country as a waiter, to leave a personal legacy,” says Chan. “I’m by no means rich enough that I can just write a cheque for $10,000 [the minimum initiating capital to establish a fund with Vancouver Foundationi. This kind of fund, where I can commit $1,000 a year, is just perfect.”
“A lot of people at my stage in life find they have a little bit of extra money,” he points out. “We’re already writing several thousand dollars worth of cheques to charities each year.
This is an opportunity for that money to be accumulated in a permanent endowment that is both a record of our existence and a way to thank the community for our own success.”
A further advantage of Start-Up Funds, notes Chan, is that when donors reach their more senior years, they can participate to the extent they wish in allocating income from their fund. For Chan’s pert, he plans to give Vancouver Foundation wide discretion in distributing the income from the Tung and Shirley Chan “Ji Shen” Fund.
“Times change and society’s needs change. Right now, many immigrants, including myself, direct the bulk of their donations to immigrant settlement service organizations. If the government has its way in changing the criteria of immigration, the financial need of such organizations might not be as great in the future. I believe that Vancouver Foundation is in the best possible position to determine the areas of greatest need, current and future, and to direct funds accordingly.”
©(This article was first published in the Spring 1998 edition of the Vancouver Foundation Focus)This article is part of a continuing series 0f portraits of donors to Vancouver Foundation.
When Tung Chan emigrated from Hong Kong to Vancouver in 1974 at the age of 22, he decided that the best way to make friends was to volunteer his time to community organizations.
“During my first months here, I volunteered as a seniors’ group leader for S.U.C.C.E.S.S.,” recalls Chan. “That job required me to go down to Chinatown every Saturday afternoon and take a group of healthy seniors to the Villa Cathay Rest Home to visit shut-in seniors.”
“It was a very rewarding experience, talking to the single, mostly male shut-ins from the home,” he continues. “Those were the people who came at the turn of the century or soon after, leaving all their family back in China. I’ve never forgotten the stories I heard. They were pioneers who worked hard to the best of their ability but were never given the opportunity to fulfill their potential.”
That experience led Chan to volunteer with many other organizations while he worked his way through U.B.C., earning a Bachelors of Sociology, and after he began his career with the Toronto Dominion Bank, where he is now vice president of Asian Banking. It is also why, when the opportunity presented itself in 1990, he decided to run for election as a City of Vancouver councillor.
“Even though I was established in my job as a branch manager, I felt I should take the risk to enter politics,” says Chan, whose bid was successful. “Many of the seniors that I volunteered with when I first came to Vancouver went out of their way to campaign for me. They were knocking on doors on my behalf, phoning friends and making sure people could get out to vote.”
“At that time I made a pledge to myself to work as a bridge between the Chinese –
Canadian community, between those less fortunate people, and the rest of the community. And that’s why, looking at the places that I volunteer for now, a lot are non-Chinese Canadian organizations.”
Chan’s personal website currently lists some 40 past and present community service positions, including membership on Vancouver Foundation’s Development Advisory Committee. He jokes that he posted the list “purely to impress my high school pals from Hong Kong.” In reality, it is a testament to his heartfelt desire to make a difference.
Chan opted not to run again for council in 1993, primarily so he could spend more time with his wife and two growing daughters. Instead, he became a director of the Vancouver Civic Non-Partisan Association. He was subsequently elected president of the NPA and in this capacity led the association to its last victory. “I was pretty proud of that,” he says. “I’m the kind of person that likes to get things done.”
By his own admission, Chan is not the type to “hang around” or occupy a position for life. “I like to start-up things,” he explains. “When I was in Kelowna I started up the Kelowna Chinese Cultural Society. It’s still there. I started up the Toastmaster Club in Chinatown. I helped start a co-op radio program that was then the only program made for and by Chinese Canadians in English. I also started the Vancouver Chinese Choir Society. It now has 110 voices.”
When asked if he sings himself, Chan responds, “I used to, way back when. I’d sing bass, but only in a choir setting. I don’t sing solo. I like to provide support in the background.”
Given Chan’s interest in “startup things” and his desire to make a difference
by supporting community organizations, it is not surprising that he chose to establish a Start-Up Fund with Vancouver Foundation in 1997.
“Start-Up Funds are an affordable way for someone like me, who began in this country as a waiter, to leave a personal legacy,” says Chan. “I’m by no means rich enough that I can just write a cheque for $10,000 [the minimum initiating capital to establish a fund with Vancouver Foundationi. This kind of fund, where I can commit $1,000 a year, is just perfect.”
“A lot of people at my stage in life find they have a little bit of extra money,” he points out. “We’re already writing several thousand dollars worth of cheques to charities each year.
This is an opportunity for that money to be accumulated in a permanent endowment that is both a record of our existence and a way to thank the community for our own success.”
A further advantage of Start-Up Funds, notes Chan, is that when donors reach their more senior years, they can participate to the extent they wish in allocating income from their fund. For Chan’s pert, he plans to give Vancouver Foundation wide discretion in distributing the income from the Tung and Shirley Chan “Ji Shen” Fund.
“Times change and society’s needs change. Right now, many immigrants, including myself, direct the bulk of their donations to immigrant settlement service organizations. If the government has its way in changing the criteria of immigration, the financial need of such organizations might not be as great in the future. I believe that Vancouver Foundation is in the best possible position to determine the areas of greatest need, current and future, and to direct funds accordingly.”
(This article was first published in the Spring 1998 edition of the Vancouver Foundation Focus)
