2 minute read
In Their Own Words: Ken Lee
Around Alhambra asked Ken Lee, Vice President of Pacific Plaza Premier Development Group and dedicated local leader, “Why do you feel compelled to give back to your community?”
Here’s what he had to say:
As a “community builder,” I love playing a small part in helping strengthen the fabric of the communities I feel led to give back to. I enjoy the process of fostering partnerships and linking arms with civic, business, and nonprofit community collaborators to work toward shared goals that improve lives, enrich neighborhoods, and build more resilient economies.
Personally, I choose to invest my time, talent, and treasure in organizations that are making a mark in their communities, including the Alhambra Chamber of Commerce, the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership, two faith-based nonprofits that are committed to helping end homelessness in California, and my home church.
Pacific Plaza Premier, our development company, has invested in four housing projects in Alhambra over the last ten years because we love helping build communities and not just projects.
As a company, we also give our time, talent, and treasure to leading organizations in the San Gabriel Valley (SGV), like Asian Youth Center (AYC), whose mission is “to empower low-income, immigrant, and at-risk youth” in our communities and invest in the future leaders of the region.
In 2020, at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic and with a sudden spike in unemployment, Pacific Plaza Premier rallied its closest business partners and friends to raise more than $35,000 for AYC’s Emergency Food Program to address the rapidly growing food insecurity issues in the SGV region. AYC honored us later that year with a Corporate Partnership Award, and, in response, we helped raise another $26,650 for AYC through sponsorships and donations for AYC’s 32nd Anniversary Celebration & Awards Ceremony. During my acceptance speech for the award, I announced that we would match another $10,000 in donations, dollar for dollar, through the end of 2020. We quickly met that match goal. We continue to regularly support AYC and other community-based organizations to build a stronger and more resilient SGV.
