Power of positive influence

For Peggy Pan and William Zeng, philanthropy is an interest their family has developed since they arrived in Canada in 1999.

“I read somewhere that Canada is one of the top countries that has the most nonprofit organizations, so I think giving is part of our culture,” says Peggy. “Many of our friends, who have lived in Canada long enough, all share a similar mentality for giving and have been enjoying these experiences. Back home in China, there are also nonprofit organizations but it’s not part of our daily life. For newcomers to Canada, it does take time to figure out how to give back to the community because of these differences, and once we start participating in the donations, we then would appreciate this kind of culture very much. Whenever we can, we try to share with the people around us so that they could enjoy this kind of experience as well.”

Peggy and William, both working within the financial services sector, are the proud parents of Laura, a Grade 12 student, and Jeffrey, who is in Grade 8. The Zeng family places education and children at the forefront of their philanthropic endeavors.

“We know that education is one way to help us to get established in society— that’s important—and also it helps us to become better people. So that’s really something, for us, that is easy to relate to,” Peggy explains.

Last fall, Peggy attended a presentation on the plans for West Lake House, at a Pickering College Association (PCA) coffee social, a pivotal morning that she found to be very inspiring. “They showed us the floor plans and it almost felt like going shopping for your whole house,” Peggy laughs. “There happened to be these two meeting rooms (with naming opportunities) and my friend (Kimmy) and I were chatting and we thought ‘okay, let’s do this together’ and that’s how we decided. I came home and talked to William and he thought it was a wonderful idea.”

Peggy and William gave a transformative gift to West Lake House, wanting to make a meaningful contribution to the school’s future. “I like something that is tangible, so I particularly like this project,” explains William. “You feel like you can contribute, and you can see it built from the ground up. It’s going to benefit not just this year, or just my kids, but many generations.”

“We feel it’s an opportunity for us to leave a family footprint, and that’s something our kids will see too. Whenever they go back to visit, even after their graduation, they can still feel like ‘this is my school.’ They should be proud,” says Peggy.

Peggy and William hope that by sharing their story they will inspire others to contribute to the school. Hearing about the generous donations that came before theirs is something they found to be truly inspiring. We have the same intention to help the school whenever we can, as much as we can,” says Peggy. “There are many ways of providing support—by contributing time, energy, knowledge or resource networks. It’s not just one-time help.”

You can see the power of positive influence. You have children in the community, and you see the school makes the kids and parents proud, and the parents influence each other.