Justin Poy grew up in Toronto in the 1970’s. As one of the only Chinese-Canadian students at his school, he faced constant casual racism, from both students and teachers. This caused Justin to feel ashamed of his identity, which led him to actively avoid his cultural background throughout his youth. Fast-forward to his time at Toronto Metropolitan University, Justin was able to build a strong community, and through the encouragement of his mother, Vivienne Poy, he joined organizations such as the Mon Sheong Foundation.
His work at TMU helped shape his career. He realized that many companies overlooked the Chinese-Canadian market. One cold call to Jaguar led to an entire portfolio of clients looking to expand into that market.
In this conversation, Donette and Justin explore the cultural differences regarding charity and giving between Canada, Hong Kong, and China, how he encourages the Chinese-Canadian community to give back, and how we can teach the next generation about the importance of charity work and volunteering in their community.
Resources mentioned
Three reasons to listen to this episode
Episode highlights
2:50 - Not wanting to stand out as Chinese
Justin reflects on growing up in Toronto in the 1970’s and being the only Chinese student at his school. He shares how he faced racism from other students and the teachers. This left Justin feeling ashamed of his identity. However, once he arrived at TMU, he began to build community with other students whose families had immigrated from Hong Kong.
7:37 - Turning his identity into a business opportunity
Justin leveraged his background and cultural insight and used it as a competitive advantage. First reaching out to Jaguar, Justin identified how companies were often overlooking the Chinese-Canadian market. From there, he built a portfolio of clients, who he assisted in reaching that audience.
17:30 - Justin’s time as a Board Member for SickKids and how he engaged the Chinese-Canadian community
As a Board Member for SickKids, Justin would work to engage donors from the Chinese-Canadian community by holding events where community members could hear directly from doctors, and include the community in the discussion, which helped them feel invested in the cause.
22:30 - Encouraging the next generation to give back
As Justin notes, factors such as the gig economy and a lack of cultural pride lead to the next generation not valuing giving as much as the previous generation. He shares how he instilled the importance of volunteering and giving to his own children.
Enjoyed this episode?
We invite you to explore more episodes of The Forefront: Next-gen generosity on your favourite podcast platform. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review and share it with your community.
To learn more about giving opportunities and community impact at Toronto Metropolitan University, visit torontomu.ca/giving.
","author_name":"Toronto Metropolitan University"}