By now, plenty of us are preparing for socially distant Christmas shopping and holiday festivities. Meanwhile, countless others are facing job losses, physical and mental health problems, as well as other woeful circumstances unfolding from COVID-19. These are unprecedented times, but they are not entirely unfamiliar to many vulnerable community members, hence giving back is increasingly important. We are therefore starting off December with a brief interview with Coral Henshaw, our Chair of Fund Development, who reflects on the need for additional funding with concise yet direct responses regarding the power of GivingTuesday in moving toward our year-end campaign goals.
Committed to her community, Coral believes that it is important to give back where you live. Leading with care and integrity as a dedicated professional, she inspires those around her. With years spent living in Mexico with her family, Coral designed one of the top 100 spas in Mexico where she stayed on as Director until she became the Membership Manager at the YMCA around 7 years ago. When offered a promotion to Community Capital Campaign Manager of the YMCA’s What Really Matters Campaign, she took this position to expand her impact in her community and to help more people reach their full potential. Her pragmatic and sincere thinking is clear in her words of motivation written below.
Why is SurreyCares your community foundation of choice?
SurreyCares is my community foundation of choice because of how incredibly diverse it is in its’ giving. It supports many charities that are providing a variety of critical services to our community!
Do you have any advice for people who want to make an impact in our community beyond GivingTuesday?
The size of the gift does not matter! Share what you can as it all makes a difference.
In what ways are donations crucial for providing ongoing grants to charitable organizations in Surrey?
Donations are crucial for providing ongoing grants to charitable organizations because we want charities to survive this difficult time. While we are monitoring the needs of the community and pivoting quickly to support as best as we can, we can’t do it alone.
Is there anything else you would like our community to know about you or SurreyCares?
We are still trying to raise funds as an endowment for our Smart and Caring Surrey Community Fund. If you can spare any donations, all donations are helpful and will go toward supporting more local organizations in need.
Learn more about our Board of Directors here.
Donate to our Smart and Caring Surrey Community Foundation here.