G. Raymond Chang, patron of the UWI Toronto Gala and leading Canadian businessman, with wife, Donette Chin-Loy Chang, at last year's gala. - Contributed
Barbara Ellington, Public Affairs EditorTomorrow night, the Ritz-Carlton in Toronto, Canada, will be the venue for this year's University of the West Indies (UWI) Toronto gala. Heading the receiving line of hosts will be Jamaican-Canadian business mogul G. Raymond Chang and his wife, Donette.
As patron of the gala, Chang hopes this year guests will come to a deeper understanding of UWI and the contribution it has made to Canada through its graduates, particularly in the field of medicine.
Speaking to The Gleaner in a telephone interview, the noted philanthropist, armed with expertise gained as chancellor of Ryerson University for six years, got to know the students and campus in his own special way. He attended many classes and learnt many new life lessons until his term ended last year.
"Those real-life experiences make a difference," he said, citing a dance class, taught by a former prima ballerina, and another class taught by someone who had gained first-hand experience in world trade. "Their knowledge was reinforced by their wealth of experience," he said.
From that experience, Chang is now focused on projects geared towards helping to improve the educational standards of pre-tertiary level students.
CATCH THEM NOW!
"Attitudes are embedded from early, so we have to catch the future generation now," noted the chartered accountant/financial analyst. Always looking for the best in everyone, Chang said he firmly believes the greatest asset of any country is its people.
"We have to start with the people and find ways to influence how they think, their attitudes to life and their families by making sure the right values are embedded early."
The biggest motivating factor for working for the benefit of UWI is that "education is the greatest equaliser anywhere in the world and it's transportable," Chang said.
He added that, worldwide, governments are having it difficult to fund public education and health. "Many universities and hospitals that have research and teaching facilities are repositories of intellectual property, so I have been working closely with users and donors to increase awareness of that," he said.
Pointing to the significant contribution of UWI expatriates to Toronto, Chang, who credits his father, grandfather and wife Donette for being the driving forces in his life, said he is merely helping to bring people together to raise funds for the university.
For the last three years, the gala has focused on providing scholarships to students and will continue to increase its efforts to find more donors.
This year, Chang and his team hope to educate people about what UWI is, and the contribution it continues to make to Canada through its alumni.
