26 Aug Sunshine Coast Foundation receives $5,000 Community Board grant from the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation

The Sunshine Coast Foundation is delighted to receive a $5,000 grant from the TELUS Vancouver and Coastal Community Board through the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation^® and longtime community leader and volunteer Manjit Kang, directed to the Sunshine Coast TELUS Community Ambassadors Endowment Fund.

The gift came through the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation in recognition of Manjit’s recent departure from the TELUS Vancouver and Coastal Community Board, one of thirteen boards across Canada that support local, grassroots health and education initiatives for youth. When given the opportunity to direct a retirement gift to a cause of his choice, Manjit chose a fund that is especially close to his heart.

In fact, Manjit was instrumental in creating the Sunshine Coast TELUS Community Ambassadors Endowment in 2018. Rather than making a one-time charitable donation, he helped establish a permanent fund that would grow over time and provide support to local charities year after year.

“It’s taken a few years, but the fund has now grown to a point where it’s contributing to annual grants, so we’re very proud of that,” says Manjit.

The fund is one of the Sunshine Coast Foundation’s Community Legacy Funds, permanent endowments that evolve alongside the changing needs of our community. Community Legacy Funds are a cornerstone of the Foundation’s annual grants program, helping support the widest possible range of local initiatives and charitable organizations.

Over the last five years, grants from the Sunshine Coast TELUS Community Ambassadors Endowment Fund have supported programs focused on education, literacy, health and wellness, housing, safety, and more.

“I think the Sunshine Coast is a tremendously generous community and I’m very proud to live here,” says Manjit. “We appreciate and recognize the many philanthropic donors but sometimes forget to recognize the many volunteers that make the community what it is, and who contribute in ways other than money.”

For Manjit, the Sunshine Coast TELUS Community Ambassadors Endowment Fund is a reflection of that volunteer spirit. Much of the fund has grown through contributions connected to volunteer service, creating a legacy that recognizes the people who quietly give their time and energy to strengthen the community.

That perspective reflects Manjit’s own longstanding commitment to the Sunshine Coast. He joined the Foundation’s Board of Directors in 2017 and served as Board Chair from 2020 to 2023. Today, he continues to volunteer as a member of the Foundation’s Investment & Oversight Committee.

We’re grateful to Manjit, the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation, and the many TELUS Community Ambassadors whose volunteer spirit helped build this fund. Together, they’re creating a lasting source of support for local charities and community initiatives, now and for generations to come.

For more information on the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation, visit friendlyfuture.com.