Raising Caring Kids
Dilprit and Rajbinder Grewal’s biggest philanthropic priority is making sure everyone in their community has what they need to thrive.
“As children of immigrants, both of us grew up seeing the struggles experienced by many marginalized people, including both immigrants and non-immigrants,” Rajbinder says. “We also saw first-hand how much people can benefit from a little help. In many cases this help came from family, but sometimes family didn’t have the resources or skills to be able to help, and that’s where United Way comes in. Its agencies are there for people in times of need.”
In addition to supporting their community by donating to United Way, the couple makes sure their three daughters —Simrit, Daya and Bani—understand the importance of giving back. During the pandemic, that has mainly taken the form of conversations. “We’ve talked to the kids about how the pandemic has exacerbated the challenges that many members of our community are facing,” Dilprit says. “For example, we asked them how they would manage doing school remotely if they didn’t have access to computers or stable internet, challenges many families are currently experiencing.”
They’ve made sure to include their kids in their volunteer work too. The family has volunteered at food banks, assembled and distributed care packages for people experiencing homelessness, and held a clothing drive for new immigrants at a United Way-supported agency.
“Hopefully our children appreciate that many of the things we take for granted, others struggle to obtain,” Rajbinder says. “We want them to understand that we are blessed with so much, and as members of the community, they should think about how they can help their neighbours.”