Why I Give
How one young couple made giving a priority from the moment they met
Husband and wife, Ashwin Parvatam and Claire Lazaro made a pact to give back.
Young married couples are usually so preoccupied with finding their economic footing that they could be excused for not thinking about charity. Not so for Ashwin Parvatam and Claire Lazaro. Sweethearts since university and married six years, the young Mississauga couple, both middle-school teachers, have waited for financial security before starting their family. But charity has never taken a back seat. The couple made a pact early in their relationship that they would donate five per cent of their pre-tax income to charity, along with volunteering together for various agencies in Canada and abroad. "We have what we need, and we even have a little extra," says Ashwin. "In a perfect world, we wouldn't need charities like United Way. But it's not a perfect world and United Way fills that gap."
The couple has seen first-hand the need for community assistance, having both worked at schools in the Jane-Finch corridor, teaching students from all over the world with a myriad of social service needs. "Yes, it's a high need area with its own challenges, and the kids can be a little rough around the edges," says Ashwin. "But they have a huge lust for life and are a lot of fun."
Ashwin and Claire well know the adjustments facing immigrant students and their families. Ashwin came to Canada from India at the age of 14 with his younger sister and their engineer mother, a single parent. Claire's family is from the Philippines, and like Parvatam's mother, her parents worked hard to ensure that Claire and her siblings achieved good educations.
Ashwin cites his mother Jennie Parvatam as the source of his community ethic: "She always volunteered," he recalls. "Even when she didn't have money, she found a way to donate her time. That made a huge impact on me."