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Community Driven Philanthropist.

My family was very active in community support when I was growing up. Whether it was my parents’ companies supporting local sports teams, logger sports, sitting on the hospital auxiliary board or just helping family and friends in need, they were always there to lend a hand. Experiencing this from an early age, I witnessed the considerable impact it had on the community, the organizations and the individuals that were reaching out for assistance. I was also there, front and center, to see how fulfilling it was for my parents to be able to offer this support to the community. Their satisfaction at having a chance to help and their joy in helping was mesmerizing. It wasn’t until many years later that I truly understood the significance that these same emotions would have in my life.

Sharon Perry

I began giving back as soon as I started my career, whether it be a donation in kind or a financial contribution, it was ingrained in me to help and this was something I felt strongly about. Once I started my business, I knew this was not just something I wanted to do as an individual but something I wanted as a foundation of my business principles. Sharon Perry & Associates is focussed on small business and small business is the cornerstone of any community, which allowed me to grow my benevolent efforts at the same pace as I grew my business.

As with any business, being profitable and growing is necessary to continue and succeed. I needed to plan how I would grow and maintain my business in the Tri-Cities and get my name out to potential clients in the marketplace. I made the decision to forego the route of a traditional advertising spend and focus those dollars on giving back to the community. For me, this was a win-win situation because not only could I continue giving back, I would also garner some awareness for Sharon Perry & Associates in the Tri-Cities. This redirecting of funds, from advertising to donations and sponsorships, gave me a chance to get face to face with the people and let them know what I stood for as a member of the community and a business owner. It was never a sell on my business but a glimpse on who I am as a person and what matters to me.

Little League donation cheque

The growth of my business allowed me to exponentially increase what I could give back. I truly love the accounting and tax industry and, as my business grew, the opportunities for me to share that success with the Tri-Cities community grew. The degree to which that fulfillment has enriched my life is beyond measure. I have realized that I want to focus a great deal of my time and efforts on my philanthropic initiatives and will continue that path to retirement, and beyond, because of the pure happiness it brings to my life. Through the years I have been honored with awards for my community involvement including the Paul Harris award from Coquitlam Sunrise Rotary and Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce Community Spirit award.

I don’t have one or two specific initiatives that I focus my efforts on as I believe in spreading out my efforts to include a variety of areas. It has become well known in the community that I am someone with a big heart and with that comes a lot of requests from a variety of organizations. This has been great in helping us support where there is need, but I also knew that was just the surface. I began brainstorming ways I could broaden our reach and put together initiatives that reach down to the individual level and allowed organizations to think outside the box. I even opened it up to the community to tell us where efforts should be focused.

Over the years I have directed support towards sports, health, arts, not-for-profits, education and community-based programs and organizations. From sports teams to scholarships, Firefighter’s Associations to youth backpack programs, we have made every effort to touch as many corners of the Tri-Cities community as possible. I often share the stories of situations where we have been able to lend support and here are a just few of those stories.

Many of Sharon Perry & Associates clients are making community giving a standard in their practice as well. Ethical Waste Services Ltd. is just one of many examples. If you are looking to make community giving a foundation of your business, I have written a blog on how to get started.

If you or your organization would like to submit a request for sponsorship or donation, please complete our Donation Request Form.