Local family gives in honour of much-loved son
When Drs. Peter and Stephanie Chung visited the new Cloverdale Paint Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Stabilization Unit (CAPSU) at Surrey Memorial Hospital, they immediately thought of their late son, Joseph.
Diagnosed with autism at age three, Joseph Chung taught his parents the importance of having patience and giving love to other people.
Although Joseph died at the young age of 32, his legacy lives on in the philanthropy of his parents. The Chungs made a significant donation to Surrey Hospital & Outpatient Centre Foundation to help create this newly opened unit serving young people and their parents from across Fraser Health.
Having raised a child with a brain disorder, the couple appreciates the importance of providing emergency hospital care for children and adolescents in mental health crisis.
“I understand how parents feel,” Peter Chung says. “It’s tough to have son or daughter in that predicament.”
Stephanie Chung was happy to see the new space, which was so much better than many medical facilities that she had experienced with Joseph.
“Families will see a nice, clean, beautifully done unit - from a mother’s point of view CAPSU is almost a heaven,” she says.
The couple devote their time and resources to many charitable causes thanks to the success of their company, Primacorp Ventures Inc. The philanthropy of the family and Primacorp reaches across the globe, with commitments that include: humanitarian causes; education and the arts; and social enterprises.
One of the social enterprises, Joe’s Table Cafe, was started in Burnaby to help Joseph and others with disabilities find meaningful employment. Joseph’s legacy also touches the lives of the postsecondary students who receive endowments and grants from the Joseph Chung Scholarship Foundation.
“The Cloverdale Paint Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Stabilization Unit will serve more than 800 families a year, thanks to Drs. Peter and Stephanie Chung and the many generous people and organizations that supported this much-needed new facility,” says Jane Adams, president and CEO of Surrey Hospital & Outpatient Centre Foundation. “We thank everyone who contributed to this vital resource for families in the Fraser Valley.”
For Peter Chung, talking about the donation is a way of encouraging other business people to give.
“We are thrilled that our small donation can be part of this change in our community of Surrey,” he concludes.
“We thank everyone who contributed to this vital resource for families in the Fraser Valley.”