With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1332052
That is the message Paolo Aquilini, managing partner, Aquilini Group, and community philan- thropist, wishes every business owner in British Columbia to hear. "Over the years, I have spent time with people The Salvation Army helps," Aquilini says. "The common thread in their stories is always one of gratitude. Someone once said, 'People will forget what you did, but they'll never forget how you made them feel.' The people are very grateful, not only for what The Salvation Army did for them, but also for how it made them feel. They gave them respect and dignity, and they did it with compassionate hearts above all." More than six years ago, Aquilini was invited to speak at the Hope in the City Breakfast held by The Salvation Army and little did he know it would be a turning point in his life. "After I spoke, I was invited to visit the Vancouver Harbour Light Centre," he says. "I saw the people, met the staff and had a good look at what The Salvation Army is doing." Until then, Aquilini had only known about The Salvation Army's work providing food and shelter to the homeless. However, The Salvation Army is the province's largest provider of social services outside of the government. It goes quietly about the work of helping individuals tackle homeless- ness, mental health and addiction, human trafficking, abuse, neglect and other issues. Nine Stories of Hope is The Salvation Army's capital campaign aimed at raising $23 million for a new Harbour Light building in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. It is The Salvation Army's largest capital investment in its history in Canada and will bring a state-of-the-art facility to the Downtown Eastside. Aquilini was invited to be a patron for the campaign and was pleased to accept the invita- tion. He tells us in his own words why this project needs our help. 1. Why is it important to support The Salvation Army and Vancouver Harbour Light? Helping people, for me, is like breathing air. It's the core of who I am, and it's what fulfills me and gives me the greatest joy. Communities flourish when we get together and help each other. If we want to live in communities and a society that is flourishing, a foundational aspect of that is helping one another. Love and compassion can grow cold in those who choose not to participate when they can. Unless we as a community step up, that downward cycle continues until we all find ourselves unable to hide anymore from the problems we choose to deny exist—then If ever there were a project that could make a difference, bring light to the community and help others help themselves out of the darkest times, The Salvation Army's Nine Stories of Hope is it. TRANSFORMING A COMMUNITY