Sharing An Olympic Experience
 Lily Pang is honoured by school board chair Linda McPhail in recognition of her extremely generous donation of 4000 outfits for the various Richmond School District choirs, bands music teachers, admin and support staff; performing at the Richmond Olympic ìO Zoneî Celebration Site on Feb. 12, during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic winter Games opening night. Like many immigrants, Lily Pang and Simon Wang wanted to give back to their adopted country.
When their son, Simon Wang, came home to tell his mother that his band and choir could use some uniforms, she agreed to donate outfits.
"Her response was 'My Company will make all the jackets,'" said Tim Braund, the choir's director.
"She said that she wanted to help us; help with the Olympics and the School Board," her son said after the jackets were formally presented to the Richmond School Board on February 1st 2010.
Pang and Wang are owners of LY Enterprises and Canada Chinese Times, neither of which manufacture clothing.
They contacted Shu Lam, who is studying fashion design in New York. Shu Lam had connections to Richmond and Vancouver, having spent six months in Richmond in 1997, after he and his parents moved here from Hong Kong. He briefly attended General Currie school at that time.
"Through people I know, I knew they were looking for designers," said Lam, who studies at Parson's School for Design. "I just feel honoured to do something for the community."
Lam designed jackets and pants that are red and white -- the colours of the Canadian flag.
Asked through an interpreter why she and her husband would want to make such a generous donation, Pang said: "Chinese people know how to say 'thank you' to Canada."
| 
