COMMUNITY ANGEL AWARD
GLADYS KWONG

Gladys Kwong was born in 1931 at the beginning of the Great Depression. As her family struggled to make ends meet, she had the opportunity for an education because her father was the school principal. She endured financial hardships through the start of her higher education. When she received her credentials to teach elementary school, she vowed that when she started working, she would donate to organizations that had the most impact on furthering one’s education. How much she earned and how much she gave was not as important as the act of giving. She went on to become a teacher for 35 years at Henry Ford Elementary School in Redwood City. Her job, and her husband’s work as a fundraiser, provided them the means to donate to others for the last 70 years, including Chinatown CDC’s youth leadership program.