Crystal wong has made it a priority to inform people about important financial matters. During her workday, she does so as a senior regional manager with TD Wealth Financial Planning in Victoria. After hours, she spends much of her time as a volunteer focusing on improving financial literacy within her community.
“To me, it’s a mission,” Wong says. “When I was going through school, we didn’t have financial literacy. My parents, particularly my mother, didn’t have the financial literacy they could have – or should have had. It makes a difference in people’s lives. It contributes to success.”
Wong’s first foray into the world of financial literacy began in 2007, when she was working in Alberta. She became involved with Junior Achievement Canada through TD, delivering the joint Dollars with Sense program to young women at the Calgary Girls’ School. “We wanted to make this fun,” Wong says. “The goal was to get kids engaged and excited about understanding money.”
The program, which Wong calls “very open and participatory,” gives students money-management skills and challenges them to apply these concepts in their own lives. Young people can see how they can manage changes financially in career and life directions, delve into the origins of trade and the ins and outs of investing, and get them hands-on experience to make better economic decisions.
This type of education is one that children might not otherwise get, Wong notes: “There is no education around financial literacy, and it is extremely needed.”
That’s one reason why enhancing financial literacy is a mandate for TD and why the organization supports and encourages the work that employees such as Wong do on this topic. However, she notes, that community work has to be about giving back, not building a book of business.
For example, two years ago, Wong’s alma mater, the University of Winnipeg, invited her to speak to first- and second-year business students on campus.
“It wasn’t about getting clients,” Wong says. “Understanding the value of money is just not part of the [university’s] curriculum.”
But this lack of understanding of financial matters is not limited to youth, adds Wong: “It’s important for every age.”
Thus, this month, Wong is representing TD and speaking to participants in the Urban Older Workers Program, an employment and skills training program established by British Columbia’s provincial government to help individuals 55 years of age and older gain the skills, confidence and experience they need to find work.
The one-hour presentation in Victoria is among the few Wong has delivered since moving to the city – and taking on a new job with TD – this past August. Wong, a certified financial planner, says she is still getting her feet wet and acclimating to her new home.
Ultimately, the West Coast is where Wong, 49, would like to settle. “The climate here looks very good to me,” she quips. “I rode my bike on the weekend [in January].”
It’s too early to say whether Victoria will be the final career stop for Wong, who started with TD in 1987 as a supervisor at a branch in Medicine Hat, Alta.: “I planned to start with the bank out of university, then get a ‘cool’ job.”
Twenty-seven years, three provinces, eight cities and nine positions later, Wong is a senior member of TD’s team. Today, she oversees 20 financial planners in the Vancouver Island market.
In addition to Wong’s work in the area of financial literacy, she has been actively involved with the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award program, which challenges young people to make a difference in their lives in five key areas. This includes building skills and getting involved in community service.
“It helps at-risk youth make better decisions about their lives,” says Wong. “It can be as simple as encouraging young people to get post-secondary education. That’s a win.”
When Wong is not in a classroom, standing before an audience or helping young people decipher finances, you can find her well rooted in another TD initiative, the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation, which is committed to environmental protection and conservation. Says Wong: “I’ve been planting trees for eight years in a row.”
Although Wong’s work and her community activities often intersect, the Calgary native doesn’t consider helping out to be a job in any way: “It’s a privilege to get involved. For those of us who have more, it should almost be a requirement. The responsibility lies with us.”
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