There are many things John Abou-Samra does very well, chief among them accounting and helping others, often using one to further the other.
"God loves a cheerful giver," he says many times during an interview with The Tri-City News.
More than a Bible verse from Corinthians, it's what Abou-Samra lives by on a daily basis and it's what prompts him to give - rather generously, given his income - to the Share food bank.
Just last week, the Port Coquitlam resident (newly engaged, Abou-Samra brought his fiancée to the meeting at Share Family and Community Services because he couldn't bear to be separated from her on his day off) donated $2,500 worth of cereal and granola bars to Share.
"It's a very significant donation," said Roxanne MacDonald, Share's director of programs and services. "Cereal is expensive, so people don't usually donate it but people really like to get cereal in their hampers. It's popular with kids and adults."
What makes Abou-Samra's donation even more of a win for the food bank is the sheer size of it. Each food hamper, whether small, medium or large, has to contain the same items; getting so many of a particular item at once means volunteers spend less time sorting, organizing and storing (400 of an item are needed to distribute among hampers) and that the cereal can go into the hampers quickly.
Abou-Samra was an accountant in his native Lebanon but when he moved to Canada 25 years ago, he switched gears and got behind the wheel of a bus, preferring the lively interaction with the public over number crunching on a calculator. Transit riders may know him as the driver who doles out chocolate bars to passengers who correctly answer his trivia questions - and for making the trip on public transit a happy one.
He has made several large donations, buying in bulk at PoCo's Save-On Foods because it accommodates his large-scale purchases, even topping it up with an extra 10%, and offers up a truck to transport the food to Share's Port Moody food bank.
"As long as I am healthy and working, I will never stop donating," Abou-Samra says with a grin. As a Christian, he adds, he is obliged to donate 10% of his income to charity and to fulfill the command to feed the hungry.
"Give and ye will be given," he said, and proceeds to reveal that, in 2013, he donated $7,000 worth of food based on his $69,000 pre-tax income. Last year, he earned $75,000 and donated $9,300, having calculated the value of his charitable giving tax refund and even the value of the grocery store points he earned for purchasing the donated food.
And his additional work as a courtroom translator (Abou-Samra speaks English, French, Italian and Arabic)? A portion of those earnings also go to charity.
"God loves a cheerful giver," he repeats, adding he gives with love - and a smile - not with the expectation of receiving something in return. It's just part of a bigger philosophy Abou-Samra lives by: love, give and forgive.
At a time when many families feel stretched to just make ends meet, Abou-Samra says he thinks of the Tri-City families that will be sitting down to a healthy breakfast and the children who will have a healthy snack at school to fuel their bodies and their brains, and is happy and thankful he's able to donate so generously.
"I go to bed in the evening and I fall asleep in five minutes," he said, beaming, because, again, "God loves a cheerful giver."
@spayneTC
