Donor Spotlight: A Shared Mission of Empowerment and Inclusion

The Professional Development Association of Canada (PDAC) may be a young organization, but their commitment to community is already creating meaningful change.

On April 26, PDAC hosted its inaugural gala, Let Love Soar, and selected Pacific Autism Family Network (PAFN) as its first-ever charity partner. The event brought together more than 200 guests and raised both awareness and support for autism services across British Columbia.

“Our intention is to really raise awareness of PAFN and what they do,” Chloee Teng, the Director of Events at PDAC explained. “Although we are a newly established organization, one of our core values is supporting our community.”

For PDAC, the partnership is personal. Patty Chen, Director of Public Relations, is the mother of a seven-year-old son with autism, and she credits PAFN with helping her family navigate an uncertain journey.

“When my son was first diagnosed at three, we didn’t know what to do,” Chen shared. “He was non-verbal until he was five. PAFN gave us the support and resources we needed—from daycare and occupational therapy to music therapy.”

Founding President Josephine Wu, an early childhood educator, shared how her own experience working with children with autism shaped PDAC’s mission.

“One of the first children I worked with was a boy with autism. His parents always told him, ‘Don’t go outside,’” she recalled. “I kept wondering, what more can I do beyond just keeping him safe? That question never left me, because I believe every child deserves a happy life.”

PDAC’s five-year commitment to PAFN will help fund vital programs such as Paper Planes Café, an initiative that provides job training and employment opportunities for autistic youth and adults.

“At Paper Planes Café, the baristas are kind, focused, and work incredibly hard,” Wu said. “It showed me how important programs like that are.”

For PDAC, this is just the beginning.

“That’s why we built this team and why we want to keep growing,” Wu said. “Everyone’s power is small, but even a small light can guide someone out of darkness. That’s why we’ll keep doing work like this.”