Interview With Tom Pong, Alumnus & Legacy Society Member

What is your first memory of Cameron House?

“When you’re in junior high you need acceptance, and CH provided that for me. There’s a lot of peer pressure in junior high, also, I grew up in a traditional Chinese family, in many ways, it was dysfunctional.

Being part of Cameron House was about learning about ourselves and working with others in a commission where you need to learn “what’s the greater good” instead of focusing on your own needs.

CH led me to meet Christ, become baptized, and attend PCC in high school”.

What programs have you participated in at CH?

 I was a day camp leader in high school, a day camp director, and also participated in the CA Caravan program. More recently,  I served on the board from 1993-2000 and then from 2013-2020.

What moved you to include CH in your estate plans?

The mission of furthering Christ’s work and bringing love to Chinatown and beyond. I am the person I am today because of CH.

Which experience(s) with CH made the most lasting impact on you?

When I was a day camp leader for the first year, we were walking the opposite side of Sacramento st, one of the kids, saw his dad on the other side and I thought he was going to get hit by a car… I was so relieved that by God’s grace, nothing happened to him.

As the older students, we had responsibility over these kids’ lives!

That’s where leadership comes in.

CH taught us about being responsible people.

 A big lesson for me was that you can’t provide for others unless you have your needs met.

Our experience at Cameron House was spiritual, emotional, psychological, and social. We learned about our own emotions and physical well-being.