When Krissy Coco, Senior Manager in Advisory Services, joined Nicola Wealth in 2022, she leapt at the chance to join colleagues in volunteering with the Union Gospel Mission (UGM) in Vancouver.
“I joined in several volunteer shifts in my first year, and it was tremendously rewarding,” she recalls. “It was a great way to connect with the community and to support others. That's a big value of mine, and an amazing way for me to get to know my colleagues better.”
It was also an eye-opening experience that motivated her to give her time to UGM on a recurring basis. “One of the standout moments for me was during my first dinner service, hearing from the chef about how many people he expects to serve,” she shares. “There was just a magnitude of people in need, and it was nonstop the entire time. It was incredible to see how well the staff and other volunteers knew these people. They knew their names. They were someone to them.”
A deep and meaningful partnership
Nicola Wealth has always been actively engaged in local communities and charitable projects nationally and internationally. Nicola Wealth’s support for UGM began in 2014, when a mutual friend connected Nicola Wealth’s founders, John and Claire Nicola, with Ryan Koch, the organization’s Vice President of External Engagement. At that time, Ryan recalls, “We were an organization that had a lot of services mostly focused on men. We had built a new facility on Hastings that was expanding a lot of our men's programs, which gave us this opportunity to think about the building we were moving out of and how we wanted to serve women in a more intentional and greater capacity. That was the first real initiative that John and Claire supported, which was starting a day shelter for women.”
The Nicola family and their Nicola Family Foundation provided significant support towards the growth of UGM’s women’s programs, helping it open its new Women & Families Centre in 2022. At the seven-storey building, UGM delivers essential programs for women and families, including 27 combined units for women in addiction recovery and stabilization programs, and 36 long-term supportive housing units for women and women-led families.
Since 2016, Nicola Wealth has donated over $400,000 to the organization, and Nicola Wealth Gives Back, the company’s charitable committee, has also put its energy behind the organization. To encourage volunteerism, the company provides employees with up to two days of paid time off annually to volunteer with a charity of their choice. With UGM, the company’s charitable committee coordinates around eight volunteer shifts for the East Hastings meal service and Christmas hamper program, and for each shift, Nicola Wealth donates $50. This year, those shifts filled up with volunteers within days of being announced.
“The thing that strikes me about Nicola Wealth is how it genuinely feels like the values that they talk about as a company are actually what they believe and do,” reflects Ryan. “That's the overall impression I have of John and Claire, all the way through to all the employees that I have interacted with.”
Building supportive communities
That’s certainly true of Krissy, who volunteered in both the UGM kitchen and the Christmas hamper store. The experience is deeply personal to her, she shares: “Growing up, we didn't have everything. There were times when things were tight for my family. And knowing that there were resources available made a big difference.”
As a mother of two boys, she says, helping to support other families is particularly meaningful—something that really hit home when she volunteered at the Christmas hamper storefront, where participants can browse shelves of donations to find items and gifts. “We were a small group of four volunteers, supporting moms and dads, helping them select gifts,” says Krissy. “Knowing as a mom what it feels like to go out and shop and what it feels like Christmas morning—being able to give that power, that gift, to another parent is truly rewarding.”
She’s proud of the way her team has embraced the company’s “sharing the pie” philosophy. “Coming together to volunteer keeps us connected,” she says, noting that volunteering often includes employees bringing along family members to join in.
“We’re an incredible people-first organization,” she adds. “Everything that we do is focused around the good of our people, the wellbeing, and the growth of our people. We're purpose-driven, and it feels genuine and part of our DNA.”
