Skip to content

OCOP: Shining a light on community

Ed Gurm helped found the Ridge Meadows South Asian Cultural Society.
8354244_web1_170908-MRN-SB-OCOP-Gurm_1
(Contributed) Ed Gurm at the 2016 gala.

Ed Gurm loves his community.

That becomes clear when he talks about Maple Ridge, his home for the past 45 years.

“It has everything you could ever want. The people are nice and friendly. You feel at home here.”

It also explains why, around 12 years ago, he helped found the Ridge Meadows South Asian Cultural Society with his friend, Dr. Biju Mathew, and a dozen others.

For Gurm, who serves as the society’s vice-president, it was an opportunity to create something that could give back to the community he loves so much.

“We wanted to make something that was non-political, non-religious, where everyone was welcome,” he says.

“It’s all about promoting fellowship, friendship, and positivity, all of which are important for every community, but especially for smaller ones like Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, where the resources aren’t always there.”

The society welcomes members of “all races, all religions, all backgrounds,” Gurm says, and has made a name for itself through fundraising for local charities, including the Ridge Meadows Hospital Foundation.

It also raises money for several local community organizations — including the youth wellness centre, as well as the Asante Centre and Cythera House — in order to help shed light on issues that often get swept under the rug, such as drug abuse and women’s health and safety.

The society holds several fundraising events and other community celebrations, including its annual Diwali festivities every October and a golf tournament at the Maple Ridge Golf Course.

The big one every year is the Gala Night, which is usually held around late February and early March. This past year’s event raised $13,000 for the youth wellness centre.

Unlike many other events with the word “gala” in them, Gurm emphasizes that this one is accessible to people from all walks of life who want to contribute.

“We welcome low-income, medium-income, all people to come out,” he says when asked about acquiring one of the 250 seats available at each year’s event.

“We try to make everything we do as accessible as possible.”

This kind of for-everyone approach to fostering community spirit has been a part of Gurm’s life from the very beginning. As a child growing up in a small town in India, he saw first-hand how important it was to help one’s neighbour or family.

“I learned that from my dad, who was a believer in hard work and honesty,” he says. “We very much lived by, you know, treating others the way you want to be treated. That was important to us.”

When it came time to immigrate to the western world when he was close to turning 20, Gurm was determined to bring the spirit of that ‘Golden Rule’ to Maple Ridge, where he has since raised three now-grown children and three grandchildren.

“I knew wherever I ended up that I would try and help create that same sense of community I had back home,” he says.

“Maple Ridge was a great place to raise a family and teach my children the same values.”

Even his profession as a real estate agent comes from a desire to help people.

“It’s a great feeling, helping people get into their homes and to make the right decision,” he says. “It brings me a lot of joy.”

Gurm will also take time to talk to those who don’t have a home, in the hopes that he can help them get back on the right path in some way.

“I’ll regularly stop and talk to the person picking bottles from the trash or off the street,” he says. “I stop and say, ‘How can I help?’ I’ll talk to anyone, it doesn’t matter where they come from or what they look like.

“Everyone needs help at some time or another. Why wouldn’t I try?”

Whether selling houses or organizing fundraising galas, Gurm is passionate about helping people reach their full potential, and promoting the idea that a community that works together, stays together.

“I just want to be a helping hand,” Gurm says.