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| John Tu enjoyed performing with the JT & Friends band for charitable events. 杜紀川與 JT & Friends 樂團應邀在公益慈善活動中演出。 |
(The following text is an excerpt from the book Chinese Americans in Irvine 1971-2021)
John Tu spent most of his childhood in Taiwan, later went on to Hong Kong and Germany for higher education. The main attraction in coming to America was the nation’s eagerness in welcoming immigrants from all parts of the world, so he moved to California in 1972. It was there, on a basketball court, that he met David Sun, who would become his life-long business partner. The two joined hands in 1987 to establish Kingston Technology Company, Inc., now the world’s largest independent manufacturer of memory products, creating a legend of Chinese Americans who built their success from scratch.
Motivated to give back to the wider community, John Tu has long been supporting various educational, cultural, and art non-profit organizations through the John and Mary Tu Foundation, among them such local entities as the University of California, Irvine, Chapman University, Pacific Symphony, KPCC Southern California Public Radio, KOCE TV, Freedom Writers Foundation and Bowers Museum, etc.
With the breakout of COVID-19 in 2020, John and Mary Tu have been deeply concerned about the impact of the spread of the pandemic. They started a COVID-19 Response Fund in their Foundation and, in May, donated $2.5 million to the UCI Hospital, half of those funds dedicated to strengthening the hospital’s pandemic prevention measures; with the other half of the donated funds to support basic research on the virus. Dr. Steven Goldstein, Vice Chancellor for Medical Affairs of UC Irvine, says, “In fact, John Tu was among the first to come forward and ask how he could help, and he hopes his gift will inspire others to donate to UCI Health as well. This gift is helping to save lives, accelerate testing and advance vaccine development.” The John and Mary Tu Foundation COVID-19 Response Fund also donated $1 million to UC San Diego to support their new testing technology, track the spread of the virus, and to research and develop new treatments for the virus.
John and Mary Tu have kept a low profile in the many years they have been engaged in charitable activities. The COVID-19 Response Fund in 2020 is one of the few items that became public.
In 1993, the wife of a Kingston employee, Erin Gruwell, was a high school English teacher with a plan to help her students who held little hope for the future. John Tu took it on himself to provide personal computers to support Gruwell and her students to record their life through writing. With Gruwell’s selfless, giving spirit and John Tu’s encouragement and support, many high school students on the bottom rungs of the immigrant society started to find their life’s goal and meaning through reading and writing. The journals written by these supposedly “problem students” were collated and published as a book.
Gruwell moved on to establish the Freedom Writers Foundation to support disadvantaged youths to complete their education. This touching true story was made into a movie, “Freedom Writers.” Time and again, John Tu was credited as the behind-the-scenes mentor of Freedom Writers. Together with extensive coverage by mainstream news media, the charitable acts of this quiet, behind-the-scenes Chinese American philanthropist became widely known.
Besides their ample giving, community members have observed that John and Mary Tu have achieved an ideal union of art and personal participation in the public good. With some good friends, the music-loving John Tu has organized the JT & Friends Band. At many large-scale charitable events, one often sees the distinguished figure of John Tu with his band: among them the PBS SoCal Annual, the Pacific Symphony, South Coast Chinese Cultural Association Annual, etc. John Tu sometimes plays the drums, sometimes conducts, but always brings to the entire event, dynamic beat and rhythm. Mary, who loves dancing, organized TuTu Dance. Not to be outdone, her troupe also regularly performs at charitable events. The generosity of John and Mary Tu continues to make an indelible mark in Chinese American philanthropy. (English translation by Sally Feng)
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John and Mary Tu with President Obama in the Oval Office at the White |
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(以下文字摘錄自《爾灣華裔紀實1971-2021》一書)
杜紀川在台灣度過大部分的童年時光,之後到香港和德國就學,美國社會對移民的包容與接納,是當年吸引杜紀川來美國發展的主因。1972 年他搬到加州,在籃球場上結識一生的合作夥伴孫大衛。1987年兩人攜手創辦金士頓科技公司,現已是全世界規模最大的記憶體製造商,締造華裔在美國白手起家的傳奇。
在回饋社會的初衷下,杜紀川長期以來透過夫婦共同的慈善基金會(John and Mary Tu Foundation), 持續贊助各種教育、文化、藝術等領域的非營利公益組織 ,其中包括本地的加州大學爾灣分校(UCI)、查普曼大學(Chapman University)、太平洋交響樂團(Pacific Symphony)、KPCC公 共 廣播電台、KOCE TV 公共電視台、自由寫手基金會(Freedom Writers Foundation)及寶爾博物館(Bowers Museum)等等。
2020 年新冠疫情爆發後,杜紀川夫婦關切疫情擴散 的 衝 擊, 特 別 在 他 們 的 慈 善 基 金 會 中 設 立COVID-19 因應專款(Respond Fund),並率先於五月捐款 250 萬給加州大學爾灣分校附設醫院,一方面加強 UCI 醫院與診所內的防疫措施,另外一半捐款則用來支持檢測病毒的基礎研究,期待以科研成果對抗病毒突變。爾灣加大主管醫療事務的副校長 Dr. Steve Goldstein 說:「這筆捐款不但在緊要關頭發揮救命的作用,而且有助於鼓勵校園內各角落的研究團隊合作,開發新的檢測方式及疫苗。」 杜紀川夫婦基金會的 COVID-19 因應專款也捐出美金 100 萬給加州大學聖地牙哥分校 UCSD,用來支持新冠病毒檢測技術, 追蹤病毒傳染路徑,及研發對抗病毒的新療法。
事實上,杜紀川夫婦多年來一直低調從事各種慈善公益活動,2020 年的 COVID-19 因應專款只是少數對外公開的項目。早在 1993年,杜紀川就曾捐贈個人電腦給中學英文老師 Erin Gruwell,支持來自移民社會底層的學生記錄生活、練習寫作。在英文老師與杜紀川持續鼓勵下,對未來不抱希望的問題高中生,重新在閱讀與寫作中找到自己的人生目標和生活意義,他們的日記得以在 1999 年出版,並成立自由寫手基金會,資助弱勢學生完成大學學業。2007 年根據他們的故事拍成電影《街頭日記》(Freedom Writers)中,多次提到在幕後贊助自由寫手基金會的杜紀川,才讓這位億萬富翁的善行廣為人知。
除了樂善好施的美德之外,杜紀川夫婦最為人所津津樂道的是他們兩人將藝術和公益身體力行的完美結合。熱愛音樂的杜紀川與同好朋友合組 JT & Friends樂隊,在南加州許多大型的公益慈善活動上,經常可以看到杜紀川和樂團的身影,例如 PBS SoCal 年會、太平洋交響樂團年會、南海岸中華文化協會年會等慈善活動。杜紀川時而打鼓,時而指揮,總是為全場帶來動感十足的節奏與旋律。熱愛舞蹈的王曼齡與友人組成的 Tu Tu Dance,也定期舉辦公益舞蹈演出,不遑多讓,令人對華人慈善家夫婦留下深刻的印象。(蕭迪玉撰文)