Simu Liu donates $100,000 to Feeding America in memory of his own childhood, matching the donation from retailer BoxLunch.
Simu Liu, star of the Marvel superhero fantasy “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” and the Canadian sitcom “Kim’s Convenience,” says that his family grew up “the definition of poor.” A child immigrant from China to Canada, Liu remembers shopping in the discount aisle of supermarkets, asking the stockers for product about to go bad.
Retailer BoxLunch, which is a mall chain specializing in pop-culture merchandise and snacks imported from Japan and Korea, asked Liu to be their first Giving Ambassador, a figurehead position to bring attention to their philanthropic efforts. But when they told him they intended to donate $100,000 to nonprofit Feeding America, Liu was not satisfied to be a figurehead.
“I’m just looking at this number, $100,000. It’s a really big number, but what’s bigger than $100,000?” Liu wondered aloud on stage at the announcement of BoxLunch’s donation. “Let’s say for the sake of argument $200,000… “ On the spot, he signed a second surprise donation, this one from his own account.
Feeding America is a hunger-fighting nonprofit which supports a network of food banks, provides food to those affected by disaster, and funds research into hunger and poverty to support future safety net legislation.
“I feel a very personal connection to their mission,” said Liu. “The pandemic has adversely affected many communities of color and families. I saw and felt that within circles of people that my parents knew, my extended family knew, and witnessed just how difficult things have been over the last couple of years.
“It’s in these times of uncertainty that it’s important to focus on “taking care of one another.”
Only six years ago, before his contract with Disney-Marvel, Simu Liu was in debt and unwell. He says he still gets a thrill and tingles of adrenaline from being able to do things like make this donation and support his parents.
Photo: Eugene Powers / Shutterstock