Pay it forward

Jenn Ocampo-King believes in the transformative power of mentorship, support and putting in the work. As a 15-year-old, she lived alone and held three jobs until a high school co-op program introduced her to the world of finance, from which she’s built a successful career, now at TD Bank as Managing Director, Head of Securities Lending.  

Her non-traditional path underscores how important opportunity can be. 

“If you have access to opportunity and drive, you can make it happen,” Jenn says. “How can we provide fair access to opportunities, healthcare, housing and food? That's what it's about: everyone can be successful if they just have access.” 

In her early years, her loving family sometimes struggled with rent or necessities, but she saw the power of community firsthand: a neighbour would show up with a homemade meal, or a food basket would arrive at a critical time. She saw how a small act of kindness makes a huge difference. 

Even now, as a busy mom who sits on the board of several non-profits, she continues to make time for issues that resonate with her like women, healthcare, homelessness and underserved youth, particularly in finance. 

Her firsthand experience seeing how a support network and encouragement can be transformative motivates her to continue supporting United Way, as does learning about the impact her donations have in community. 

“What inspires me to give is these moments, when someone comes in as a recipient of United Way support and shares the impact that support makes and how it helps,” she says. “The work done at United Way is so important — it inspires me to give as much as I can.”