Sufi Majid

Sufi Majid is an active member of the Young Leader Donor Network at United Way of Salt Lake. He volunteers both with opportunities with his company and of his own fruition. Whether he’s reading to kids or stuffing backpacks, you can guarantee he’ll be smiling.  

1. How did you first hear about United Way/United Way of Salt Lake?

Sitting through the presentation at Zions Bank and understanding and relating to the work that they do for the community. It was a huge part of why I joined and became a Young Leader. It was also great to see leaders in our workplace share personal stories and be such great advocates of the work.

2. What motivated you to give and volunteer?

Understanding the different areas locally that the resources were going to was motivating. I jumped right in when I found out about opportunities to serve at different schools that were in lower-income areas. I wasn’t feeling good about myself as a human when I was just working and focusing on progressing or material goals, but when I had started volunteering for another organization, I felt a lot better about myself.

3. What aspect of United Way of Salt Lake’s mission have you connected to most and why?

Their work around education and community schools. I will always be a huge supporter of education as it’s helped me out a lot. After experiencing some rough experiences in life and all throughout school for a vast majority of reasons, I found that I needed to make education a focus and priority in my life, which then, in turn, encouraged me to get my Associates in High School. I was born here but lived in Pakistan for 6 years, and though the education there was great, it scared me due to what was allowed in school. When I moved back here, to Taylorsville, we didn’t have much. The connection I have with United Way also helps me connect with the fact that there are so many foreign families living here, sacrificing safety nets, leaving family members, etc. that are here to just to get their kids a solid education without the fear of what happens in other nations. It’s such a valuable education worldwide that we can’t take that for granted. Through it’s valuable, there are still parts of our community that need help, and advocacy to improve the infrastructure of education.

4. Why do you believe it is important to support the Salt Lake community?

I was born here and lived here most my life – I think, in many aspects, it make sense to help the community in which you live in and plan to live in for a while. Being able to visit the schools or having a direct impact on a students’ success, such as with Mentor 2.0, helps me stay motivated. The students also help in return because I get a better sense as a (hopefully) future leader on the generation coming into the workforce and what they are learning, their behaviors, etc. Since a lot of them will stay within this community in the future too, it provides a greater economic incentive to our community to foster their growth where needed.