Giving Back with Purpose
Balraj Mann has cultivated a strategic insight into what he can do for the community around him - and a quiet confidence that his actions will make the biggest impact.
For his longtime compassion and impact on community health, the Langley businessman and owner of BM Group had been awarded the 2023 HD Stafford Good Citizen Award from the City of Langley and Langley Township. The annual award is presented by Langley’s Chamber of Commerce.
Thanks in part to Balraj’s co-founding of the Giving Hearts Gala with Manjit Gill, who is also recognized with an HD Stafford Good Citizen Award, and their work alongside the Giving Hearts Gala committee, gala donors have raised $1,165,000 over the last five years to support causes varying from revitalizing Langley Memorial Hospital’s spiritual space to supporting surgical excellence.
Balraj’s dedication to advances in health care in Langley as both a donor to the Foundation and a working member of the Giving Hearts Gala committee made him a perfect nominee for the award, says Heather Scott, Executive Director of Langley Community Health & Hospital Foundation.
“Balraj Mann is central to the success of our efforts to create a vibrant, healthy community, ready to meet the huge challenges we will face as our community grows. His tireless work and his family’s generosity on behalf of community health has been transformative.”
Balraj moved to New Westminster in the early 1980s from a small village in Punjab, India at age 15. He earned a Construction management Diploma from Douglas College and a Civil Engineering Diploma from Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
Today he’s the CEO and Chairman of BM Group of Companies, which boasts a diverse portfolio of structural restoration, waterproofing, construction management, material supply and real-estate related businesses in operation across Canada, the US and South Asia.
Importantly, though, he balances philanthropy, business and family life with wife Jasbir and their three children.
In early 2023, the Mann family announced a $100,000 donation to the pain therapy and treatment clinic at Langley Memorial Hospital.
They dedicated the gift to the memory of Satnam Kaur Mann, Balraj’s mother, who passed away in 2022. The gift also recognizes the longtime struggles of his wife, Jasbir, who sustained injuries after a fall in the workplace.
Their generosity helped the Foundation purchase a procedure table and probes used in guided procedures during pain treatment.
“The Mann family’s generous donation allows me to double the number of patients I see, because we are able to acquire new state-of-the-art equipment to enhance their safety and help to alleviate their suffering,” says Dr. Sri Kollipara, one of four anesthesiologists who work regularly with patients suffering from chronic pain.
In an article for the South Asian lifestyle magazine Drishti, Balraj offers some insights on what fuels his philanthropy, his sense of legacy and citizenship.
“You only have one life to live,” he said in the article.
“You are on this earth for a purpose, and you want to make sure when you leave, you do so with a positive contribution. Do whatever you can to make things better for the people around you. Try to leave nobody behind if you can.”