Volunteering at a homeless shelter inspires charitable future

The donor Louis Sapi

The gift: $500,000 and climbing

The causes: A variety of charities

Several years ago, a work colleague invited Louis Sapi to spend a few hours helping out at a Good Shepherd homeless shelter in Toronto. Mr. Sapi wasn't keen.

He'd had a dim view of homeless people, viewing them as lazy. But he relented and agreed to go. The experience completely changed his attitude.

"It was one of those seminal moments in your life," recalled Mr. Sapi, who runs HS & Partners LLP, an accounting firm he founded in Toronto. He realized that the people in the shelter had fallen through the cracks of society. "It was at that moment I decided that I'm going to do something."

He began raising money for the shelter, then broadened his philanthropy to other charities. He now contributes to or raises money for children's charities, environmental causes, women's shelters, a school in Costa Rica and a hospital in Orangeville, Ont. In total, Mr. Sapi has donated, or helped raise, more than $500,000.

"It's just part of my DNA now," he said. His two children are involved in charity work too. Canada is a rich society, he said, "and there is really absolutely zero reason why we have homeless or people in need."