When Helen Lam began her high-flying international career, she had no idea she would eventually find her passion among Bellingham’s four-legged friends. Originally from Hong Kong, her job selling eyeglasses had her flying all over the world, especially to Europe and the United States. Because she spent so much time in the States, and had so many customers here, she decided to move to Los Angeles with her husband and children a few years before she left her sales job.
From Global Sales to Helping Others in Bellingham
But international air travel was not her only pastime. “I was a shopaholic. I liked to shop, shop, shop. At that time, I made good money, and you can imagine the size of my collection—that I’d never wear!” she says. “After 10 years, I felt bad about always shopping, shopping, shopping… and never helping.”
Soon, her family moved to Bellingham to be closer to her parents and siblings in Vancouver, BC, and she says that her spending habits left her feeling selfish. A new desire to give to the community led her to volunteer with the American Red Cross, and while it was a move in the right direction, she found she wanted to help people face to face. That decision led her to visit the drop-in center frequented by the city’s homeless population, which was located on Holly Street in the Old Town section of downtown.
“It kind of scared me. When I looked inside, all I could see was that the colors were so dark. The people looked depressed, and the atmosphere and the clothing were so gray and dark. My heart was sick, but that night I was thinking deep and hard, and I decided that if I believed there was a chance I could do something, I couldn’t just give up,” she says. “So I kept going, week after week, and after about a month, I felt way, way better. I found that they were really challenged by their life on the street, but they are really, really nice people.”
The Dog That Made All The Difference
Lam still remembers the faces and the stories of the people she helped, and she also remembers the first time she saw the pet, which would change her direction in life. A woman came into the drop-in center with a small dog that was noticeably limping. Every time the dog took a step, Lam says, it would cry out. She had no money to take the dog to the vet and had asked all the nonprofits for help, but none of them were in a position to help her.
So Lam bought food and paid for a veterinary visit, and as word spread, more people began to seek her out. Lam was happy to help and didn’t mind using money from her savings to help suffering animals enjoy a healthier life, but that business model obviously couldn’t go on forever.
Love2Hope
Lam carries a simple belief through her life: that holding positive feelings within herself makes her more likely to find positivity in the world around her. And sure enough, as the list of pets she helped grew, so did the number of people willing to help her. Finally, in late 2024, Lam created a 501(c)3 organization and named it after her belief that good work would bring good rewards.
The work focuses on helping unhoused individuals and their companion pets by providing minor veterinary care, vaccinations, pet food, pet supplies and essential items for the people themselves. In addition to making Lam’s mission more sustainable, Love2Hope also makes it easy for community members to contribute, which in turn allows her and her team of volunteers to assist more and more pets. The website makes it easy to donate to the organization and easy to send an email to offer other sorts of assistance, or to ask for help if needed.
Lam suggests that people support the Whatcom Humane Society as well. The two organizations are getting together on May 24 so that the Humane Society can introduce its clients and supporters to Love2Hope.
To contact Love2Hope, email Love2Hope33@gmail.com or text 801.382.7525.
