Charlie and Ling Zhang are well-known as one of Orange County’s most philanthropic couples and supporters of the arts. In 2016 they founded OC Music & Dance, the county’s first and only nonprofit community performing arts school for students including those who can’t afford tuition.
But even the most charitable people have their own role models, or people they look to for inspiration. For the Zhangs, that person is in their neighborhood: Ruth Ding, a founding member of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts board. Ding, now 90, has been active with several organizations in Orange County, including Opera Pacific and Asian American Senior Citizens Service Center in Santa Ana. She founded the Orange County Chinese Cultural Club and Pan Pacific Performing Arts, Inc. and has served on many boards.
The Zhangs have known Ding for about five years and they live near each other in Laguna Niguel. Charlie Zhang, a Chinese immigrant who arrived in the United States with little but a dream for a better future, sees some of his own life in Ding, who he noted had immigrated to the United States as a child and has made a successful — and charitable — life here. Ding inspired Charlie and his wife, Ling, an immigrant from Taiwan, to give back to their adopted county.
“She said to me, ‘Charlie, you need to earn the respect of people,’” he said.
Ding was not wealthy, “But she has a heart. She said, ‘I am a citizen of the United States so I am going to do something for the community,’” Ling Zhang said. “This has really opened our eyes.”
HONORING PHILANTHROPY
The Zhangs are being recognized this year as “Outstanding Philanthropists” locally on National Philanthropy Day, a special day where individuals, businesses, and support organizations are honored for giving back to the community. National Philanthropy Day is the brainchild of Doug Freeman, a local retired attorney and businessman who now serves as the executive chair and CEO of OC Music and Dance.
Freeman first met Charlie Zhang through their association with the Pacific Symphony board. He said Zhang made such an impression that Freeman came out of retirement to help the performing arts school, where 60 percent of the students enjoy tuition scholarships.
“You get someone of that generosity and commitment and realize you’re going to change a lot of lives,” Freeman said of Charlie Zhang. “He and I have to make sure this place is sustainable over generations.”
Freeman said the Zhangs exemplify the American ideal of generosity. “They manifest the absolute ideal of America, which is generosity of heart and spirit, willingness to serve others, and to do so without expectation of benefit of anything personal or beneficial.”
LAND OF OPPORTUNITY
The Zhangs consider themselves regular folks although they are anything but. Charlie Zhang immigrated at the age of 23 with just $20, and no job or language skills. He had a clarinet and dreamed of becoming a professional musician.
In his native China, his family had been victimized by the communist Cultural Revolution, which saw Zhang’s successful businessman father imprisoned when Zhang was 2 for not cooperating with the new program; his mother and siblings scraped by with various jobs.
Charlie spent seven years of his childhood toiling in rural China’s ride paddies, playing his clarinet in the forest so he wouldn’t bother the other workers. He was among 17 million urban youths sent to the countryside to work during the Cultural Revolution, a mission billed as education but tantamount to forced labor.
His dream of being a musician ended when Charlie badly injured a finger cutting chicken while working at a restaurant. So, he worked long hours, saved his money and eventually started a restaurant in San Juan Capistrano with a partner. Charlie founded the Pick Up Stix restaurant chain and the Zhangs grew it to 100 locations before selling the business in 2001 for $50 million.
Ling Zhang immigrated from Taiwan in 1978 when she was 21 and met Charlie at church. She also worked her way up to achieve the American dream. “I feel so grateful and lucky that we are here. Our families appreciate this country so much,” she said.
PAYING IT FORWARD
The Zhangs have been married for 33 years and have two adult sons. Together they have continued their success in business and real estate, devoting much of their time and money to Orange County nonprofits including the Pacific Symphony, Bowers Museum, Concordia University and their church, while running their real estate development firm.
In 2016, the couple established Orange County Music & Dance. Charlie Zhang also serves on the boards of the Pacific Symphony, Bowers Museum, Pacific Chorale and the advisory board for Concordia University. He was on the boards of Chapman University and Cal State Fullerton but cut back his activities after suffering a stroke last year. He said he’s 90 percent recovered.
Charlie Zhang said philanthropy is ingrained in his culture and the way he was raised.
“We are ordinary men and women, regular people,” he said of himself and his wife. “We’ve been raised in a culture that you have to be respectful. The county and community is the same way.”
Noting his modest start in America and his up-by-the-bootstraps story, Zhang observed, “The county, the people, the community, raised me up. I would have no money, no communication skills, no connection, but people never doubted me. They really looked after me at a young age. I succeeded based on the great system and great people around. I need to give back.”
Giving back to the community gives the couple a tremendous sense of joy, Ling Zhang said.
“We don’t know much about the money value but we know the people’s value. We really treasure all the relationships, parents, family and friends. We treasure those values more than material values. We find joy in helping others. The people’s return is appreciation and there are so many people to help,” she said.
“Both of our goals is to do more for the community and to help whenever we could. The Bible and God encourages this,” she said.
The Zhangs are working to increase the performing arts school’s enrollment and build a $10 million scholarship endowment for students. They also hope to encourage others to fit philanthropy into their lives.
Charlie Zhang hopes his life’s story will inspire others. “We should give back. It should be in our DNA. Sometimes we need to spend the time and focus and do this. It’s a great county. We have to give back. We must be together. Tell people, ‘If Charlie can do it, everybody should.’”
“Something you are giving is beyond a material thing, it’s your heart,” added Ling Zhang. “You become so rich. We should inspire people to open their hearts and do something.”
