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December 12, 2008
Hillel House renamed
Gala celebrates achievement of fundraising goals.
RON FRIEDMAN
The new Hillel House, currently under construction at the University of British Columbia, will be known as the Diamond Foundation Centre for Jewish Campus Life. Leslie Diamond, on behalf of the foundation, received recognition and a gift from the organizers of Hillel Vancouver's annual gala, which was held on Dec. 7.
Approximately 500 people attended the festive event, held at UBC's Life Sciences Building, with the theme of the gala being "Hillel Under Construction."
The evening started with welcoming remarks from Hillel students Ayelet Weil of the University of Victoria and Ben Rabinovitch of Simon Fraser University. During dinner, guests were shown a video highlighting the work done by Hillel across the province and statements by local Hillel students and staff members.
Isaac Thau, chair of Hillel's capital campaign, spoke about the fundraising achievements of the year and praised donors for the rapid response in answering the call for funds for the new building.
Hillel launched the campaign in December 2006, with the aim of reaching $8 million.
The evening's keynote speaker was Wayne Firestone, president of Hillel International, who spoke about the Hillel movement from a global perspective, stressing the important role it plays in strengthening young Jewish people everywhere, from South America to eastern Europe. He also showered praise on the work of the local organization and held Hillel Vancouver up as an example of good management.
The evening honoree was Moe Samuel, founder of Paramount furniture and a longtime philanthropist. Samuel was introduced by his sons, Oren and Elie, and a short video featuring greetings and testimonials from family members, friends and Hillel staff and students.
Sticking with the theme of "under construction," each guest was given a key with a number. Near the end of the evening, there was prize draw and the winner received a lounge seat courtesy of Paramount Furniture.
After the Birkat Hamazon, Canadian comedian Dan Joffre entertained the audience with his standup routine.
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