Gentlemen's night out

ARASH BEN SHAUL

A strong Jewish education is the foundation of our community's future prosperity," said Ari Shiff, head of KCL Fund Strategies and president of Shi-Five Corp. "We need to ground our children firmly in Jewish education if we want to help them become successful people and leaders in tomorrow's world."

Shiff was speaking at the Gentleman's Dinner, a gala fundraiser held on May 22 to benefit Vancouver Talmud Torah day school. Organized by Shiff and his wife, Carla Van Messel, the fundraiser drew about 100 of Vancouver's most prominent Jewish professionals and businessmen to generate funds for an ambitious renovation and expansion of Vancouver Talmud Torah (VTT).

Dating back to the origins of VTT in 1913, the Gentleman's Dinner is a long-standing tradition that brings together Vancouver's Jewish elite every other year to make donations to the school. The event itself is an evening of fun and entertainment, but only for men. "I think they tried to make it a family night, and a mixed night a few times," said this year's event co-organizer Van Messel, "but attendance was not very encouraging. So they kept it a gentlemen's only event, because that's been the best way to bring out the people who write the cheques."

The Gentleman's Dinner has raised hundreds of thousands for various VTT projects in the past. "It's been very successful," said Ron Bakonyi, president of Vancouver Talmud Torah. "I know the last one, held at Gotham restaurant, raised close to $200,000. We did much-needed renovations in the school with it. It made the school more comfortable for the students and also increased our savings on energy by a great deal."

This year's event, held at the home of Leanne and Jonathan Coleman, featured a lavish kosher dinner, games, cocktails and prizes. The prizes were donated by corporate sponsors, and the grand prize was a three-month lease for a brand new Mercedes SL-500. "Basically, it's a club night for guys," joked Van Messel. "The guests are here to play some games, network, socialize, have some fabulous food but, most important of all, to support Jewish education."

As guests mingled and enjoyed the entertainment, Shiff personally showed each one the architectural designs for the planned enhancements to the VTT building. "The school's enrolment is at capacity, they have about a hundred new students but the same space," said Shiff. "We need long-term planning and infrastructure. For the short term, we need renovations to accommodate its burgeoning population. For the long run, we need consultants and architects for planning a major expansion of the building. That's why we need to raise the funds tonight."

Shiff, who is the president and current fundraising chair for VTT, said that Jewish education is the most important of all the causes he supports. "To support Jewish education, you have to support Jewish day schools," he said. "And supporting Jewish day schools is important because they are the focal point of all Jewish affiliations. If you have a good Jewish education and a good time with other Jewish students, there's a strong chance you'll go on to be involved in the community later on."

VTT co-presidents Bakoyni and Joel Guralnick thanked the guests for continually supporting VTT over the years. "Over the past few years, through your generosity, VTT has made incredible progress in so many ways," said Bakoyni. "Our facilities have made incredible progress ... the core of the school's Jewish curricula has improved, the school's technology has dramatically improved and fantastic new faculty and staff continue to be attracted to the school."

"Your support helps us to ensure that the Jewish children of today benefit from 21st-century learning and that they will grow into the Jewish leaders of tomorrow," added Guralnick. "It will also help us create a legacy to ensure the children of today's VTT students will be able to enjoy the same great education at the same relative cost in the future."

This year's event raised well over $200,000, a record for the Gentleman's Dinner. "We actually raised just about $200,000 last year also," said Van Messel, "and we wanted to raise a little more and beat that record. I think we did that tonight. We're very proud we got the opportunity to organize this year's fundraiser and to support VTT."

Arash Ben Shaul is a Vancouver freelance writer.

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