Roll of the dice benefits school

RORY RICHARDS

Vancouver Talmud Torah took a gamble last Wednesday night with a Monte Carlo casino- themed benefit. As luck would have it, they were in good hands with event co-chairs (and Talmud Torah moms) Marni Tritt, Jodi Cristall and Carla Van Messel, who threw a fabulous fête for 160 parents, staff and supporters.

Guests were handed red feather boas as they arrived at the Hornby Street valet entrance of the Vancouver Art Gallery venue. Designed to resemble a casino, the VAG lobby boasted almost a dozen gaming tables (complete with a professional croupier), two bars and myriad food stations. But with all the temptations of a real casino, there were no dice rolling. This crowd was definitely playing it safe – it was a school night, after all. The real action was happening behind the scenes, where an anonymous donor made a private pledge of $30,000 to the school.

It was obvious everyone had more than just one thing in common as parents excitedly kibbitzed about kids and camps, while host Shane Foxman tried valiantly to get their attention over the microphone.

Andrew and Jill Hasman glowed among the sea of well-dressed couples, but playfully kept their cards close to their chest when asked about any big announcements. Josh and Marla Pekarsky were also among the most glamorously dressed scene stealers that evening. Incidentally, it was Talmud Torah's community relations officer Jennifer Shecter's sister who made the shidduch between Marla (née Guralnick) and Josh, back in Montreal.

Sponsorship co-chairs Neil Pollock and Arie Shiff, who collectively have eight Talmud Torah enrollees, were definitely beaming. Their smiles were due in large part to the phenomenal success of their sponsorship campaign that netted more than $150,000 for the school. However, these modest machers wouldn't accept any kudos, and were quick to say that the real credit goes to the high rollers who championed the night by writing the cheques. Among those family signatories were Yosef Wosk, Pola Litsky and Marc Levy and the Averbach, Diamond and Fishman families.

But the luckiest winners Wednesday were the Talmud Torah students. The funds raised from the night will go to upgrade the school's computer lab with the purchase of 26 dual platform iMacs, making our kinder the most wired kids in the province.

Kol hakavod!

Rory Richards is a partner in the PR and event planning firm Richards and Chan, www.richardsandchan.com.

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