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November 12, 2004
Adirim takes over at CFHU
One job of new head is fund-raising for a student village.
JANNETTE EDMONDS SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
Myra Adirim is excited about her new job, and it shows. The 50-year-old
mother of four has re-entered the full-time working world with a
bang as the new executive director of Canadian Friends of the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem, Pacific Region (CFHU).
"When I believe in something, then I want to share this passion
with everyone else and I believe Hebrew University is a fabulous
university and worth sharing with everyone," she said. She
was excited to report that three of this year's Nobel Prize laureates
– two in chemistry and one in physics – are graduates
of the Hebrew University.
A former schoolteacher who gave up teaching when her first child
was born, Adirim believes in education.
"Education is very important and especially [in Israel],"
she said. "There is such potential. There are so many successful
people who have studied there and there are many important discoveries
that are the result of studying at the Hebrew University.
"They have scholarships and fantastic professors, so they attract
very promising students to their programs."
Using the skills of such professors to aid in fund-raising ventures
is part of CFHU's program and Adirim will continue on in the tradition
of setting up the Best of Hebrew U courses, which are already being
prepared for next September. She is also working on bringing in
a visiting professor in February.
Fund-raising is nothing new for Adirim. She brings to the job extensive
experience in it and was attracted to the prospect of doing it full
time. After leaving the teaching profession, she became active in
Hadassah-WIZO and was president of the Vancouver chapter for two
years until last year. She was very involved in fund-raising and
credits the organization for giving her the skills for her new job.
Hadassah was the place she met new friends, after moving here from
Montreal 27 years ago.
"Because I was new to the city, that was my social network
and as I had the time, I got more involved," she said. With
that involvement has come an extensive group of contacts, another
necessity of her new job. She also became plugged into the community
through involvement with her children's lives.
Adirim will be speaking to donors, potential donors, parents and
students who are interested in studying at the Hebrew University.
"We have an outreach program that we are initiating on our
board, where we will be going out to the schools to speak to the
students and counsellors and get the information out," she
said.
Her own children, Jamey, 21, Tara, 20, Lauren, 18, and Zach, 14,
are of university age or nearing it so she is connected in a personal
way.
"Because I am at the age where my kids are in university, I
know my kids' friends, and word gets out that way."
Speaking Hebrew is going to be helpful on the job too and, as she
went to Hebrew school in Montreal from kindergarten to graduation,
she has that skill as well. She met her husband, Cary, in Israel,
on a student trip, and, in her new position, she is looking forward
to a trip there in June.
Adirim is very enthusiastic about fund-raising for CFHU's new campaign
to build a student village on the university's Mount Scopus campus.
It is an ambitious project and Adirim feels up to the challenge.
She credits her energy level with her other passion, fitness, which
she began eight years ago.
"I am very big on fitness," she said. "I decided
I wanted to be fit, started coming to the JCC gym and now am a regular.
I am involved in pilates, good health and good eating. It is a very
big thing in our family to eat well and exercise."
She says her family is "on board" with her new career
and are "very supportive." So all things are in place
to carry on the work of CFHU.
"It involves a lot of different avenues, and is very enjoyable,"
she said. "The organization has such a great name, so I am
lucky at that, and I just want to keep it going."
Jannette Edmonds is a Vancouver freelance writer.
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