Local News
Cancercare Manitoba Foundation Challenge for Life adapts to changed circumstances
By MYRON LOVE
The 13th annual Cancercare Manitoba Foundation Challenge for Life 20KM walk (or 200-minute workout) has a new look this year – as a result of COVID 19 – with a smaller number of participants and lower expectations.
And, instead of thousands gathering on the second Saturday in June, participants this year are walking in small groups covering the same distance over a three-week period from August 1-20.
As usual though, several members of our Jewish community are making their presence felt.
Leading the way in more ways than one is Steven Kroft, who is both one of the leading individual fundraisers taking part in the Challenge for Life campaign and an active participant. (See related profile.)
This year, the top-ranked “Jewish” team is Nancy’s Nightingales with close to $16,000 as of August 13 – good for second place in the team rankings. This year, long time team members Connie Botelho, Joanne Katz, Harriet Lyons, Louise Raber, Heather Cram, and Susan Lipnowski were joined by second year member Rhonda Youell.
The“Nightingales” were named after a nurse – a cancer survivor – who is a friend of Louise Raber’s. They have been part of the Challenge for Life since the beginning.
“It is certainly a little more difficult this year because of the pandemic,” Raber says. “And we didn’t do the 20km in one day. Rather, we walked 10 km on August 14 and another 10 on the 15th.”
Cancercare Manitoba Foundation has reduced the minimum pledge for each walker to $250 rather than $1,000 this year in light of the current situation, she notes. Nonetheless, she expects that “Nancy Nightingales” will raise more money than ever before due to the larger number of team members this year.
Team Schvesters – also one of the original teams – is the only other team with a significant Jewish contingent among the top ten fundraising teams this year. The team was founded by the “Greenfeld girls”: Benji Harvey and her sisters, Lesly Katz and Debby Lewis. Two of the sisters had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
This year, Harvey notes, the team members are Benji and Deb, Kim Gray and Jody van de Vijsel. “While Les has not participated for the last few years, she continues to make very generous financial contributions,” Harvey says.
Benji, Deb and Kim all did a 15 km walk, 30 minute upper body core workout and 30 minute yoga stretch.
Jody is also having a garage and bake sale.
Team Schvesters raised just under $7,000.
“We are a small but heartfelt team,” Harvey says. “Even though COVID has changed the event there are still lots of teams participating in their own way, which is fantastic.”
Perennial fundraising dynamos Serratus Superstars have also been walking in the Challenge for Life since the Challenge inception in 2008. Team captain Cathy Moser reported in an interview with the JP&N last year that the group had raised over $370,000.00 since 2008 – through donations, garage sales, concerts, and bake sales.
This year’s team makeup however is much reduced from previous years. Last year, there were 25 walkers under the Serratus Superstars banner. This year, the team numbers six – returnees Moser and her husband Jeff Itzkow, Sharon Goszer-Tritt, Harriet Zimmer and newcomers Bernie Rubinstein and Sheila Kercheff.
Moser, however, remains undaunted. Her own personal goal, she says, is to raise $2,000 and the team’s goal is $10,000. “We want to raise much more though,” she adds.
The bake sale has long been a part of Team Serratus’ fundraising efforts. This year, as reported in the last issue of the Jewish Post & News, Moser has made arrangements with Rachel Nedelec and Madi Spence from Flour and Flower to sell Moser’s popular almond roca, with proceeds from sales being donated to Cancercare. The chocolate almond toffee cost $10 a batch and delivery is free.
“They have already sold over 80 batches,” Moser says.
Retired Provincial Court Judge Rocky Pollack has also been a long time participant in the Challenge for Life. He knows first-hand the ravages of cancer, having lost his wife, Sharon, to the disease eight years ago.
(While Sharon fought cancer for a number of years, she was also a leader in community fundraising activities for Cancercare Manitoba. Rocky has taken up where Sharon left off to a degree. He currently serves as chair of Cancercare’s Community Connection Committee.)
This year, Pollack is captain of Team No Judgment, which includes 12 of his colleagues. “It was a little easier this year having 20 days to complete the challenge,” he notes. “Some of us walked while others also did aerobics, kayaking and other exercises.”
Team No Judgment raised just under $6,000 this year for cancer research.
Sister Act also has a smaller contingent this year. “It’s just me, my mother (Pearl Rosenberg) and my sister, Cindy (Yusim)” says Brenda Dahle.
Pearl Rosenberg, may well be – at 86 – the oldest participant. She has lost two daughters (and Dahle and Yusim, two sisters) to cancer within about a year of each other. Naomi Palansky passed away in 2010 and Michelle Moyer in 2011. Dahle notes that Naomi walked with her family in the first Challenge For Life Walk.
(Readers may aso recall that Naomi’s children, Noah and Lexi, started their own team of walkers, “Kids Count, shortly after their mother received her cancer diagnosis.)
“I started taking part in the Challenge for Life on Team Chai in 2008,” Dahle writes in an email. “I continue to take part in the 20 k walk with my mom and my sister, Cindy Yusim, in memory of our sisters Naomi Palansky and Michelle Moyer, whose love, strength, and courage continue to inspire us. Money raised will remain in Manitoba and will be used for research, clinic trials, and to support individuals and their families fighting cancer.
“With this being a virtual walk,” she continues, “we are being creative in reaching the goal. I have gone on two 6 k hikes and continue to walk 3 k on a daily basis. I also plan on joining my mom on her morning walks in Kildonan Park. I have been doing regular hikes as well as walking with my mother and Cindy.”
Dahle reports that Sister Act’s fundraising goal this year is lower than it has been in the past due to the coronavirus effect. “In the past, my fundraising goal was $1000.00,” she says. “This year, I only reached out once to my former donors, as everyone’s circumstances are different, and with the ongoing pandemic, didn’t want to offend or upset anyone. “
Dahle notes that donations are still accepted at .
Annual Kick Butt fundraiser also going virtual
As with the Challenge for Life and every other former group event, Kick Butt, the annual fundraiser which aims to raise awareness of colorectal cancer, has also gone the virtual route.
Sid Chapnick, Kick Butt’s founder, is once again taking charge of organizing the event – now in its 13th year.
Chapnick notes that colorectal cancer is one of the three most commonly diagnosed cancers among both men and women. He points out that all funds raised stay in Manitoba to support colorectal cancer research, genetic research for Lynch Syndrome, as well as to raise awareness and advocate for the needs of people who have colorectal cancer.
Participants are urged to wear boxer shorts, pajamas or bathing suits, with prizes for the best Butt Cover.
Since 2016, Denny’s Restaurants has been the main sponsor. Chapnick reports that this year, Denny’s is contributing a lump sum rather than a portion of proceeds from restaurant operations.
The event this year is scheduled for Saturday, September 12. In the past, the 3-5km walk has been held at Kildonan Park. Due to Covid, this year participants can walk anywhere.
Readers can sign on to the Cancercare Manitoba Foundation website to register for the event: www.cancercarefdn.mb.ca
Local News
Winnipegger featured in Apple commercial highlighting new adaptive technology
By MYRON LOVE The year just past has been a memorable one for Melissa Shapiro. In recent weeks she and her boyfriend moved into their new home in East Kildonan and – in September, the daughter of Cory and Goldelyn Shapiro – was one of the featured guests at Apple Headquarters in Las Vegas for the premiere of an advertisement – produced by the tech company – highlighting Apple’s newly developed adaptive technology.
“I was flown out to California by Apple’s PR team,” recalls the 26-year-old policy analyst with the Education and Early Childhood Learning Department. “The event was held at Apple Park. It was really exciting seeing all the newest products and features.”
Shapiro, who was born missing her left arm, came to the attention of Apple as a result of Instagram videos she made demonstrating her ability to work out as an adaptive athlete. Last May, Shapiro reviewed the Apple watch’s accessibility features in a video, and it caught Apple’s attention.
“I was contacted by a casting agency in July,” she reports. “Next thing I know, we are filming in Toronto in August. I was the only Canadian involved in filming the commercial.”
Shapiro has never let her disability define her life- thanks in part both to her parents and the War Amps of Canada Child Amputee program, which reached out to her family three weeks after she was born.
“We received a lot of support – financial, recreational and emotional – from the War Amps,” she says. “Through the program, my family was able to connect with other families with similar challenges.
As well, the War Amps helped me to integrate in school and participate in sports while I was growing up by providing me with different prosthetics paid for by donations to the program.
Over the years, Shapiro ha been able to give back to the non-profit organization by appearing in War Amps public service spots highlighting such tips as playing safe in order to avoid accidents that could result in amputations. She has also been featured n War Amps-organized seminars and media appearances promoting the work of the War Amps in helping to improve the quality of life for children like Shapiro who were born missing a limb or those who lost limbs due to an accident.
“I still enjoy doing ‘playsafe’ presentations and public events for the war Amps,” she says.
Readers who may be interested in supporting this worthwhile program can donate by phone (1800 250-3030) or go online (waramps.ca).
Local News
Jewish community members among King Charles III Coronation Medal Recipients
By MYRON LOVE In stating that she was “honoured by the recognition, beyond grateful and truly humbled to receive the King Charles III coronation medal,” Carrie Shenkarow is no doubt sharing the sentiments felt by her fellow honourees. The next president of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg – her term begins next year – was one of 55 recipients of the award – including several members of our Jewish community – who were presented with the medallions by Lieutenant-Governor Anita Neville on October 24 at the Legislature .
“It was an honour to be in the room with so many remarkable Manitobans,” notes Shenkarow.
She reports that, after the photo was taken, the honourees were invited back to Government House for a reception. “The Lieutenant-Governor spoke and we were encouraged to mingle with other recipients,” she recalls. “It was an incredible evening that I will never forget.”
The medal – which commemorates Charles III’s coronation on May 6, 2023, is described on the website as “a way to recognize outstanding individuals from all ages and from all walks of life who have made a difference in our community.”
The award recognizes those “who have made a significant contribution to Canada, a province, territory, region, or community in Canada, or have made an outstanding achievement abroad that brings credit to Canada”.
The other six members of our Jewish community who among the medal recipients include several individuals some who have made outsized contributions to society overall. Included among the medal recipients were Larry Vickar and Gail Asper, whose contributions both to our Jewish community and the overall community are well known.
Other recipients of the KIng Charles medal also have established records of service to the community: Harvey Secter has an impressive history of community leadership. The former businessman who – in his 40s – turned to a career in law, has served as both Dean of Law and then Chancellor of the University of Manitoba. His resumé further includes leadership roles with such diverse institutions as the United Way, St. Boniface Hospital Foundation, the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba, the Law Society and Manitoba Law Foundation, several hospital boards, Assiniboine Park Conservancy, the University of Winnipeg, and the University of Manitoba.
In the blurb accompanying the King Charle III medal presentation, it was noted that Harvey Secter “has been recognized for a decades long commitment to organizations dedicated to increasing access to quality services in education, health care, social services, and recreational facilities while motivating others to engage in building an inclusive and welcoming society.”
The other three Jewish medal recipients’ contributions to society have been more narrowly focused. Michel Aziza has been most closely associated with Operation Ezra, a successful effort led by several members of our Jewish community some years back to bring members fo the persecuted Iraqi minority Yazidi community to Winnipeg and help them settle here in the aftermath of the attempted genocide of the community at the hands of the murderous ISIS terrorists in 2014.
Over the past year, Aziza and his wife, Danita, along with Einat Paz, have been organizing weekly rallies on Kenaston and Grant (by the Superstore) aimed at keeping alive the awareness of the Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas and other terrorists in Gaza.
Medal recipient Louis Trepel has focused much of his philanthropic work on the Manitoba chapter of Variety, The Children’s Charity – of which he was one of the founding members while still in his teens. Over the years, Trepel, whose family owned Ben Moss Jewellers ((Lewis’s grandfather), has – in addition to Variety – contributed to numerous other nonprofit boards and committees. Among the highlights of his philanthropic career have been co-creating the first Empty Bowls Gala for Manitoba Harvest, pioneering the first COVID-era virtual gala in Manitoba for St. Boniface Hospital Foundation, and co-chairing the 50th Anniversary Gala for Manitoba’s Rainbow Resource Centre, which garnered national attention.
According to the write-up accompanying the medal presentation, Louis Trepel’s “lasting legacy is his ongoing mentorship and inspiration of the next generation of philanthropists.”
Noam Gonick was recognized for his work as an artist and filmmaker. He has premiered and won awards at the Venice, Berlin, Sundance and Hot Docs film festivals. His features, which explore rave culture and Indigenous youth, were released theatrically in Germany, France, the US and Canada, streamed worldwide and collected by the Museum of Modern Art and the National Gallery of Canada. He has directed for MGM, CBC and APTN. At London’s Serpentine Gallery Gonick lectured on his artwork about the semaphore of prison architecture and Queer utopias. He is currently collaborating with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet on “The Regulation of Desire” for the Canadian Museum of Human Rights.
Circling back to Carrie Shenkarow, she notes that she became involved with the Jewish Federation over 20 years ago. In recent years, she has held several positions on various committees. In 2022, she chaired the CJA campaign. She currently chairs the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg’s Public Affairs Task Force, established after October 7, 2023, to advocate for the community and collaborate with other local organizations.
“One of the things I’m most passionate about is March of the Living,” she says. “I have been chairing the committee since 2017. I chaperoned the program in 2018. I really enjoy giving back.”
The Lieutenant Governor was not the only official allowed to nominate deserving recipients for the King Charles Medal. Members of Parliament were also encouraged to put forth nominees. A further four member of our Jewish community were thus nominated by Marty Morantz, Conservative MP for Charleswood-St. James: Einat Paz, Jessica Cogan, and brothers Robert and Sandy Shindleman from Shindico.
The medal was presented to the two commercial real estate professionals in their office in December. “We were honoured to have received the medals,” says Robert, who reports that the brothers are major supporters of the Health Sciences Centre Foundation and Alzheimers research – a condition that afflicted their mother for many years.
Morantz presented King Charles III medals to Cogan and Paz in his office on November 14. “I am proud to present Einat Paz and Jessica Cogan with the King Charles III Coronation Medal today,” he wrote n his Facebook page. “Their dedication and contributions have truly enriched our community, and it’s a privilege to congratulate them on this well-deserved recognition.”
For Paz, it was her second major honour in two months. At our community’s annual Kavod evening – on September 26 – the Israeli-born social worker who is currently the Jewish Child and Family Service’s Manager of Volunteer Services became the inaugural recipient of the Federation’s new Magen David Award. She was recognized in particular for her leadership in helping – along with Michel and Danita Aziza – to organize and co-ordinate the weekly vigils – now in their 11th month – on Kenaston by the Superstore – in support of the Israeli hostages in Gaza. She has also been prominent in fostering ties between Israelis in Winnipeg and the local community.
“I am deeply honoured to receive the King Charles Medal for my community work advocating for the release of hostages and raising awareness that the rape of women is never resistance,” Paz said. “There is no justification.
“This recognition also highlights the vital importance of food security for the Jewish community, a cause close to my heart.
“I remain committed to these efforts, striving to bring justice, dignity, and support to those in need.”
Local News
Karina Gould – vying to be next leader of the Federal Liberals, has a Jewish father – and her parents met on a kibbutz!
By BERNIE BELLAN In January 2018 I conducted an interview with the late Jim Carr who, at the time, was Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources. I asked Carr whether there were any other Jewish members of the Cabinet?
Carr said that Karina Gould, who was the Minister of Democratic Institutions in 2018, had a Jewish father. I didn’t know much about Gould back then, beyond recognizing her name, but the recent announcement that she has decided to enter the Liberal leadership race might be of particular interest to Jewish readers.
Gould has held a number of portfolios within the Trudeau government, most recently as House leader.
Now 35, while Gould’s entry into the Liberal leadership race would be considered something of a long shot, her relative youth – along with her experience (she has been a Member of Parliament since 2015), might make her a plausible alternative to the two more prominent candidates in the race: Chrystia Freeland and Mark Carney.
With Gould’s decision to enter the race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, I thought it might be interesting to explore her Jewish roots.
In a 2021 article on the CJN website, the following was written about Karina Gould:
Gould, the member for Burlington, was first elected in 2015. She has previously served as Minister of International Development and Minister of Democratic Institutions.
Jewish on her father’s side, Gould told The CJN in 2015 that while she’s not “an active practitioner of Judaism,” she maintains her heritage through celebrating Hanukkah, Purim, and Yom Kippur.
Her paternal grandparents were Holocaust survivors from Czechoslovakia. Her grandfather was deported to Theresienstadt, then to Dachau and Auschwitz. Separated during the war, her paternal grandparents were reunited afterward.
Her father met her mother, who is from Germany, while both were in Israel volunteering on Kibbutz Naot, where the sandals are made.
Gould visited Israel on a Birthright trip and stayed longer for a personal visit. “Israel is a beautiful country,” she said. “It’s unique in the world. It has difficult challenges.”
She said she believes her family heritage plays a big role in shaping her political values.
“My family was accepted and welcomed into Canada after a difficult experience,” she said. “Canadian values of tolerance and diversity were not just important for my family, but for others. Canada provided the opportunity to grow and to thrive.”
Gould was front and centre during the 2019 visit to Canada of then Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.
She noted to Rivlin that since the free trade agreement between Canada and Israel was signed in 1997, the value of two-way trade had tripled, to $1.9 billion.
And under the Canada-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation, the two countries have funded close to 60 projects over the last dozen years, she added.
Ties between Canada and Israel “are long, deep and mutually beneficial,” she said.
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