SINGLE MOMS FETED: Cause We Care Foundation (CWE) is a Vancouver-based charity created by women for single mothers and their children in need. Founded by Andrea Thomas Hill, the non-profit provides a hand to women and their children who are dealing with poverty and the everyday challenges it brings. Hill, along with her sister-in-law Nancy Hill, fronted the organization’s first-ever benefit luncheon at Shannon Bosa’s Trattoria Italian Kitchen. The power lunch saw some of the city’s leading ladies — Leslie Lee, Zahra Mamdani, and Saeedeh Salem — lend their support. A reported $20,000 was raised to support CWE’s many initiatives. They include after-school programming, hamper drives and YWCA Cause We Care House, slated to open in 2015, that will provide 21 units of subsidized housing.
BRAVO: Vancouver Opera earned over $250,000 this past week. The venerable arts organization held its annual Overture Gala at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. More than 300 guests paid $600 each to dine on the QE stage and rub shoulders with the city’s opera elite. Gala chair Cindy Richmond and company general director Jim Wright welcomed supporters to the posh party that included performances by baritones Aaron Durand and Rocco Rupolo and jazz/pop sensation Nikki Yanofsky. Guests experienced the fire of Spanish passion as the set of Don Carlo — the company’s final production of the season provided the stunning backdrop to the evening of culinary delights and stellar performances.
THIRD TIME A REAL CHARM: After twice chairing the Canadian Cancer Society’s (CCS) Daffodil Ball, Naz Panahi took a break in 2013 to front the Arthritis Research Centre of Canada’s inaugural ARThritis Soirée. This year, the society darling fronts both, held a week apart. First up, the black-tie Daffodil Ball, always a leading date in Vancouver’s social diaries. Panahi, along with co-chair Sarah Wood, welcomed more than 500 well-heeled guests to CCS’s signature soiree held at the Hotel Vancouver. While yellow was the party motif, green was the dominant hue as more than $1.1 million was raised for pediatric cancer research. The stellar evening also saw the announcement of a $12.5 million gift from the B.C. government to go towards the establishment of a new Cancer Prevention Centre.
