HOME RUN FOR YOUTH: The Vancouver Canadians Baseball Foundation presented their seventh annual Hot Stove Luncheon. Team owners Jake Kerr and Jeff Mooney welcomed attendees, including special guests Toronto Blue Jays’ pitcher Joe Biagini, director of minor league operations Charlie Wilson and former president of the Toronto Blue Jays Paul Beeston, to the noon hour fundraising luau sponsored by Scotiabank. Challenger Baseball, UBC Thunderbirds Baseball and the Boys and Girls Club of South Coast BC benefitted from the power lunch. Since its inception, the foundation has supported various baseball initiatives that include welcoming 1,500 underserved kids to Nat Bailey Stadium to discover the game of baseball, and to develop skills to help them on and off the baseball diamond. With a desire to further make an impact on the future of young children, Mooney announced a personal gift of $75,000 to support five post secondary scholarships to deserving kids.
CHILD CARE: Vancouver’s Asian community gathered for the 22nd For Children We Care Gala. Staged at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel, the lavish party — chaired by Jane Young and Stella Chan and honourary chair Sylvia Chen — welcomed 500 philanthropic-minded, business and corporate leaders for a memorable evening of fine food and noteworthy fundraising. The $500-a-ticket affair sponsored by Ben Yeung’s Peterson Development began with a cocktail reception followed by a sumptuous dinner created by executive chef Nathan Brown. Following the royal repast, yours truly orchestrated the live auction — always a highlight of the evening — that culminated with a call for donations. Generous patrons rallied emptying their wallets of donations ranging from $1,000 to $250,000. The spirited raise-a-paddle contributed to a record setting $2.55 million — more than five times the amount posted in 2016. Proceeds from the bedecked and bejeweled gala-do will support the purchase of two much-needed heart-lung machines and three ventilators to help cardiac surgeons save the lives of sick children. More than 230,000 patients benefit from BC Children’s Hospital annually.
A STRONG PUSH: The 13th annual PuSh Festival includes artists from 11 countries presenting 27 works. Executive and artistic director Norman Armour opened the festival with the Canadian premiere of Brett Bailey’s Macbeth presented by South Africa’s Third World Bunfight in partnership with Vancouver Opera and Italian Cultural Centre. Bailey sets Shakespeare’s story of greed, tyranny and remorse in the current war-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo. In the past two decades, the region has suffered more deaths than any other conflict since the Second World War. PuSH runs until Feb. 5.
