HAMILTON — When Sylvia Katz read about a rehabilitation farm for at-risk girls in Israel’s Jordan Valley, she knew she had to help. And now she is asking her community to lend a hand, too.
Sylvia Katz
The great-grandmother and longtime volunteer and fundraiser has planned a luncheon for Sunday, June 7, in Hamilton to raise funds for Ginat Eden.
Ginat Eden is home to about 15 young women, aged 12 to 20, who have experienced family turmoil and trauma from terrorism. Some have had problems with substance abuse, as well as having low self-esteem. The farm is a therapeutic environment, where the girls live, work and study. They study and develop their talents at the farm, and their farming responsibilities foster a sense of self-worth.
After Katz read about the farm in The CJN about four years ago, she started sending annual contributions to the farm.
“It just wouldn’t leave me,” she said. “Learning about this unique school in a country riddled with so many problems tugged at my heart, I felt compelled to make others aware of the important work of Ginat Eden and to enlist their support in this worthy cause.”
She sent letters to her children, grandchildren and friends, and soon they formed a committee.
“I got them all working, and they will be busy that day,” Katz said, adding the event will include a homemade lunch and desserts, and entertainment by jazz pianist and vocalist Fern Lindzon, violinist Bianca Lequit and guitarist Ralph Rosal.
Despite her protests, the committee thought that more tickets would be sold if the luncheon also honoured Katz.
Her daughter, Beverley Abramson, said her parents taught their family the importance of mitzvah and of giving their time.
Born in Toronto, Katz moved to Hamilton in 1940, when she married her late husband, Nathan. They became members of Adas Israel Congregation in 1964. The couple volunteered for many projects, especially for Israel and in the local Hamilton community.
“My mother still knocks on doors or telephones in her capacity as a lifelong fundraiser. Admirers of my mother have donated money to various causes, dedicating their gift in her name,” Abramson said in an e-mail. “One in particular is an annuity to Shalom Village, a senior citizens’ home in Hamilton.”
Katz’s great-grandchildren are continuing the tradition. Five of them recently sold daffodils to support cancer research, and one donated the proceeds from her jewelry making and her bat mitzvah gifts to charity.
The luncheon takes place in the Dundas area of Hamilton. For location information and tickets, call Howard Katz at 905-527-8901 or Beverley Abramson at 416-960-9044.
