Dear Editor:
The column Hail Caesar’s wife! Listen Up, West Van Council (by Trevor Lautens, Jan. 26) contains some misunderstandings about the Lalji family gift to the West Vancouver Community Centres Society that I would like to respond to on behalf of the board of directors.
The generous gift was a personal one from the Lalji family, not Park Royal, and was to the West Vancouver Community Centres Society, not the District of West Vancouver. It is the most generous gift in the society’s 10-year history.
The society is an independent, membership based, volunteer-led, not-for-profit organization that exists to benefit West Vancouver community centre’s users and the community at large by enhancing participation, services, programs and access.
Because the West Vancouver community centre is jointly operated by the district and the society and the building is owned by the district, the district approves any donor recognition such as naming in the facilities but the society is the sole decision maker on how to use the donated funds.
The Lalji gift, as all gifts and funds raised from our signature community event, PumpkinFest (which engaged 5,000 community members last year) and other activities, will benefit the entire West Vancouver community.
For example, the society this past year supported programs and equipment such as movement therapy for children and youth with physical and cognitive barriers, yoga for youth and young adults with autism, aquamats, outdoor Ping- Pong tables, and many community events at the centre.
These programs and equipment would not have been possible otherwise. As such, philanthropic support is to be applauded.
The society looks forward to rolling out the benefits of the Lalji gift to the West Vancouver community in the coming months and years.
We very much hope this gift will inspire other West Vancouver community donors to follow the example of the Lalji family and give generously to the West Vancouver Community Centres Society and other local organizations doing important work in our backyard.
You can find out more about the Society at wvcommunitycentressociety.ca.
Jeff Todd
Chairman, West Vancouver Community Centres Society board of directors
