Kavod Award recognizes community committment

What Ivan Steiner loves the most is connecting Israeli students with Edmonton. He was the driver behind the Edmonton Partnership2Gether (P2G) program. It has been Ivan’s love, his passion, his child, his family for nearly a quarter of a century. The Dianne and Irving Kipnes Kavod Award was presented to Ivan for his contribution in 2020 (but given in 2021 because of COVID-19 interruption of the program).

The Dianne and Irving Kipnes Kavod Award was established by the Jewish Federation of Edmonton/ UJA in 2019. Its purpose is to recognize individuals and organizations for their exceptional generosity and commitment to the Edmonton Jewish Community.

Ivan is a long-time Edmonton resident and professor emeritus with the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry. He served as the Edmonton P2G committee chair for 22 years and also chaired the national coast-to-coast committee of P2G for eight years.

The cornerstone of the P2G program is the living bridge or Gesher Chai project, student exchanges between Emek Hahula School in the Galilee Panhandle and our own Talmud Torah School.

When the Israeli kids visited Edmonton, Ivan gave them a grand tour of Edmonton, rented a van and drove them to Jasper so they would see Canada in all its glory.

P2G is also about capacity building in our partner regions. Under Ivan’s leadership, Edmonton has funded dozens of projects that help the region survive and thrive. They include a music room for the Jewish Community Centre in Yesud Hamala, and a classroom for autistic children at Emek Hahula Upper Regional High School.

The Kavod award was presented to the Our Parents’ Home (OPH) board of directors this year. They recognized the board for its extraordinary decision to create a $13 million endowment gift benefitting the Jewish Federation of Edmonton, upon the sale of the facility. This “gift of a lifetime” will transform the Jewish Federation, enhancing its stability, reach, and programs. The endowment will be a key pillar of Federation’s mission to sustain and enhance Jewish life in Edmonton.

Irv and Dianne were the inaugural winners of the award in 2019. This award embodies everything they stand for. A power-house in Jewish fundraising, Irv chaired

the largest UJA campaign in Edmonton history, raising $1.7 million in 1981. Dianne has been an important UJA fundraiser, serving as top-gifts co-chair in 1991-92.

The Dianne and Irving Kipnes Kavod Award is important. It allows Federation to give a very personal yet highly visible form of recognition and thank you to volunteers whose service to Federation/UJA and the community has been truly outstanding. It puts a spotlight on those who have contributed to Federation’s mission of building and sustaining strong Jewish community.

Watch the video about OPH and the people behind the project. Watch the slideshow about Ivan.

List of recipients

2019: Dianne and Irving Kipnes 2020: Ivan Steiner 2021: Our Parents’ Home Board of Directors