1997 Award Recipients

Dr. Marvelle and Dr. Murray Koffler

Doctor Marvelle and Doctor Murray Koffler, nominated by the University of Toronto, Mount Sinai Hospital Foundation and the Baycrest Centre foundation, are the recipients of the 1997 *NSFRE Outstanding Philanthropist Award.

The Koffler name is synonymous with philanthropy, particularly in their pace setting support of the arts, medicine and education. At the University of Toronto, the Kofflers contributed the lead gifts to the Koffler Student Centre and the Koffler Institute of Pharmacy management and donated Jokers Hill, a 860-acre estate in King Township, one of the largest gifts donated to a Canadian University. Murray Koffler currently serves on the Campaign executive Committee for The Campaign for the University of Toronto. At Mount Sinai Hospital, the Kofflers led, by a personal pledge of $1 million, a special campaign to build the Marvelle Koffler Breast Centre and prior to this, a major gift was made to the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute (SLRI) establishing the Koffler Chair for the Director of the SLRI. The Kofflers have been strong supporters of the Baycrest Centre Foundation New Jewish Home for the Aged. Their gifts will go towards assisting people who have cognitive disorders caused by illness such as Alzheimer's Disease.

As founders of the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, major contributors to the Canadian Opera Company, The Koffler Centre of the Arts, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Kofflers have made a firm commitment to the arts. The Marvelle Koffler Foundation has made substantial contributions to the arts, cultural and Jewish organizations. Murray Koffler is a founder and now Chair Emeritus of the Canadian Society of the Weizmann Institute of Science, while Marvelle Koffler sits on the board and founded the International Weizmann Women for Science program. Murray Koffler is an Officer, Order of Canada.

Working closely as a team, the Kofflers have set new precedents for giving across Canada.

Congratulations Doctors Murray and Marvelle Koffler and thanks on the behalf of the men, women and children in our community who have benefited from your generosity.

* Now AFP