Diamond Family Philanthropic

The act of giving is one of the Diamond Family’s most fundamental beliefs. It was instilled in us by my father, Jack. He came to this country in 1926, after a four-month, 1300 hundred kilometer journey from Stryj, Poland. He was 17, spoke not a word of English and arrived with a straw suitcase in his hand plus a few pennies in his pocket. But his suitcase wasn’t empty. It contained tremendous drive, determination, good sense and most important, a deep personal commitment to his fellow man and Jewish heritage. Viewed by many as the “Godfather” of Vancouver’s Orthodox community, my father, together with my mother Sadie, championed hundreds of Jewish causes from setting up the city’s first kosher butcher shop to building the Schara Tzedeck synagogue.

They have instilled in their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren the true meaning of tzedekah and obligation. We feel strongly about preserving and enhancing our Jewish community and can only hope that the contents of his suitcase will be passed on to the generations to come.

Jack, Gordon and Leslie Diamond