Ilan Levy was born in Israel and grew up in Iran and Ethiopia before moving to Toronto as a young adult and launching a career in information technology.MaskaRad/Getty Images/iStockphoto
The donors: Ilan Levy and Gay Gooderham
The gift: $1.8-million
The cause: Children's Aid Foundation
The reason: To fund postgraduate scholarships
Ilan Levy rarely talked about his childhood, but his close friend, Harvey Griggs, knew it had not been easy.
Mr. Levy was born in Israel and grew up in Iran and Ethiopia before moving to Toronto as a young adult and launching a career in information technology. Mr. Levy and his wife, Gay Gooderham, didn't have children but they became involved with the scholarship program at the Children's Aid Foundation and served as mentors with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada. In 2011, he also rode a bicycle across Canada and raised $100,000 for SchoolBOX, a Canadian organization that runs educational programs in Nicaragua.
Mr. Levy was diagnosed with brain cancer about four years ago and died last year at the age of 63. He bequeathed $1.8-million to the foundation, which will fund more scholarships.
"He had a fairly troubled youth and that may have led him to help support other children who had no family," said Mr. Griggs, a long-time friend and business partner. He remembered Mr. Levy as an intelligent, fun-loving man who enjoyed working with young people.
"During the time he had brain cancer, he said to me: 'I'm not that upset about what's happening to me. I've had a wonderful life,'" Mr. Griggs recalled. "I was quite astounded at his equanimity facing certain death."
Paul Waldie