My family has a long history of community involvement, which will continue for years to come. It is a remarkable inheritance that I am proud to pass down to my children and grandchildren with my gift to the Jewish Foundation. My grandparents, Hattie and Joe Wilder, Anne and Alex Cantor and my parents, Phyllis and Marshall Wilder, all made remarkable contributions to both the Jewish and general communities in their lifetimes. It is their history of service and philanthropy that has inspired me to make my commitment to The Jewish Foundation.

Reflecting on those family members' activities and all they gave to our community has supported my desire to make a meaningful contribution. In some manner, I have always known that I had a responsibility to give back to this community. My volunteer career began as a young teenager when I sat on committees of USY and AZA. The lessons learned from this service helped me to appreciate the importance of involvement with all aspects of Jewish life in Winnipeg. The experience I gained as a youth advisor at Shaarey Zedek also made me aware of the importance of participating in both the general and Jewish communities to further the spread of understanding between different cultures.

My education is in accounting, but my passion has always been community involvement. I was fortunate that for seven years, I was able to combine my accounting skills with my service as Regional Director for the State of Israel Bonds. Over the years, I have sat on various committees and boards for both the Jewish community of Winnipeg as well as the Indigenous community. This alliance between cultures was formed when I ran a training program through Red River College designed to train North End Social Services agencies in governance, budgeting, and financial operations. There is much to be said for the personal satisfaction I gained through these volunteer activities.

In 1981, I married Diane Schachter and together we adopted our daughters Shira and Tovah. This would not have been possible without organizations that are funded by the Jewish Foundation. Among these are the Jewish Child and Family Services and the Grey Academy of Jewish Education, which supported my daughters throughout their education and the experience both Shira and Tovah gained by attending Camp Massad.

I am the proud grandfather to five grandchildren: Aaron, Anthony, Amira, Tyson, and Kylon. Looking to the future, I hope to encourage the next generation of our family to also involve themselves in Jewish community organizations. My wish is that programs are developed that will see young people participate in their synagogues through multi-generational programming initiatives. It has been my experience that by giving of ourselves, we receive much in return.