Canadian Hadassah-WIZO (CHW) has received a $6.5-million endowment from Marla and Aubrey Dan, the largest endowment fund gift in the organization’s 100-year history. The donation will be used to launch the DAN Department of Creative Human Design at Hadassah Academic College in Jerusalem, as well as the Marla Dan Interventional Radiology Institute at the Yitzhak Shamir Medical Center (formerly Assaf Harofeh Medical Center) in Be’er Ya’akov, Israel, and also to assist CHW’s strategic needs.

Marla Dan, co-founder and trustee of the Aubrey and Marla Dan Foundation, has been involved in CHW for more than 30 years, including a stint as the organization’s national president from 2009 to 2014. She said the donation has been in the works for a year, and so much time was put into it because of its importance.

“It was a very well thought-out donation on how we could best invest in an organization that has been very dear to my heart,” she said. “So this donation really was more about sustainability, going into the future … and investing in something that I really believe in.”

The Dans chose their beneficiaries carefully. They visited the new Hadassah Academic College and came away impressed by the way the school was run and its messaging. They also have an established relationship with the Shamir Medical Center, and were aware of its various needs.

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As for CHW, after three decades of involvement, Marla Dan is well aware about the organization’s commitment to investing in children, health care and women in both Canada and Israel.

According to a press release from CHW, the donation to the DAN Department of Creative Human Design will provide scholarship support, facilitate international student exchanges, support guest lectures and teaching workshops, among other uses. The donation to the Marla Dan Interventional Radiology Institute will go to modern tools and equipment.

“I am not sure that there are words that can describe the scope of the impact that this gift will have for not only our organization, but also our beneficiary partners in Israel. For us, this is an unprecedented gift, and the way that I refer to it is that it is truly transformative,” said Alina Ianson, national executive director of CHW. “It gives a sense of longevity (and) security. It gives … sustainability to our partner institutions that rely on our support so that they can continue doing what they’re doing so well.”