TORONTO — Scrabble isn’t just a game to Vivienne Muhling. It’s the path to a mitzvah.

Vivienne Muhling, left, a resident of the Performing Arts Lodges, has been organizing Scrabble With The Stars for six years. At right, Jeanne Beker, host of CTV’s Fashion Television, co-hosted Scrabble With The Stars.

Muhling, a former actor and producer, started Scrabble With The Stars
six years ago to raise money for Performing Arts Lodges (PAL).

The organization provides affordable housing and support to aging
Canadian artists and has apartment buildings in Toronto and Vancouver. As a resident of the PAL apartment complex in Toronto, which was built in 1993, Muhling understands its importance.

“This is a place that is created… for all members of the performing arts, whether in film or backstage… some of us need help financially” she said.

As chair of PAL’s Scrabble With The Stars fundraising committee, Muhling sees the facility as more than just affordable housing.

 “People live on their own [in the complex] but help each other. It’s not just a building,” she said, adding that volunteers are there to help with health and lifestyle issues.

“They can do just so much. When people become really sick… they have to leave us and they hate it,” she said.

Muhling’s current goal is to raise enough money to expand PAL in Toronto. The expansion would include nursing services, so that residents can get the care they need without moving to another facility.

And Scrabble is going to get her there.

“It’s not just a dinner,” she said of the charity event. “It’s a [night when] people play Scrabble together. It’s a way of being more of a community. More friendly.”

It’s also a way of luring in celebrities.

“The stars love it. They enjoy it, that’s why it’s so successful,” she said.

Some of the stars at this year’s event included Mark Breslin, the founder of Yuk Yuk’s, Canadian actor Avery Saltzman and Jeanne Beker, who hosted the event with actor Barry Flatman.

Beker, host of  CTV’s Fashion Television, has been attending Scrabble With The Stars for five years.

“I play Scrabble at my farmhouse… it’s intellectual but it’s very social,” she said, adding that the cause is worth supporting. “PAL is such a great place. It makes you feel like you’re taking care of each other. Like you belong to a real family in a way.”

For Breslin, Scrabble With The Stars, which raised about $50,000 this year, is a refreshing twist on charity events.

“It’s a really lovely evening. I look forward to it. There’s so many charity events that are so hard to sit through,” he said. “Scrabble’s a really nice game. It’s the baseball of board games.”

For Robin Pollock Daniel, who has played in professional Scrabble tournaments, it’s more than just a game.

“It’s delicious. It’s savoury. It [brings back] memories of childhood. It’s home. It’s family. It’s mom. It’s bowls of popcorn. Everyone has memories of sitting around playing games with their family,” said Pollock Daniel, who was auctioned off at the event to help players. “[Scrabble] is something that everyone knows. It’s a common meeting point.”