Lawyer’s Buddies Donate Gift

On Wednesday, July 6, friends and family of Chabad supporter and well known lawyer, Marty Teplitzky, gathered at the Chabad Lubavitch Community Center in Toronto to celebrate his birthday.

Teplitzky celebrated by presenting Lubavitch Day Camp with a new 15 passenger van.

As the staff and campers sang ‘Happy Birthday,’ Marty handed the keys of the new van, decked out with a giant ribbon and bow, as is befitting a birthday gift, to Ontario Head Shliach Rabbi Zalman Aron Grossbaum.

The van was donated by a group of friends, spearheaded by Teplitzky’s friend Marty Richman.

As the guests enjoyed delicious hors d’oeuvres prepared by camp caterer Shlomo Shoshan, Rabbi Grossbaum reminded participants that this has become a tradition of sorts among these friends. When Marty Richman turned 50 about 20 years ago, a group of his friends donated the first 15 passenger van to Lubavitch Day Camp. Ten years later, when Morty Goldhar turned 60, a second van was gifted by the same group. Now, as Marty Teplitsky reached the 70 year milestone, the tradition continued.

While the extensive and expensive transportation component for over 600 campers is provided by a commercial bus fleet, with some ten school buses picking up the campers daily and providing transportation for field trips, there are numerous daily contingencies that are facilitated by a 15 passenger van. The van is used to pick up campers that live in remote areas and also deliver lunch and supplies to the numerous camp divisions and locations.

Mrs. Esti Steinmetz, director of Lubavitch Day Camp, shared her heartfelt blessings and wished the donors long, healthy and blessed life, with the ability to maintain this tradition for many years to come.