by Maxine Fischbein
(AJNews) – A respected member of the Calgary Jewish community and society at large, Calgary lawyer and philanthropist Gordon Hoffman – who last year was honoured by the University of Calgary with an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree – is once again being recognized by the U of C with a 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award for Lifetime Achievement at a ceremony to take place October 16.
In their announcement of Hoffman’s 2025 Arch Award, the Alumni Association referred to Hoffman as “a leader, a builder and a legacy-maker.”
“His name is synonymous with service, and his list of achievements is as inspiring as it is extensive,” said the Alumni Association, citing Hoffman’s work with close to 100 charitable organizations over the past five decades, quite a few of which he established, including the Project Warmth Society of Alberta and its spin-off organizations, Kids’ Koats, Pupils’ Parkas and Students’ Scarfs; the Project Warmth Society of Canada; and Operation Kickstart Society of Alberta.
Hoffman is also the founder, chair, and president of the Alberta Champions Society in Recognition of Community Enrichment. Deeply dedicated to helping children with learning disabilities and ADHD, Hoffman’s eponymous Charity Golf Tournament has raised close to $2 million in support of Foothills Academy, a school that speaks to his very soul.
Within the community at large, Hoffman has served a diverse range of organizations including faith, interfaith, cultural, arts, and sports organizations. He has served as solicitor and/or advisor, director, honorary director, board member or officer for Jewish organizations including the Shaarey Tzedec Synagogue, Calgary Jewish Community Council (now Calgary Jewish Federation), B’nai Brith Calgary Lodge #816, the Calgary Jewish Senior Citizens Residence Society, Beth Tzedec Sisterhood, Chabad Lubavitch of Alberta, and the Calgary Jewish Family Loan Association.
Together with his wife Eva, Hoffman has chaired many high-profile and successful fundraising galas. He is particularly proud of concerts that featured former Beth Tzedec Congregation Cantor Alex Stein, the late musician and composer Marvin Hamlisch, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Neal Sedaka, and Joel Gray.
Some of these concerts were held at Beth Tzedec, a point of pride for the Hoffmans, who are longtime congregants there. Funds they have raised over the years have benefited the Shul as well as other organizations within and beyond the Jewish community.
A highlight, according to Gordy Hoffman was bringing Holocaust survivor, author, and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel to Calgary in 2006, when he addressed a full house at the Jack Singer Concert Hall.
In addition to his Queen’s Council designation in 2000 , his appointment to the Order of Canada in 2019, and his honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from the U of C last year, Hoffman has received other prestigious awards and recognitions, among them the City of Calgary Citizen of the Year Award (2010), the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012), and the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Pin (2022). Gordy and Eva Hoffman were co-honourees at Theatre Calgary’s Night with the Stars in 2011.
Hoffman has frequently been recognized by Jewish organizations as well. In 2008, he and Eva were honoured at a JNF Gala celebrating the modern state of Israel’s 60th anniversary. Gordy is the 2011 recipient of the Ben Docktor Award of Excellence (B’nai Brith).
At his 50th Anniversary University of Alberta law school reunion, Hoffman was approached for his help with raising funds for a long-established bursary that had begun to stagnate. Hoffman, of course, once again rose to the occasion.
“When I went to law school, [tuition] was $325,” recalled Hoffman. “I was able to work during the summer…and was able to pay the tuition, which was hardly anything, and live for the rest of the year from the money I made over the summer.”
Hoffman added that it is impossible for today’s law students to earn enough over the summer to do as he once did, so he rolled up his sleeves and did something about it.
At first, Hoffman committed to writing a few letters and figured he would contact 10 former classmates about supporting the bursaries. But anyone who knows Gordy Hoffman also knows that he thrives on the human interactions such efforts require.
“I started calling some of my classmates and I was having fun, quite frankly,” Hoffman told AJNews. “I hadn’t seen some of them in 50 years.”
In the end, Hoffman personally reached out to the 156 living members of his U of A law class and boosted the bursary by $100 thousand.
That is quite an accomplishment, yet Hoffman quickly turns the spotlight on others who step up, none more than his wife of 57 years.
“Eva is a lot smarter and more capable than I am,” Hoffman self-deprecatingly states, adding that Eva is very much a part of all the charitable initiatives the Hoffmans have either supported or put in motion over the years.
Hoffman urges his coreligionists to keep in mind that is important to be philanthropic both within and beyond the Jewish community. For more than five decades he has walked the talk, generously supporting worthwhile civic causes with a particular emphasis on helping those struggling on the margins.
“Many Jewish people are so very supportive of the general community,” says Hoffman, referring to their work on committees, directorships, and a plethora of causes and services that strengthen the social fabric in Alberta and beyond.
“I am proud of what the Jewish community has done. We have contributed a lot here, and we will continue to do so. People should not forget that.”
“This,” Hoffman simply states, “is what we do.”
Click here for a related article about Gordy Hoffman.
Maxine Fischbein is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter.
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