Gift nearly floors barista-ballerina
Money raised for organizations redirected to 'make an immediate and direct impact on the life of an aspiring artist'
BY SUSAN SCHWARTZ, THE GAZETTE DECEMBER 14, 2010 10:57 AM
MONTREAL - When she lived in the neighbourhood, Anita Nowak was a regular at the Second Cup on Greene Ave.
The sweet disposition of one young barista in particular “always made my day whenever she prepared my latte,” she recalled.
Over time, Nowak and Raquel Lanziner got to know each other’s names and stories:
Nowak, director of advancement and alumnae relations at The Study, a girls’ private school in Westmount,
learned that Lanziner had come to Montreal from Vancouver to study dance at the École supérieure de ballet contemporain.
In early October, Nowak moved from Westmount and the two didn’t see each other for a couple of months.
When Nowak dropped into the Second Cup the other day Lanziner, 20, greeted her with her usual good cheer but told her,
when Nowak asked what was new, that she’d injured her back, that she is in pain, and that she can’t dance until she is better.
She’d seen an osteopath, a physiotherapist and a chiropractor, she said:
Everyone had a different opinion of what the problem is, but the only way to confirm what is wrong and,
by extension, what kind of treatment she needed, was with an MRI.
In the public health care system, the wait could be up to a year – and as a student working full-time
to support herself and pay for such school-related expenses as pointe shoes,
Lanziner didn’t have the $600 a private MRI would cost.
“She wasn’t telling me this news for sympathy or help, but only in response to my question,” Nowak recalled.
Hold that thought.
For several years, Nowak, 37, has co-hosted a holiday party with friend and mentor Tullio Cedraschi,
retired CEO of the CN pension fund.
The hosts insist that their guests not arrive with gifts for them but ask, rather,
that they each bring two envelopes: one with the name of a local or global non-profit organization
“that does great work,”and the other with a cash gift.
The gifts are anonymous, so people don’t feel obligated to give more than they can.
The total is tallied and that becomes the “pot” for the year.
Then five to 10 envelopes are chosen, at random, from the non-profit batch.
The name of each is read aloud and the person who nominated the organization speaks briefly about its work.
One envelope is picked from among the five or 10 – again, at random – and the money goes to that organization:
at this year’s party, held Dec. 3, the 47 guests in attendance raised $1,675 for the David Suzuki Foundation.
“It’s tough to describe in words without sounding cheesy, but this kind of communal fundraising
effort translates into such a feel-good evening,” said Nowak,
a doctoral candidate at McGill University whose research deals with empathic action
– the belief that social change takes place when a critical mass of people help others.
Three days after the party, the day she saw Lanziner, Nowak emailed the other guests,
who did not know Lanziner, and asked for permission to give her $600 for an MRI.
“We’d still have more than $1,000 going to the Suzuki Foundation,” she wrote,
“but by redirecting some of the funds, we’d make an immediate and direct impact on the life of an aspiring artist.
“I believe deeply in my heart that this girl is deserving of an act of kindness of this magnitude
– and I hope you will send me a note to say that you’re OK with idea.”
Within minutes, there was a flood of emails saying “yes, absolutely, give her the money,” Nowak said.
And so it was that yesterday morning at 9, Nowak stood across the counter from Lanziner at Second Cup,
holding a red box, inside which were 30 $20 bills bundled with an elastic, tied with a silver ribbon.
Lanziner learned about the holiday party and the group decision.
“No way!” she said. “I don’t even know what to do with this.”
“Take care of your back,” Nowak said.
“Oh, my God!” Lanziner said, trembling. “I am overwhelmed.”
She came out from behind the counter and the two women embraced.
“I cry when someone wins a car on The Price is Right,” Nowak would quip later,
but the emotion in that tight circle was palpable and real. “We just wanted to celebrate this moment,” she said.
The two repaired to a table, Nowak with a honey-sweetened latte, Lanziner still trembling.
Nowak gave her a card with the names of those who had contributed to her gift, and said they sent love.
“Oh, my gosh,” Lanziner said. “I’m going to write every single one of them.”
And then, heady from all that good karma, Nowak headed across the street to her car where,
tucked under the wiper on the driver’s side, she found a parking ticket.
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