Earl Barish will be 73 on Aug. 18, and he just can’t stop working. The man who has Manitoba’s iconic Salisbury House Restaurants running like a thoroughbred these days is also a man who can’t stop doing the good work of B’nai Brith or treating the underprivileged with honour and respect.
In fact, on Sunday, Aug. 16, at 1;30 in the afternoon, he’ll be at Shaw Park, running his annual gift of baseball to the city’s less fortunate as the Winnipeg Goldeyes take on their arch-rivals, the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks.
“It’s very rewarding to be involved with a program that allows those in need to experience and enjoy a well-deserved afternoon out with our exciting Winnipeg Goldeyes baseball team,” said Barish. “It’s a natural fit for B’nai Brith, whose mandate is to promote community service, community action, education and human rights advocacy – people helping people.”
Earl has bought and distributed more than 1,695 tickets to the event, but he’ll also be on the concourse handing out Sals Nips, donuts and ice cream to the folks who get the tickets that Earl and his fellow philanthropists at B’nai Brith buy. It’s a win-win-win situation and that’s ALL Earl Barish.
In fact, “The Afternoon with the Goldeyes” project was founded and originally organized by Earl, the past chairman of B’nai Brith Canada’s executive board. This is the sixth annual event and started after Earl threw out the first pitch at a Blue Jays game in Toronto.
“I was chairman of the national executive board at the time and it was B’nai Brith Day at the Blue Jays game,” Barish explained. “They asked me to throw out the first pitch so I flew into Toronto for a Blue Jays-Yankees game. I was driven out of the bullpen on a golf cart and met the mascot at second base. I remember, the mascot was going to catch my pitch and I asked him how hard he wanted me to throw it. He said, ‘throw it as hard as you can.’ And I threw him my best fastball.”
Barish took that experience back to Winnipeg where he owned the old Winnipeg Cyclone professional basketball team. After Barish disbanded the Cyclone, he decided to take the B’nai Brith game back to its roots – baseball.
And it’s a big day. B’nai Brith offers free Goldeyes ticket packages to organizations that service different needs in the community — Andrews Family Centre, Anishaabe Child & Family Services, Arcane Horizon, Big Brothers & Big Sisters, Boys & Girls Club, CancerCare Manitoba, CEDA, Cerebral Palsy of Manitoba, Children’s Rehab Foundation, Dasch Foundation, Deaf Resource Centre, Epic Opportunities, Family Dynamics, Gojo Gym, Goju Karate, Good Neighbours Active Living, Habitat for Humanity, Immigrant Centre Manitoba, Intertribal Child & Family, Jewish Child & Family Service, Jocelyn House, MacDonald Youth Services, MacKinnon’s Y-Not? Anti-Poverty, Main Street Project, Making Waves, Manitoba Down Syndrome Society, Manitoba Foster Family Network, Marymound, Meals on Wheels, Movement Centre, Multiple Sclerosis Society, NEEDS, New Directions, Norwest Co-op, Opportunity for Independence, Osborne House, Project Echo, Ronald McDonald House, Rossbrook House, SCE Lifeworks, Shalom Residences, Siloam Mission, SMD, Special Olympics, St. Amant, Variety the Childrens Charity, Waves of Glory Church, West Broadway Youth Outreach, Winnipeg Child & Family and Winnipeg Harvest.
“He gives everyone a hat and a Goldeyes souvenir with their ticket, as well,” said Goldeyes assistant general manager Regan Katz. “Earl Barish is one of the most philanthropic people I know.”
No doubt about that.
“It’s a complete afternoon at the Ballpark at no charge to those attending,” said Barish. “Each person will receive a package which consists of a ticket to the game, lunch and a commemorative B’nai Brith baseball cap.”
There is an incredible amount of work that goes into the staging of the annual B’nai Brith game at Shaw Park. So at 72, why does Earl keep doing it?
“B’nai Brith is a service organization and I’ve been at it for 40 or 50 years not because it’s just a Jewish organization but it involves our entire community,” Barish said.
“This particular B’nai Brith program truly exemplifies our commitment to our whole community here in Winnipeg. It is one of the most rewarding days that I have experienced each year for the last six years. It’s just a wonderful afternoon.”