Bercovici receives humanitarian award

March, 2010

Adrian Bercovici, who co-founded Generations Foundation with his wife, Natalie, in 1999, will receive the Simon McDonaugh Humanitarian Award March 21 for his tireless work as an anti-poverty advocate and leader.

Bercovici is one of four recipients of honorary awards presented annually by the United Irish Societies of Montreal.

Bercovici will participate in the St. Patrick’s Parade March 14, which attracts about 750,000 people.

“It’s a huge honour,” he says.

“We do a lot of work in schools such as St. Gabriel’s and St. Monica’s, in areas where there are large Irish communities.”

Bercovici says he was very moved when he was called about the award and is delighted to attend the many events surrounding the award, such as the raising of the St. Patrick’s Parade flag at Place Ville Marie.

“At every event so far, I feel like I’m part of a new family,” he says. Bercovici’s career began at Canadian National Railway and spanned 38 years. There he received the Merit Award for organization and achievement and the Maurice Auzat Memorial Award for dedication and exceptional service to the Employees’ and Pensioners’ Community Fund.

As executive director of the Old Brewery Mission from 1991 to 1998, he developed programs that provided jobs and increased self-esteem.

The Patricia Mackenzie Pavillion, a women’s shelter, was built and opened under his watch and Camp Chapleau earned the Prize of Excellence from the Quebec Camping Association.

Bercovici has been awarded an outstanding Canadian Citizenship Award for unselfish service to the community, the Leavitt Award from the Rotary Club, and other community awards from schools and the police department.

Generations provides meals, tutoring and a better quality of life to more than 6,000 Montreal children.

The Simon McDonaugh Humanitarian Award was established by the United Irish Societies of Montreal in 1993 to remember McDonaugh’s dedication to his heritage and humanitarian acts.