History
In 1988 Bob and Lynda Bentall decided to place most of their personal wealth into a charitable structure that would fully afford them the opportunity to "make a difference" in the lives of those less fortunate. The considerable wealth was built over Bob's lifetime career and part ownership of the Bentall Corporation, a major commercial real estate development company operating in Canada and the USA. Since his early days, Bob always felt that wealth gained was not only a privilege but also a huge burden to steward the money with social responsibility and integrity.
Focusing primarily on the provision of education to disadvantaged children/youth, the Bentalls designed, developed and managed the AILANTHUS Achievement Centre in Vancouver, BC Canada. This programme was an innovative approach to private-sector involvement in serious social issues, providing at-risk youth with intensive physical, character and academic intervention as a means of changing their paths from the direction of school drop-out, drug dependency and/or crime and towards college/university graduation. AILANTHUS received extensive media attention during its 15-year history; it was profiled in a "60 Minutes Australia" television segment, and in 2002 became the subject of a feature-length documentary film.
In 2004, a difficult decision was made to end this service to Canadian children and to redirect the funds and efforts towards international endeavours that would benefit children in other corners of the world. Today, the excitement generated from these projects has confirmed the validity and wisdom of that decision.
CEDAR Foundation's new 15-year plan has been designed to provide life-transforming educational opportunities to thousands of children in Mexico, Africa and America.