The Jewish Community Foundation, Inc. has the good fortune to work closely with generous donors who love to help others via their donor advised funds and endowment funds managed by the JCF. Their generosity is a mitzvah.
Below are four short stories that reflect the positive impact that our donors and their funds have on the South Jersey community.
1.
JCF Mourns the Loss of Dr. Seymour "Sy" Siegel
On Thursday, July 6, Dr. Seymour "Sy" Siegel died at the age of 103.
Among many other accomplishments, Sy (pictured at a JCF event in 2014) served in World War II, led Jewish Family & Children's Service as its Executive Director, and started the Seymour Siegel Youth Achievement Award Endowment Fund with the JCF to benefit high school seniors attending college. Sy frequented the Katz JCC Fitness & Wellness Center well into his 90s, and spent his last years at Lions Gate.
A true community leader, Sy will be missed greatly, may his memory be for a blessing. Donations in his memory can be made to his award fund.
2.
"Thanks for the Thanks": JCF Scholarship Awardees Share their Gratitude
This spring, 19 individuals received JCF Scholarship Awards, earning a collective $37,000.
Many recipients shared thank you notes with the JCF and the award donors. Here is a sampling of what they wrote (names and personal information removed for privacy):
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your generosity. Without scholarship opportunities such as the ones afforded to me by the Jewish Federation, I would not be able to attend college."
"Thank you for your support and kindness. Your generosity has continued to let me thrive in college. I truly appreciate you."
"I wanted to reach out and say thank you so much for the very generous gift that you gave me. This scholarship truly makes a huge impact in my life and my family’s lives, and it is something that we will always remain grateful for. It will truly help in more ways than you know."
"It truly means the world that I was chosen as your award recipient because I will strive to do great things! My parents have always supported my dreams and goals in life but supporting me financially has been a challenge for them. However, with your support, it has alleviated some of the financial burden that was placed on them and for that I can only thank and appreciate your foundation. I will be attending (university name) as a finance major this upcoming Fall. I am beyond excited to pursue a career that teaches me to manage funding, so that one day I too can create funding for students like me who have big goals but don’t have the sufficient funds to cover their cost. Your foundation has blessed me and I appreciate all that you have been able to do for me. Thank you so much for believing in me!"
Indeed, thank you to the endowment fund donors, including Sy Siegel, who have opted to support the educational pursuits of local scholars for many future generations.
3.
Charlie B's Fishing Dock is really Reeling 'em in!
This week, JCF donor Alan Blumenfeld visited JCC Camps at Medford to tour the camp and check out "Charlie B's Fishing Dock" located at the lake. This dock replaced an older dock and was funded via a grant from the Charles & Ethyl Blumenfeld Donor Advised Fund of the JCF over 10 years ago. Sadly, Charles, who was fondly known as Charlie, and Ethyl are no longer with us, but their son, Alan, loves to see the dock getting great usage by excited campers.
During the brief visit, the lake was teeming with aquatic visitors as one camper caught a sizable carp, and a variety of turtles swam around the dock, including one turtle who is recognized to be one of the largest in the lake.
Following a post of the accompanying photo on Facebook, one commenter said, "This amazing fishing spot has brought countless hours of joy to so many campers, our two boys included!"
Pictured is Alan Blumenfeld with Camp Director Sara Sideman.
4.
Remembering Fannie & Meyer Adleman
The painting at right depicts Fannie & Meyer Adleman (of blessed memory) that is displayed in a hallway at Lions Gate.
As the plaque on the frame reads, Meyer was a "generous benefactor" and "honorary president" of the "Jewish Federation of Camden County" (now Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey).
The JCF is honored and privileged to be able to continue the legacy that the Adlemans left for the SNJ Jewish community by managing an endowment fund in their name that was created via a bequest several decades ago. This fund is part of the JCF Grants Cycles that are awarded biannually and was created specifically to support programs and services benefiting older adults in the community. Since its creation, the Fannie & Meyer Adleman Family Endowment Fund has provided benefit to thousands of older adults in South Jersey.
Thank you, JCF donors, mentioned here and otherwise, for your philanthropy and helping the JCF be able to provide funding for countless important initiatives that benefit our incredible community.