JCF Will Host Special ‘Legacy Thank You Event’ and Film screening

The following is a reprint of the JCF's Money Matters column, published in the October 29, 2025 issue of the Jewish Community Voice, titled, "JCF will host special ‘Legacy Thank You Event’ and film screening":

“Looking UP” is a documentary film directed by Elena Neuman that revolves around the real-life story of Eitan Armon, a veteran IDF paratrooper “facing encroaching blindness who takes on the challenge of climbing the world’s most epic granite wall,” according to lookingupmovie.com. The film “documents Eitan’s journey and resilience, demonstrating the endless possibilities for those who approach life with positivity.”

This is an uplifting story for all ages.

With that as introduction, on the evening of Tuesday, Nov. 11, “Looking UP” will be screened during the Katz JCC’s Festival of Arts, Books & Culture, and the Jewish Community Foundation is honored to collaborate on this inspiring event.

Prior to the film screening, the JCF will host our third annual Legacy Thank You Event. During a pre-reception, we will thank and honor the hundreds of community members who have either committed to a legacy gift through the Life & Legacy initiative of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation or established an endowment fund with the JCF. These generous and thoughtful donors are invited to join us for light bites for dinner and the film screening with special reserved seating, all at no cost. To learn more, visit jcfsnj.org/ legacy-thank-you, and to reserve your seat (required), please contact JCF Assistant Director Mike Staff at (856) 673-2528 or mstaff@jfedsnj.org. (Note: registration is now full for this event.)

Eitan’s story of resilience and positivity can serve as a lesson for all of us in the South Jersey Jewish community. In just the past five years, our community has rallied around fellow Jews in Israel during the war in Gaza, in Ukraine during the war with Russia, and locally during the Covid pandemic, in addition to ongoing, day-to-day support. Similar to Eitan’s visual impairment and subsequent incredible climbing feat, these trials and tribulations that our community has faced have not been easy to overcome, but by being resilient and positive, we as a people have continued to succeed and thrive.

As a donor, when you support our local Jewish organizations with annual gifts, you help to ensure that vital programs and services can take place, ranging from religious rituals to children’s education to the well-being of seniors and individuals with disabilities, and so much more.

To build on your annual giving, when you create your Jewish legacy, you can ensure that these programs and services will continue each year for many generations, helping to counteract the challenges that life will inevitably send our way. A legacy gift helps grow endowment funds, which, in turn, spin off annual income for the programs and services we hold close to our hearts.

A common JCF refrain: “Establishing a legacy is easy to do and can even cost nothing during your lifetime.” You can leave a gift in your will or estate plan, which is the most popular option, or you can update your beneficiary designations for your IRA or life insurance policy. Increasingly, donors have also been contributing cash or appreciated assets during their lifetimes to bolster endowment funds, reduce their taxes, and enjoy seeing the results right away. Any percentage or fixed dollar amount you choose to contribute now or in later years will go a long way to ensuring our Jewish community’s future. Questions? Please reach me at (856) 673-2571 or dsnyder@jfedsnj.org

Lastly, another uplifting story: Fran and Robert Chvala have long supported the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey. Last year, they launched an endowment fund that will provide an annual gift in their name to benefit the Federation’s Annual Campaign (JFund), long into the future. It’s a wonderful legacy they’ve created during their lifetimes.

With donors like the Chvalas, the future of our community is truly…looking up.