We are so grateful that we were able to create an endowment fund that in future years will aid our Jewish community in meeting its varied and vital needs. We both grew up in non-Jewish areas, Sy in a non-Jewish section of the Bronx, and Claire in Bismark, North Dakota. Our family lives revolved around and depended upon the few Jewish families in our communities. We celebrated Jewish holidays as a group and felt we were part of a close extended family. This closeness cushioned us against the inevitable anti-Semitism we encountered. As the years go by we realize our “hands-on’ involvement would diminish, but our contribution would continue helping those in need. May the responsibility of tzedakah go forward from generation to generation.
