Why We Give
A Love for Israel, A Heart for Hadassah
Longtime supporter Chaim Freiberg believes in the power of strengthening Hadassah’s life-saving work. He’s chosen to support initiatives that are close to his heart by establishing several charitable gift annuities.
Honoring Loved Ones While Helping Hadassah
Robert and Phyllis Wolff established a charitable gift annuity to honor her mother’s involvement with Hadassah. Their gift will serve many people, for many years to come.
A Win-Win Friendship With Hadassah
Longtime member Sheila Schwartz and her husband, Stanley, have found charitable gift annuities to be the perfect way to enhance their support of Hadassah—and their retirement income.
Bernice Felix was known for her love of fashion and family.
But it was her abiding love for Judaism, Israel and Zionism that motivated her to give generously and regularly to Hadassah, including a transformational gift in her Will that will bring the highest levels of cancer care and research to Israel.
Planting for Now and Later
Judy Mason discovers a way to receive regular payments today and make a difference on Hadassah's work tomorrow.
"Hadassah Has Changed My Life"
Rhoda Smolow still smiles when she recalls her grandmother's introduction during Hadassah's National Convention in 1985.
Former Chapter President's Generosity Lives On in Gift
Doris Levi found community at Hadassah. "It was always her charity," recalls Sharon Taxman, one of Doris' two daughters. Doris was deeply engaged with the Hadassah chapter in Buffalo, New York, including serving as president.
A Legacy of Giving Back
In the 1930s in Nuremberg, Germany, young Helen Wasserman noticed the world around her was changing. She loved to enjoy an ice cream cone in the park with her friends. But then one day she wasn't allowed to buy an ice cream cone. Then she wasn't allowed to go the park. And then came Kristallnacht.
Gift to Hadassah Honors Values
When Patricia Lapan was only 16, she had an ambitious goal: She wanted to attend nursing school. The year was 1945. Nurses were in short supply, but as World War II ended, they were more necessary than ever. Even so, Patricia's family recalls that she said admissions officers raised their eyebrows and said, "We have never had a Jewish student" and "Jewish girls don't make good nurses."
Social Worker Gives and Receives
Vivian Singer isn't afraid of hard work—or of giving back. That's probably why she chose to go into social work. After graduating from Columbia University School of Social Work in the early 1970's, she worked for a short time at Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO), where she was the first American social work volunteer.
A Gift to Support What Matters
When Judith Diana Winston was a little girl, she loved to help her grandmother get ready to go out. She'd help pick out a special outfit, then watch her grandmother fix her hair with little hairpins. Judith's grandmother was often getting ready for Hadassah luncheons—she was a friend of Henrietta Szold, and little was more important to her than supporting this powerful, female-run organization.
Accident Inspires Meaningful Gift
Ruth and Shelly Weinstein spent most of their adult lives in Wilmington, Delaware, but made aliyah to Jerusalem about six years ago to be near two of their children and many of their grandchildren. They have been Hadassah supporters for as long as they can remember.
An Exciting Time to Lead Hadassah
Early January was a crazy time for Ellen Hershkin, who stepped up to Hadassah's presidency on New Year's Day. By Sunday, Jan. 10, she was already in Jerusalem, cutting the ribbon for the new surgical complex at Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO) in Ein Kerem.
The Art of Helping Hadassah
Dorothy M. Adelman is one busy lady. Her schedule is packed with lunch dates, art projects and classes—she teaches an art class of her own each week. And she's kept this busy for a long time: She recently turned 100. "Time creeps up on you when you're busy working hard," Dorothy says.
A Life of Twists and Turns
Charlotte Hirsch Garfield knows a thing or two about the business world. After graduating high school at 16, marrying at 18 and getting her college degree at 20, she became an exporter—"by accident," she explains.
The Art of Family
For Selma Katz, who passed away in 2012 at the age of 97, supporting Hadassah was practically a family tradition. Every Friday night, Selma, her husband, Larry, and their children would join Selma's parents for Shabbat dinner. "They always had company," recalls Selma's daughter, Terry. "Years later I found out the people we were having dinner with were David ben Gurion and Golda Meir!"
Hadassah Is Our Faith in Action
Carole Kerr of Naperville, Illinois, has always been a reader. So when she first started thinking about converting to Judaism, she read everything she could on the subject. But Carole knew she had to do more than simply read about Judaism.
Helping to Protect Israel Today and Tomorrow
Marcie Natan, national president of Hadassah and a member of the 1912 Legacy Society, admits that when she attended her first Hadassah meeting in 1967, she was simply looking for some decent conversation. With young children at home, Marcie was anxious to meet intelligent, like-minded women.
Gifts of the Heart for the Well-Being of Her People
Supporting Hadassah has been a long-standing tradition for the women in Florence Pomerantz's family, and she has been proud to carry on this commitment to her heritage for more than 60 years. Married in 1948, Florence and her late husband, Maurice, spent five wonderful years together until Maurice died suddenly, leaving her to raise their two young sons alone.
Finding Her Joy in Judaism
Growing up in Chicago in the 40's and 50's, Roberta Rosenfeld's home was Jewish—but not at all religious. Roberta ended up receiving much of her Jewish religious education by way of Young Judaea, Hadassah's youth group movement.
Hadassah: 'A Marvelous Example of What Israel Stands For'
Some little girls go door-to-door selling Girl Scout cookies. Lorraine Rothstein, however, remembers knocking on neighborhood doors with a different mission. "My young friends and I were raising money for Israel," she recalls. "The form had an outline of a tree, and every time a neighbor gave us a nickel, that would put a leaf on the tree."
A Legacy of Leadership
Throughout history, personal letters have provided windows into the times, places and hearts of their authors. For Evelyn Seltzer, letters from granddaughter Mia Seltzer Perlman during an academic year in Israel from 2011—2012 offered a link to the heritage they share.
Lifetime Payments and a Gift to Hadassah
If you've been through the Publix checkout line in Naples, Florida, you may have met Ruth Stockinger. How do you know? She's genuinely friendly, even though you've just met. She has an authentically positive attitude that leaves you feeling inexplicably happy. The biggest clue: As you pay, she invites you to donate to charity.
A Heart for Hadassah
Marilyn Weinstein, at 90, divides her year between the two places she calls home: Green Bay, Wisconsin, where she grew up and raised her own family, and Naples, Florida, where she spends the winter. Ask what matters most to her, though, and you'll see she has a special love for a third place: Jerusalem, Israel.
