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.
Charlotte's career has taken many twists and turns over the years. She worked at a Fortune 500 company, where she was the only woman executive, and then created her own successful firm. She also spent time as a bridge master on cruise ships, has worked as a travel agent "on the side," and instructed ballroom dancing. "I still do the Argentinian tango once a week," Charlotte laughs. Through it all, she was raising her family, paving the way for working mothers to follow.
But beneath her rich and varied adulthood is a very different kind of childhood. Charlotte grew up in Hamburg, and remembers 1930's Germany all too well. Her parents were late to heed the warning signs of what was coming and decided to leave their home just at the last moment.
"We were on a German ship in the middle of the ocean near England when Munich happened," Charlotte recalls, referring to Neville Chamberlain's appeasement to Hitler in the 1938 Munich Agreement. "If Chamberlain had not given in, the ship would have turned around, and I probably wouldn't be alive today."
That twist of fate is not lost on Charlotte, which is partly why Hadassah's mission is so meaningful to her. "I never attended any meetings until now," she admits, "but I've always cared about what Hadassah is doing and they're doing a wonderful job. I think they should have all the support they can get."
With her business acumen, Charlotte feels strongly that setting up a charitable gift annuity is a great way to give her support to Hadassah. "It's wonderful because you're getting something back through taxes, so it's almost costing you nothing," she explains. "It's economically very favorable. You get something back—not only in terms of material wealth, but also in spirit and good feeling and knowing you're doing something right. You're not taking much from your children's inheritance, and you're also leaving a better world for them."
Give, and Get Something Back
Contact Planned Giving & Estates at (800) 428-8884 or giving@hadassah.org to learn how you can benefit from a charitable gift annuity with Hadassah.