Since childhood, tzedakah has been part of my life.  My parents, by their example, taught me to acknowledge my blessings by caring for those less fortunate.  I remember saving to “buy a brick” for $5 for the new playground at Fairmount Temple. To this day, I can show my children my brick on the playground wall …10th row up, 7th brick across.  I gave my first gift to the Federation’s annual campaign at 16, the same age my children made their first annual gifts. I simply cannot remember a time when I didn’t give, not only my money but my time, as a devoted volunteer.

I was proud to be giving, knowing it was the right thing to do, but it took a trip to Israel to put my heart where my head had been for so long.  On a Fairmount Temple mission to Israel, our rabbi helped 16 of us make the powerful connection among Judaism, the Jewish homeland and ourselves.  Each of us took an extra suitcase filled with toiletries and cosmetics, clothing, and toys. We even brought 35 used wedding dresses for Israeli brides who otherwise could not have afforded such finery. We visited a children’s hospital and a battered women’s shelter and watched how our humble gifts made a difference in the lives of our brothers and sisters across the ocean.  Seeing what could be done on such a small scale gave me the intense feeling that together, we Jews could impact the world on a large scale.  I have never forgotten that life-changing experience. I chose to endow my annual gift to the Campaign for Jewish Needs so that the holy work we have begun will continue long after I am gone.  I want my children to know that “this is what Jews do.”