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Philanthropy

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Alice Hoffman

Alice Hoffman

Alice Hoffman spent years crafting novels that explored relationships and magical realism before the “overnight” success of 1995’s Practical Magic catapulted her to success.
Nicki Newman Tanner

Nicki Newman Tanner

As part of her lifelong devotion to Wellesley College, Nicki Newman Tanner chaired a record-breaking capital campaign for the college in 1993, raising $168 million from alumnae and disproving the assumption that women give less than men.
Suzanne Priebatsch

Suzanne G. Priebatsch

Suzanne Priebatsch has focused her career in investment management on helping people become more “financially literate” so they can manage their wealth during their lifetimes and pass on legacies that reflect their values.
Nancy Schwartz Sternoff

Nancy Schwartz Sternoff

Nancy Schwartz Sternoff dedicated her career to advancing women, non-profits, and the Jewish community.
Lee Hendler

Lee M. Hendler

Beyond her work as the current chair of her family’s charitable foundation, Lee M. Hendler has continued her parents’ legacy by becoming a philanthropist and teaching her children and grandchildren the importance of service to others.
Doris Zelinsky

Doris Zelinsky

While Doris Zelinsky has spent her professional career in the food industry, the work closest to her heart has been preserving the memory of the Holocaust.
Ruth Fein

Ruth Breslau Fein

Ruth Fein had a distinguished career as the first woman at the helm of several prestigious organizations.
Brenda Brown Rever

Brenda Brown Rever

From empowering and educating young girls, to preserving the oral histories of women over 75, Brenda Brown Rever has helped shape women’s stories and been shaped by them in return.
Susan Galler

Susan Galler

As founder of the consulting firm Galler Group LLC, Susan Galler has helped institutions from public television and radio stations to Planned Parenthood affiliates launch capital campaigns that allow them to grow and take on new challenges.
"The Jewish Woman" Magazine Cover, October 1921

Benevolent Societies and Tzedakah

Examine different ways that American Jewish women historically—and we today—fulfill the obligation of tzedakah (charity) and gemilut chesed (acts of loving kindness).

Object #662, "Tzedek Means Justice," from Katrina's Jewish Voices

Hurricane Katrina: Community Responsibility and Tikkun Olam

Explore Hurricane Katrina as an example of how Jews respond to catastrophe. Gail Chalew, a Jewish reporter from New Orleans, tells the story of Haley Fields, a thirteen year old girl from Los Angeles, who came up with her own unique way of helping those in need.

Gertrude Wineman

Gertrude Wineman was an indefatigable leader of the Jewish community of Detroit for almost forty years.
Helen DeRoy

Helen DeRoy

Helen Lowentritt DeRoy’s business savvy in the auto industry was matched only by her generosity as a philanthropist through the worst years of the Depression.
Blanche Hart

Blanche Hart

Blanche Hart, the first female superintendent of United Jewish Charities, helped lay the foundations for Jewish social services throughout Detroit.
Emma Lazaroff Schaver

Emma Lazaroff Schaver

Opera singer Emma Lazaroff Schaver was profoundly affected by giving concerts to Holocaust survivors in displaced persons camps, an experience that shaped the rest of her life.
Rising Voices Fellow Abby Richmond Selling Her First Book
June 8, 2016

Using My Words

Abby Richmond

My world completely changed when I learned how to read in first grade. From that time forward, I brought books with me everywhere I went. As a shy girl who rarely had the courage to speak her mind, I learned to make friends with characters in cozy novels. 

Topics: Philanthropy, Politics and Government, Fiction
Julia Neuberger

Julia Neuberger

Baroness Julia Neuberger’s work as a rabbi helps guide her decisions as a voting member of the House of Lords.

Julia Neuberger

Julia Neuberger

Baroness Julia Neuberger holds an unusual double distinction as both a rabbi and a member of the House of Lords.
Belda Lindenbaum

Belda Lindenbaum, 1938 - 2015

It was her determination to keep one foot firmly in traditional Judaism and the other in feminist ideals of inclusion that made her a model for so many of us.

Lisa Loeb, June 2, 2011

Lisa Loeb

The first singer to have a Number One single in the US without a recording contract, Lisa Loeb has since proven that she is no one-hit wonder with a dozen albums to her credit.
Jamie Lee Curtis, 2015

Jamie Lee Curtis

Hailed as the “Scream Queen” for her 1978 film debut in Halloween and her work in other slasher films, Jamie Lee Curtis defied expectations through her roles in A Fish Called Wanda and The Heidi Chronicles.
Kitty Carlisle Hart, cropped

Kitty Carlisle Hart

Actress and singer Kitty Carlisle Hart was honored for her tireless crusade for funding for the arts when the New York State Theater in Albany was named after her.
Brooke Stern with Ugandan Children

Brooke Stern

After witnessing a number of failed philanthropic projects in Uganda, Brooke Stern created Supporting Opportunities for Ugandans to Learn (S.O.U.L.), empowering Ugandans to lift themselves out of grinding poverty and providing self-sustainable solutions in education, healthcare, and business entrepreneurship opportunities.
Laura Stachel

Laura Stachel

Stunned by the poor conditions in which Nigerian doctors were working, Laura Stachel created We Care Solar to offer hospitals “Solar Suitcases” that fuel reliable lights.
Laura Spero

Laura Spero

In Nepal, where oral decay is the most prevalent childhood illness and adults fully expect to lose all their teeth as they age, Laura Spero established Jevaia Oral Health Care to provide sustainable, community-based rural dental care.

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