The Charlotte Jewish News - February 2013 - Page 15
Communitv News
Challenge Met Through Community
Support and Leadership
Sandra Goldman
By Sandra Gold
man
At the Annual
Memorial Serviee,
The Leon Levine
Foundation ehal-
lenged our eommu-
nity to support the
Hebrew Cemetery
by offering a
$100,000 matehing gift grant.
Three months later, donations
made by new donors - or dona
tions that represented an inereased
gift by a eurrent donor - were
matehed dollar for dollar. Our
eommunity met the ehallenge.
The Hebrew Cemetery would
like to express gratitude to Sandra
and Leon Levine and the Leon
Levine Foundation for eneourag-
ing our eommunity onee again to
reaeh beyond and eomplete the
ehallenge. Great appreeiation for
their eolleetive vision and gen
erosity goes also to Lori and Erie
Skint, Julie and Howard Levine,
Patty and Bill Goreliek, Mattye
and Mare Silverman, and the
Berlin family, all donors of
$100,000 or more.
Seeing the Greater Charlotte
Jewish population eome together
in support of the eemetery made
me think about what imprints a
eommunity and what defines its
leadership. Leadership has been
deseribed as a proeess of soeial in-
fluenee or a way of organ
izing people to aehieve a
eommon goal. German
soeiologist Ferdinand
Tonnies distinguished be
tween two types of human
assoeiation: eommunity
and soeiety. Tonnies ar
gued that eommunity is
pereeived to be a tighter
and more eohesive soeial entity,
due to the presenee of a “unity of
will.”
Tonnies notes that family and
kinship are the perfeet expressions
of eommunity, but that other
shared eharaeteristies, sueh as
plaee or belief, vision and values,
also result in eommunity.
Not everyone in the eommu
nity needs to be a leader, but
everyone needs to be eommitted
in order to make the eommunity
flourish.
Donald Bernstein is a fine ex
ample of eommunity and leader
ship as he explains, “When we
moved from the Chieago area to
Charlotte in 1978, we were a
young family with ehildren. We
had no eemetery plots and that
was a detail left undone in our es
tate plan. As Charlotte beeame our
home, and we were reviewing our
estate plan, we reeognized that we
should not leave that detail for our
ehildren. We have been [Hebrew
Cemetery Assoeiation] members
Hebrew Cemetery
o Gfester Chartotle
sinee the membership program
started, reeognizing that establish
ing and maintaining a Jewish
eemetery is one of the first priori
ties of a Jewish eommunity.”
This thought leads me to think
of another great supporting fam
ily, Lori and Erie Skint. “We have
been supporters of the Hebrew
Cemetery for more than 25
years,” says Mr. Skint. “As we’ve
watehed our eommunity grow and
thrive, it has beeome evident that
eemetery improvements were
needed. The Memorial Building
will give our members a plaee for
quiet refieetion, a way to memo
rialize loved ones, and for those
who desire graveside serviees, a
more eomfortable setting.”
Bernstein adds, “We reeognize
there are many needs in a vibrant
Jewish eommunity. If we just eaeh
do our share, we are eonfident
Charlotte and the Jewish eommu
nity of Charlotte will be among
the best plaees to live in the eoun-
try.”
In listening to these families
deseribe why they ehose to sup
port the Hebrew Cemetery’s ex
The Hebrew Cemetery Association
appreciates the generosity of donors who
have pledged a minimum of $ 5,000 for
its expansion campaign:
Bemie & Teri Aekerman
Anonymous
Stephanie & Anthony Ansaldo
Berlin Family Foundation
Bobbie & Don Bernstein
The Blumenthal Foundation
Marey & Fred Dumas
Lynn & Paul Edelstein
Aleen & David Epstein
Ellen & Stuart Fligel
Hunter & Jaeob Fuerstman
Meg Goldstein & Matt Luft-
glass
Raehel & Alvin Goodman
Carol & Shelton Goreliek
Patty & Bill Goreliek
Stanley Greenspon
Annette & Riehard Gross
Barbara & Phill Guller
Carolyn & Stuart Hennes
Sharon & Steve Hoekfield
Jonathan Howard
Berta & Sam Kaplan
Lorrie & Barry Klemons
Kathryn & David Kossove
Marion & David Kronovet
Barbara & Jerry Levin
Helene & Alvin Levine
Leigh & Daniel Levine
Julie & Howard Levine
The Leon Levine Foundation
Ellis Levinson
Holly & Hal Levinson
Rose & Abe Luski
Sonja & Isaae Luski
The Meiselman Family
Charles Meltsner
Judy & David Miller
Jill & Ed Newman
Diggie & Lee Pesakoff
Dale & Larry Polsky
Dianne & Jarred Sehwartz
Melvin Segal
Dorthy Segal
Larry & Stephanie Seitlin
Anita & Marvin Shapiro
Mattye & Mare Silverman
Louis Sinkoe & Kevin Levine
Lori & Erie Skint
Leonard Slessinger
Norman Steinberger
Judi & Leonard Strause
Sam Strause
The Swimmer Family
Amy & Mark Vitner
Mary & Simon Wojnowieh
Martha & Brian Yesowiteh
Anne & Bob Yudell
Emily & Sam Zimmem
pansion, I eannot help but eon-
elude that eommunity and leader
ship are eonneeted. One eannot
exist without the other.
To reeeive more information
about the eemetery’s expansion or
membership, please eontaet San
dra Goldman at 704-576-1859 or
direetor@hebreweemetery.org. ^
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