The Charlotte Jewish News - December 2015 - Page 17
The Stan Greenspon Center for Peace & Social Justice
(Continued from page 1)
and prejudice through Holocaust
education. Together she, Green
spon, and Dippold decided to cre
ate a study with the following
goals: to explore Charlotte’s com
munity-specific needs relating to
Holocaust resources and to re
search best practices of Holocaust
centers around the country and to
make recommendations for the
Charlotte community. With
Greenspon’s financial backing,
Dippold sought the assistance of
Jackie Fishman, a professional ed
ucator and daughter of a Holo
caust survivor, and Melanie
Baron, an early organizer of Imag-
inon in uptown Charlotte.
After months of conducting
surveys with focus groups of local
residents and educators, of visit
ing Holocaust education and ex
hibit centers, and of attending
conferences and lectures and pro
grams, the three presented a final
report in January 2015.
Over the course of the study, it
was discovered that a Holocaust
education center was not enough.
To continue to be relevant in the
present day. Holocaust education
was morphing, and the original vi
sion for the Holocaust Resource
Center in Charlotte had trans
formed as well. In addition to a
place to commemorate and honor
the victims of the Holocaust, the
report also notes that “we also
Stan Greenspon has been
involved in charitable canses
both in the greater Charlotte
commnnity as well as the
Charlotte Jewish Commnnity
since the mid 1970s. He
served as President of the
Jewish Federation of Greater
Charlotte dnring the estab
lishment of Shalom Park.
His charitable work has
encompassed many canses
and organizations. His focns
in charity has been on senior
citizens, children and their
families who lives are affected
by severe illness both mental
and physical.
Some of the entities he has
been snpportive of in a snb-
stantial way are:
Levine Children's Hospital;
UNC Lineberger Cancer
Center -Pediatrics Division;
Alexander Yonth Network;
Misty Meadows Mitey
Riders;
Jewish Family Services;
Senior Ontreach Program;
Levine Jewish Commnnity
Center Oasis Program for
Senior Citizens;
Etta and Lonis Greenspon
Endowment Fnnd for Senior
Citizens;
The Jimmy V Fonndation;
North Carolina Holocanst
Fonndation (Snpport of Var-
ions Edncational Projects);
Sanford and Lois Benjamin
Healing Garden at Carolinas
Medical Center;
Jnvenile Diabetes Research
Fonndation;
Jewish Federation of
Greater Charlotte;
Fonndation for the
Charlotte Jewish
Commnnity
have an opportunity - and many
say an obligation - to use the
Holoeaust and its abundanee of
doeumentation as a primary ease
study, and make eonneetions with
eurrent loeal, national, and global
situations in whieh injustiee, big
otry or inequality have surfaeed.
In this way, the study of the Holo
eaust ean have a positive outeome
- to help students, parents, teaeh-
ers, eommunity leaders and all eit-
izens think about the deeisions
they make, and their power to
make a differenee in the world.”
The true mission of the eenter was
starting to take shape.
The final report, whieh tem
porarily named the projeet The
Center for Colleetive Justiee and
Holoeaust Edueation, demon
strated that the produet would be
more global and fit in more into
the outside eommunity than on
Shalom Park.
It Was Bashert (Meant to Be)
Again the planets aligned and
proved to all that this projeet was
bashert, meant to be. As the final
report was resting on Worrel’s
desk. Rabbi Judy Sehindler an-
nouneed to the eommunity that
she was leaving work as a pulpit
rabbi to do more work in soeial
justiee in the outside eommunity.
While Sehindler explored her op
tions, Worrel presented her with
the report and suggested that this
was a projeet that was ideal for
Sehindler’s future endeavors. At
the same time. Queens University
had indieated an interest in
Sehindler joining the faeulty.
When Worrel introdueed Green
spon into the mix, everything tied
together. The vision of all parties
meshed into what is now known
as The Stan Greenspon Center for
Peaee and Justiee at Queens Uni
versity.
Greenspon doesn’t want the
eenter named for him just to eopy
what other eities were doing. His
hope is that the Stan Greenspon
Center will “shake people up. ...
I want it to impaet people’s lives,
open up their minds, make people
pro-aetive to ensure that [the
Holoeaust] never happens again.”
Sehindler sees it as an addi
tional leaf on the blossoming plant
of Holoeaust edueation. “We have
the Butterfly Projeet that edueates
sehool-age ehildren ...; we have
the NC Couneil on the Holoeaust
that edueates teaehers on how to
teaeh the Holoeaust; the Stan
Greenspon Center for Peaee and
Soeial Justiee will eollaborate
with them to ereate a digital re-
souree eenter available to any
seholar or edueator at any hour of
the day.
“We want to make the lessons
of the Holoeaust relevant to things
that are happening today,”
Sehindler eontinues. “Our pro
grams and resourees will juxta
pose and eonneet eurrent events to
historieal events. ... The idea is to
move people to advoeaey.”
Interfaith and Programming Vi
sions
There will also be a strong in
terfaith aspeet to the work of The
Stan Greenspon Center. “We’ll
survey houses of worship in Char
lotte to see where they want to use
their voiees to make ehange,”
Sehindler explains. “We ean then
have a database of ehurehes, syn
agogues, mosques, and temples
that anyone ean aeeess to see
where their passions are being
aeted on.”
Her eurrent vision of the eenter,
while a work-in-progress, is eom-
posed of four parts: 1) Jewish
studies; 2) Holoeaust and human
rights edueation; 3) Jewish life
programming with the Queens
University Department of Jewish
Life; and 4) Soeial justiee.
This truly fulfills Greenspon’s
dream. His praetiee of giving
tzedakah was learned from his fa
ther, who, although he passed
away at a young age, always gave
to the synagogue and other eauses.
“He served as an example to me
and I hope I will have served as an
example to my own ehildren.
“Charlotte is a very eharitable
eommunity,” Greenspon eontin
ues. “We’ve also had great exam
ples of philanthropy in our own
lifetimes here in Charlotte: Her
man Blumenthal and Leon
Levine. These men saved lives
and edueated people. They were
my inspiration.” Greenspon has
known Levine sinee they were
teenagers. Stan has been impaeted
by Levine’s praetiee of giving.
“Stan has a great passion whieh
is exhibited in his efforts to give
baek and improve the lives of
those less fortunate,” says Phil
Warshauer, exeeutive direetor of
The Foundation for the Charlotte
Jewish Community. “His method-
ieal approaeh to philanthropy
matehes his Jewish roots and val
ues with his desire, as a sueeessful
results oriented businessman, for
aeeountability.”
Fulfilling Your Own Dream
Greenspon’s $2 million endow
ment will be managed and funded
at the Foundation for the Charlotte
Jewish Community. “The Founda-
Rabbi Judy Schindler with her hus
band, Chip Wallach.
tion for the Charlotte Jewish
Community is honored and fortu
nate to assist him in his philan-
thropie efforts,” Warshauer adds.
Greenspon has funded this en
dowment to ensure that the Center
is funded in perpetuity.
The Stan Greenspon Center has
an ongoing separate operating
fund, a signifieant portion of
whieh will be funded by Green
spon on an annual basis. “Even
though this may not fully eover
the entire annual operating
budget,” Greenspon says, “I feel
eonfident that the eommunity will
step forward to assist in making
this endeavor a reality.”
Ultimately, it was Federation’s
faeilitation of all parties, ideas,
and desires that brought this
dream to reality. “Federation was
happy to identify a eritieal need
whieh has now been met thanks to
the talent, passion, and generosity
of some earing and eoneemed
people, resulting in a meaningful
impaet for the Charlotte eommu
nity,” Worrel eoneludes. ^
WHETHER YOU ARE BUYING, SELLING, RENTING OR INVESTING
LET ME BE YOUR PARTNER FOR YOUR NEXT ADVENTUREI
Communiti^
for ^£?wr
fhfi.
Paul Mattos
Realtor®/Broker
(980) 221-4959
PaulMattosRealtor@gmail.com
Facebook: PaulMattosRealtor
www.PaulMattos.com
Allen Tate Realtors
Baflantyne Office
(704) 541-6200
13526 Jo^nston Road
ChadQtle, NC 20277
Insurance for Home, Auto, Business and Life.
“My father, Harry, founded Swimmer Insurance Agency over 60 years ago offering
security to the community and helping families through times of trouble. Today, we con
tinue that tradition of service with everything we do. We will be there for every mile
stone, every hardship and every transition your family or business experiences.”
- DAVID SWIMMER
Swimmer
Insurance
Agency
725 Providence Rd
Charlotte. NC 28207
704.333.6694
WWW.swimmerinsurance.com