Hadassah spans generationsWhen Fredi Brown's mother made her a Hadassah life member in 1978, little did she know that her daughter would become president of one of national Hadassah's "shining stars."But Brown's initial exposure to Hadassah through her mother's generosity planted the seeds that bloomed in the Valley of the Sun. Multigenerational Hadassah families are a fairly common phenomena. Beth Shapiro's mother made her a life member at the age of 12. Too young to appreciate the gift, she burst into tears. "But I've grown into it now," she says with a laugh. Actually, Shapiro, recruited five years ago to work with Hadassah Valley of the Sun in its communications efforts, comes with a wealth of warm Hadassah memories. "I grew up with donor luncheons, I learned about Youth Aliyah (Hadassah's absorption and immigration programs)," she says. Both her mother and grandmother are life members, and she cherishes a photo of her mother making her grandmother a life member after 25 years of membership. Her grandmother, an immigrant, could not afford the commitment when she came to the United States, explains Shapiro. Now Shapiro's daughter Sara is a life member, and her two sons, Jacob and Noah, and her husband, Steve Goldstein, are life associates as are her father, Louis Shapiro, and grandfather, Jack Green. Her mother-in-law is also a life member. Shapiro practiced law and later worked as a producer for educational television. She says she never expected to become active in a Jewish women's organization, but Hadassah provided her the opportunity to use her professional skills for a cause she believes in deeply. Too, she has been impressed with the caliber of women the organization attracts, especially their industriousness and energy. And she is a graduate of the Hadassah Leadership Academy, a two-year program designed to develop a new cadre of leaders. "I'm proud to be a life member," she says. Gail Nochomovitz remembers being shlepped to meetings. Her mother, Doris Krasnow, was a Hadassah president in Chicago when Nochomovitz was growing up and later became a group president here. "I helped my mom prepare for meetings," recalls Nochomovitz. "I was always around, typing agendas, working on the newsletter." A couple of years ago, Krasnow gave her daughter a life membership as a Hanukkah gift. Now, Nochomovitz says she is contemplating making her two daughters, ages 3 years and 7 months, life members too. Melissa Singer, who grew up in southern California, became a life member at age 4. "My mom was membership chair, and she needed members," she jokes. She has fond memories of Hadassah from those growing-up years. "I used to go to meetings and sit on someone's lap to put on labels. We'd go with other kids to the donor luncheon." Singer, who previously lived in Dallas, became active in Hadassah after moving to the Valley four years ago. "I was ready to get involved," says the mother of two, who was recently selected to participate in a Hadassah national young leadership mission to Israel in October. And she wanted to follow the family tradition of involving her children. Singer's daughters, Dori, 10, and Ellie, 7, both life members, are part of a junior Hadassah group of members' children. They meet twice a year to do mitzvah projects. "They really like the projects that they do," says Singer of her children. And she is clearly aware that by engaging her children she is helping to develop the next generation of Hadassah leadership. "We want the kids to see that they need to be involved," she says. |
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