Page 2 - The Jewish Voice - June '23

Page 2, The Jewish Voice
JVC Receives $2.5 Million Gift

Friday Night Live from page 1
from Sidney Kohl Family

Now in its eighth year There are four generations of the Kohl family living
helping thousands of in Palm Beach, including Sidney and Dorothy’s oldest
people in need throughout daughter, Lori, and her husband, Bruce Gendelman.
the Palm Beaches, Jewish “We have been inspired and feel hopeful witnessing
Federation of Palm Beach how JVC has been a source of light to both the Jewish
County’s Jewish Volunteer and non-Jewish communities, providing support and
Center has received a connection for thousands of people,” shared Dorothy and
$2.5 million gift from Sidney. “We are honored to ensure its work is sustained
the Sidney Kohl Family into the future, building a more compassionate community
that will significantly for everyone who calls the Palm Beaches home.”
amplify and sustain its Kohl JVC continues to grow by providing volunteer
work forever. To honor this initiatives for all ages, often in partnership with community
remarkable contribution, organizations including Palm Beach Atlantic University,
the center is renamed the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County/Red Apple
Dorothy & Sidney Kohl Supplies, Palm Beach County Food Bank, and CROS
Jewish Volunteer Center (Kohl JVC). The gift was Ministries, as well as with area faith leaders.
announced at Federation’s Annual Meeting last month. “The Kohls are among the most dedicated and
With historic population growth in the local community, philanthropic families in our community — with family
the Kohl JVC’s role has quickly expanded in recent years to members serving in key leadership roles and making a
help meet emerging community needs currently outpacing hands-on impact by volunteering in community-wide
available programs and services. Since its inception, service projects,” said Michael Hoffman, Federation’s
Kohl JVC’s projects have helped nearly 100,000 local President & CEO. “This endowment will forever
community members in need thanks to more than 5,000 exemplify the family’s unique values and extraordinary
annual volunteers of all ages, faiths, and backgrounds. commitment to the Palm Beaches.”
In addition to ongoing efforts to pack and distribute From fall 2022 to spring 2023, Kohl JVC service
meals, support literacy in local schools, and connect projects provided 70,000 meals to local people in need,
He decided in his nineties to form a band that would volunteers with local organizations, Kohl JVC leads a contributed 4,300 books and assisted in packing 17,000
perpetuate the legacy of the victims of the Holocaust series of community-wide signature programs including backpacks with supplies to students at Palm Beach County
through song and celebration. He had a vision of using Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) Day of Service, Good Title I schools, packed and donated 4,500 Dignity Grows
music to honor the lives of the Jews who were murdered Deeds Day, and 8 Days, 8 Ways of Giving Back. toiletry kits to community members in need, and brought
in World War II. A musical experience that started with In the face of growing antisemitic incidents in the Palm together nearly 5,000 volunteers to make a difference.
clapping spoons and playing drums to keep up morale Beaches, Kohl JVC’s work in the broader community has “We are incredibly moved by Dorothy and Sidney’s
in the camps has evolved into a full-blown musical become more crucial than ever. For example, Kohl JVC, remarkable example of leadership and philanthropy, as
presentation. in partnership with Palm Beach Atlantic University, held well as their deep-rooted passion for supporting work to
“I want to play for the 6 million to hear us. We want its annual MLK Day of Service in January, which brought bring people of all faiths and backgrounds together to help
to play in Auschwitz and Warsaw for the 6 million people together more than 850 members of all faiths, races, and the entire community,” shared Jonathan Chane, chair of
who perished,” Dreier says. “It’s my biggest ambition in ages to volunteer with organizations across 20 locations Kohl JVC. “The Kohls are nurturing a more compassionate
life.” He wanted to play in the very same concentration in Palm Beach County, followed by a ceremony to stand community through their generous, long-term investment.”
camps where he and his relatives were held as captives in solidarity against all forms of hate. The Sidney Kohl Family has a record of supporting
so many years before. The Holocaust Survivor Band has Jewish Federation created the Kohl JVC in 2015. organizations tied to education, the arts and Jewish
performed on the infamous railroad tracks leading to The Kohls’ granddaughter and a Federation Executive philanthropy. Sidney’s father, Max, an immigrant, started a
Auschwitz: an act of solidarity with the dead. Committee member, Juliana Gendelman of Palm Beach, family business in Milwaukee with a small corner grocery
But the most memorable moment of the trip was an had a pivotal role in its establishment and served as its store in 1929. Sidney along with his brothers and father
act of weather in a sacred place. “When I walked into second chair. She served five years in that role, and grew the company to be a chain of 70 supermarkets and
Treblinka where my mother perished, the rain started,” also helped found its MLK Day of Service. Gendelman then started a nationwide chain of department stores. He
Dreier said. “It’s almost as if all 6 million were crying.” regularly volunteers with her husband, Christopher and his wife Dorothy raised their children in Milwaukee.
The most moving moment of the Chabad event was Goldberg, and their daughter, at Kohl JVC service They moved to Florida in 1979, where Sidney continued
when Steve Lapa, a member of the Chabad, introduced projects. to be a successful real estate developer and investor.
Dreier as his late father’s lifelong friend. Irving Lapa and
Dreier were both from Krakow, where they endured the
concentration camps, made their way to America, and
built their families alongside each other. Lapa described
the emotion as he read the Chabad’s advertisement of the
event, as it struck him that the guest entertainer was his
father’s friend. Are you ready for the next level in

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