Our story with the Lehigh Valley Jewish community began in the 1980s when we settled in Allentown, which was midway between my parents in Northeastern Pennsylvania and Mark’s parents in New Jersey. Mark opened an allergy practice and I put my master of social work degree to use in children’s services. We joined a young leadership group with the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley and hosted one of the speaker programs in our empty living room. What wonderful lifelong friends we made!

The Jewish Federation had a Business and Professional Women’s Group in which I was involved, while Mark joined the new Maimonides Society. I attended many of the brunch-lectures with him, which included a bus trip to the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Women’s Philanthropy 365 was always a special evening with dinner and a program.

A year after my mother died, I found her Pomegranate pin, and knew I wanted to join this society of generous women. Their programs and activities have been so inspiring!
As longtime members of Congregation Keneseth Israel, I saw the names of friends on a large placard in the temple lobby. They were members of Life and Legacy who had made a plan to support the temple after their lifetimes. I then knew that Mark and I had to join this society, since we already had made plans in our wills to support our local Jewish organizations. Shortly thereafter, Jim Mueth invited me to join the Life and Legacy team for our Jewish Federation, in 2019. What an honor to work with Bobby Hammel z”l, Arthur Weinrach, and Iris Epstein on this team! Such commitment to the future of our Jewish community!

In the last few years, Mark and I established a donor advised fund through the Jewish Federation. This fund makes it very easy to support our favorite causes and organizations, both Jewish and secular. We are also happy to support the Jewish Day School through the Educational Improvement Tax Credit program or Lehigh Valley Jewish Scholarship program. We are so grateful for the important work of our Jewish organizations and want them to continue for many more generations—to be Here for Good