Yesterday’s Women’s Philanthropy
by Jane Gomez
As the roles and needs of women have changed over the past 80 years, so too have the role and voice of Women’s Philanthropy. We reached out to several women who were actively involved in Women’s Philanthropy throughout all or part of the past seven decades to get their thoughts on the roles of women in Jewish Federation, how their roles have shaped the community, and their memories over the past 80 years.
Genie Reichman and Edith Oxfeld, both of whom were involved in the early days, recall how the role of women in Federation was defined by the role of women in society. Edith remembers how, in the early 1940s, the UJA sent women to serve in the USO in Newark to support the war effort. Women would meet at the YMHA in Newark and would also go door to door soliciting contributions to UJA, many of which were five or ten dollars.
Genie, who served as Campaign Chair and President of Women’s Philanthropy (then called Women’s Division) in the 1970s, recalls that during the first early fundraisers for Women’s Philanthropy, many women were self-conscious about giving, often announcing their gifts by prefacing that their gifts were in their names but were really coming from their husbands. She also noted that when Women’s Philanthropy gained enough confidence to set a fundraising goal of a million dollars, it seemed almost insurmountable, and she does not recall if it was even met in the first year.
As the 1960s and 1970s saw the growing independence of women and the women’s liberation movement, so too did Women’s Philanthropy continue to change and grow with the times. Central to this is the ever-increasing popularity of women’s missions to Israel over the decades and the impact that such missions have had on women’s lives. Genie recalls that her first Federation mission to Israel in 1968 “sealed my involvement in Federation.” After the 1973 Yom Kippur War, she took on a more active role in Women’s Philanthropy and over the years continued to travel to Israel. One of the highlights for Genie was meeting former Defense Minister Moshe Dayan in 1975 when she was Women’s Division Campaign Chair; to this day she treasures the photo of the two of them together.
Like Genie, Elaine Hochheiser, who served on the Chaplaincy Committee within the former Jewish Federation of Central NJ, also went on several women’s missions to Israel. She describes the impact and beauty of one particular moment when she invited an Orthodox niece who had made aliyah to attend a women’s Havdalah service on the porch of the hotel where she and her group were staying. She says that her niece was moved and empowered by the women’s service and that it was an unforgettable memory.
In recent years, as women have taken on the responsibilities of work, home, and community, the breadth of Women’s Philanthropy has increased to reflect women’s varied roles and needs. For Bernice Fleischman, who has been active in the Jewish community for many years and has served on the Women’s Philanthropy Board for about eight years, Women’s Philanthropy has always offered her a way to connect with friends and serve her community. She particularly enjoys a local book club started by Women’s Philanthropy women in the Central region, has fond memories of visits to senior centers and the Russian section in Brooklyn, and has enjoyed gatherings to make hamantaschen and sushi. Like Bernice, Genie and Elaine also cherish the friendships made as a result of their involvement with Women’s Philanthropy over the years, and note that these friendships have been a source of strength and support for them even as they have become less active.
The women of Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ have come a long way, both figuratively and literally, since the early days of the YMHA in Newark. From the handful of women helping the USO, to the initial tentative fundraising efforts, to assuming leadership roles and providing community services, Women’s Philanthropy has evolved alongside the role of women in society. Nevertheless, these monumental changes have not diminished our passion, energy, and commitment to the Jewish community.