The Carob Legacy Circle is comprised of individuals and families who have contributed to our endowment through direct gifts or by making a commitment for legacy giving.
These are our stories.
For more information about the Carob Legacy Circle, please contact Heidi Dormody by at (720)749-2541 or via email at heidi.dormody@boulderjcc.org
L’dor V’dor
Our relationship to a JCC began in 1989 when the youngest of our three children attended the pre-school at Har HaShem. Fast forward 30 years (with 3 weddings and 6 grandchildren) on June 9, 2018 we celebrated our 50th anniversary. We stood under a chuppah in front of the fireplace at the Boulder JCC to renew our vows and spoke about our values. We danced the hora in Levin hall with family and friends from all over the world.
The J has become our special place—our place to celebrate, to be deeply involved, to connect, to learn, and to build a sustainable future for the intergenerational transfer of our cultural heritage. Being deeply engaged and involved has accelerated our giving, from annual gifts to a named bench in the lobby, to creating an endowed scholarship fund and naming the J as a charitable beneficiary in our estate plan.
We believe in the J and want our children and grandchildren to recognize the importance the J has played in our lives. We want them to embrace Tzedakah, Tikkun Olam and the importance of building community. For us, the J is part of our legacy: to honor our past and transmit our values to the next generation L’Dor v Dor.
We were both raised with the understanding that part of being Jewish is being involved. Whether that is giving time, talent or treasure, participating in Jewish communal life was always a priority for both of us.
When we moved to Boulder and had our son, we got involved with the JCC in hopes that Ezra would be able to attend camp and other programming in what was then the dream of a new building. Now that the building is complete, our whole family has enjoyed a variety of programming within its’ beautiful walls. We have laughed, learned and made many friends within a space where all are welcome.
Jewish continuity is extremely important to us. We participated in the Carob Legacy Circle because we want to ensure that there will always be a Boulder JCC to function as a central gathering space for Jews in Boulder County. We hope that many generations to come will be able to utilize this space and enjoy all that the Boulder J has to offer.
The JCC holds a very special place in our hearts, not just as a gathering place for the Jewish community but for the entire community. We gather to celebrate, to educate, to inspire. So much work went into creating the new J, which has obviously paid off. It is just as we hoped it would be, the heart and soul of Boulder’s dynamic Jewish community.
We chose to be legacy partners because we want to insure that the J will continue to be an integral part of our community and thrive for generations to come.
Being philanthropic and engaged have always been an important part of our lives When the opportunity to make a bequest commitment to the J came along, we both felt strongly that this was the way that we could further support the J and practice l’dor v’dor, from generation to generation.
While we did not expect for the J to benefit from our bequest quite so early, it warms my heart to know that David’s legacy is being fulfilled through our bequest.
When I walk into the building, I am so happy to know that the support that we have provided has and will continue to play a part in the vibrant Jewish community of Boulder.
If this is something that you and your family have been thinking about doing, I encourage you not to wait.
Since moving to Boulder, I’ve been awed by the vibrancy and thirst for meaningful Judaism in our diverse community. We have strong and enriching shuls and temples, an impressive Program in Jewish Studies at CU, and, now the J to anchor it all with quality programming and services for the entire community. I’m grateful for Boulder’s Jewish community, and was glad to make a legacy gift in honor of Irene Rosenschein. I worked with the Boulder JCC to create an endowed fund, the Ilona Irene Rosenschein Holocaust Education Fund (IIRHEF)*, which will provide annual support to create programs, educational opportunities, and experiences that teach the Boulder County Jewish community and beyond about the Holocaust. Irene was a strong voice for the millions of people who did not survive the Shoah. Irene was also a conduit between the young and old, regardless of race or religion, and I am thrilled to be able to honor Irene in this way and through this gift, play a role in sustaining Boulder’s thriving Jewish community.
Our introduction to the Boulder JCC occurred when Heidi was hired as a part-time Development Consultant to raise the funds for our beautiful building. Over the years, the people we met at the JCC became our family, our closest friends, and our community. We felt accepted and welcomed. Through our family’s triumphs and tragedies, we felt acknowledged, supported, and heard.
It became apparent to us that the Boulder JCC is more than a building; it is a feeling, a connection, and a community where all are welcome! We joined the Carob Legacy Circle not out of responsibility, but because we want this community to exist for our children, their children, and generations to come.
The Boulder JCC is like a second home for our family. When our children were young, we played in the tumble room, attended classes, and spent time with friends who became like family.
Thanks to a seminar at the JCC on choosing legal guardians for our children, we began to think about our plans for the future. Weeks before our third child was born, we finalized our will and estate plan.
The Boulder JCC has been at the root of some of our deepest connections to Jewish life in Boulder. We decided to leave a legacy with the Boulder JCC because we wanted to continue to support the place that had welcomed us so completely, and to provide opportunities for other families to make similar connections.
Why Boulder JCC? When we moved from Denver to Boulder in 1995, we were leaving behind Bagels and Blocks and various activities at the Denver JCC that connected us with other young Jewish families. That community touchstone didn’t exist in Boulder then, but now we have a beautiful and welcoming community space where we can all come to learn, grow, connect and celebrate Jewish values together. To us, the physical presence of Boulder’s JCC has profoundly shifted the Jewish landscape in Boulder. Jewish community in Boulder is more vibrant and accessible with Boulder JCC as the hub.
Why now? We are at a time in our lives when we can see beyond financial security; during a recent estate planning process, we recognized we had “enough” and could think about legacy giving. We are delighted we can make an ongoing commitment to ensure the sustainability of our Boulder JCC into the future.
Bill and I grew up in Canton, Ohio, where both of our families belonged to and supported our local JCC. As children, we attended day camp, swam at the Jewish Center Lake, participated in sports events and belonged to clubs that met there. Bill had his Bar Mitzvah reception at the JCC and was a lifeguard at Center Lake. It was our second home in a town where there were many Jewish restrictions.
Many years later, we were lucky to be part of fundraising for and construction of a beautiful new JCC that we and our kids could enjoy. . . and we did! Nursery school, day camp, Hebrew School classes, Brownies, Girl Scouts, Tween, Teen, Adult and Senior Activities. Our Jewish Federation and Jewish Family Services offices operated out of our JCC. Everything revolved around the JCC.
Unfortunately, the demographics of the community changed. There was no endowment at the Canton JCC and no United Way funding. Before long, there was no JCC. Clearly a victim of a financial crisis.
We don’t wish to ever see that happen again. It is important to us that there always be a place for our kids to have that “second home” - a safe place where they can make the kind of memories that we so fondly remember. For that reason, even though we don’t live in Boulder, we have chosen to participate in the Boulder JCC’s Carob Legacy Circle. Through our daughter and her family, we have seen that the Boulder JCC has become, and hopefully, always will be, an integral part of your community life.
As a family, we were so fortunate to have a front row seat in seeing the power of what can be accomplished when people become engaged and inspired behind a common vision. The Boulder JCC has exceeded everything we imagined it could be. We also found that the philanthropic experience that we had with the J allowed us to teach our children what it means to be a part of a community.
Including the Boulder JCC in our estate planning is an extension of this philanthropic experience. It also helps to give us peace of mind knowing that we are joining with so many others to help to ensure a legacy for something that is bigger than ourselves. Through our membership in the Carob Society, we are not just helping to maintain bricks and mortar, we are supporting a group of people whose focus is to help create, sustain, and inspire community for generations to come.
