How A Chance Encounter Led to a Beautiful Friendship and a $1,000,000 Gift To AMIT By Robert E. Sutton
Hattie Thum and Selma Ettenberg
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wenty five years ago, Hattie Thum, a long time member of AMIT, met Selma Ettenberg while taking a walk. The two women quickly became close friends. Hattie was an observant Jew and Selma came from a traditional Jewish but non-observant background. Over the years, Selma’s interest in Judaism grew. She watched as Hattie lit the candles for Shabbat, celebrated the holidays, observed the laws of kashrut, and along with her husband Max, z”l, raised their children with a love for Judaism and Israel. Hattie’s home was an education in derech eretz and Selma took it all in. Hattie and Selma were both Women of Valor. Hattie’s love and devotion to AMIT went unquestioned. She gave of herself to the children of AMIT and thus to the children of Israel. At first, Selma viewed Hattie’s passion for AMIT from afar and saw AMIT as just another Jewish organization. Hattie eventually changed all that. As their friendship grew so did Selma’s love for AMIT. Hattie was inspirational. She was an AMIT President’s Circle member, a lifelong contributor and a non-stop volunteer.
Kapah parsah le’ani v’yadeiha shil’chah la’evyon. She spreads out her palms to the poor and extends her hands to the destitute. - Eshet Chayil She would stop strangers on the street and ask them if they were members of AMIT. If the answer was no, Hattie would begin her soft sell of AMIT. More often than not, the stranger became a friend and the friend became a member of AMIT. Hattie would always say, “I give of myself to AMIT. It’s a cause I’m passionate about. I think of AMIT as I would my children; an investment in the future of Israel and Judaism.” Those words and their time together turned Selma into a true believer in AMIT. After Hattie Thum’s death in November 2002, her daughter Sheryle Spar realized she had inherited her mother’s love of AMIT. The Torch - the symbol on the President’s Circle pin - was passed on to a new generation. To this day, Sheryle wears her mother’s President’s Circle pin to every AMIT meeting and event. Last year, Selma Ettenberg passed away. In her will, she left $1,000,000 to AMIT in honor of Hattie Thum. In paying tribute to a beloved friend, Selma left a legacy that will bring great benefit to the children of AMIT and to the State of Israel.
BECOME A MEMBER OF THE AMIT LEGACY SOCIETY By establishing your membership in the AMIT Legacy Society with your planned gift you will help ensure that thousands of children will benefit from the fulfillment of the AMIT mission in Israel for generations to come. You will feel pride in knowing that your planned gift will touch the lives of so many children and youngsters as it supports the AMIT Network across Israel. Just think of how you will be helping improve the quality of education for students in struggling development towns, advancing the highest level of high-tech education, empowering young women to become leaders in their communities, and connecting immigrants to their Jewish heritage. Your planned gift will impact the future of thousands of young lives, fulfilling their dreams and the promise of a better tomorrow. This generosity will be YOUR legacy.
For more information go to www.amitchildren.org or please contact Robin Isaacson, National Director of Planned Giving, at 954-922-5100 or robini@amitchildren.org. All inquiries will be kept strictly confidential and imply no obligation to make a gift. FALL13_planned_give_p6_v4.indd 1
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