Peggy & John Garson: Combining Two Passions to Create One Impactful Gift

Combining Two Passions to Create ONE IMPACTFUL GIFT

Peggy and John Garson have always been active participants in the Cleveland Jewish community – and they come by it honestly. The tradition of community involvement goes back many generations in both of their families. Peggy still remembers her grandparents’ 50th anniversary party, where in lieu of gifts they requested donations from friends and family and then used the funds to open a dental clinic in an underserved area in Louisville, Kentucky where they lived. John also recalls that his grandmother was president of the sisterhood when Abba Hillel Silver became the Rabbi at The Temple-Tifereth Israel.

Peggy’s mother came to Cleveland to work as a social worker, and she remembers her mother was always involved in leadership roles in various Jewish agencies. Peggy’s mom was head of the Federation’s Women’s Philanthropy Division and was president of Jewish Vocational Service, as was John’s dad.

As a young couple Peggy and John continued the tradition of supporting the Campaign for Jewish Needs, and their involvement grew over time. John began in the Young Business and Professionals Division, and he served on and chaired many committees over the years. He credits Federation staff member Howard Berger (z”l) for mentoring young leaders – he says that Howard got to know you and directed you to the right place in the organization.

Peggy was involved through the Women’s Philanthropy Division – beginning in what was then known as the Young Women’s Division. She rose through the ranks and ultimately became the chair of Women’s Philanthropy – and one of her proudest accomplishments was combining the separate education and fundraising groups within Women’s Philanthropy. Under her leadership, she determined that the groups should be merged, which required a change of the by-laws of the Federation.

Both Peggy and John are proud of Cleveland’s national reputation as having one of the strongest lay-professional partnerships among all Federations. They believe that this partnership is what makes Cleveland such a thriving Jewish community, and why they feel so good about sharing their time, talent, and treasure with the organization.

Their Supporting Foundation is one way that they share their values and tzedakah with their family. Their annual meetings include three very active and involved generations. Each family member’s philanthropic passions are honored by the other members of the family. Although they give to other causes, Peggy and John direct the majority of their charitable giving to Jewish causes – as they believe that only Jewish people will take care of each other.

After Peggy created her Lion of Judah Endowment, which will ensure that a gift to the Campaign for Jewish Needs will continue on, it spurred John to consider making his own meaningful gift. After conversing with Federation staff, they decided to create an endowment to support the Cleveland Hillel Summer Interns who work at Federation.

The Cleveland Hillel Summer Internship is a very successful program for rising college juniors and seniors which places students at paid internships all over the city and in many industries, including the non-profit sector and at Federation. In addition to substantial work experience, the program creates a cohort of students that spends one day a week together learning about Cleveland and exploring the city. After completing the program, a survey of recent participants found 92% of the interns agreed that Cleveland is a great city; 86% believe that Cleveland is a good place for people in their 20s to live, work and play after graduating college; and the majority of the interns indicated they are interested in living and working in Cleveland after college. The Federation has had many interns over the years who have completed the program and then started careers in Cleveland as Jewish communal professionals.

By endowing this program, John and Peggy have ensured that each summer the Federation will be able to support four interns. In their words: “This gift combines two things we love – Cleveland and Jewish values.” Their hope is that over time these interns will be part of the next generation of Jewish communal leaders.

They have decided to support the program immediately so the endowment continues to grow and they can see the fruits of their labor. As John exclaimed, “If not now, when?”

1 A Lion of Judah Endowment (LOJE) perpetuates a Lion of Judah gift to the annual Campaign for Jewish Needs.

(L-R) E. J. and Marian Garson (John’s father and mother); Leonard Abrams (Federation); John and Peggy Garson; and Frieda Yoelson (Peggy’s mother)

This photo from 1971 shows John receiving the Marvin and Milton Kane Memorial Award (now the Bennett and Donna Yanowitz Young Leadership Award) which honored a volunteer under the age of 40 who demonstrated leadership ability. A silver medallion, symbolic of the award, was presented by Leonard Abrams, chairman of the Joseph G. Lampl Leadership Development Committee.