Jerry & Joanne Levy: Helping the world, one starfish at a time

Jerry & Joanne Levy: Helping the world, one starfish at a time

Written by Sheryl Musicant Stewart Chair, Women’s Philanthropy

Remember the tale about the boy throwing starfish that had washed ashore back into the sea? When a passerby asks, “Why bother? There are thousands of starfish on the beach It won’t make a difference.” The boy, throwing another starfish into the sea, replies, “It made a difference to that one.” Joanne and Jerry Levy recount that story as emblematic of their philanthropic efforts on behalf of the Jewish community here in Long Beach.

Joanne grew up in the San Fernando Valley, and Jerry was raised in Kansas City. Though they’d both been raised in Reform Jewish homes, neither family had been particularly observant. The Levys wanted to ensure their two children, Gabrielle and Benjamin, had strong Jewish identities.

Jerry and Joanne settled in Long Beach in 1985 while Jerry was completing his residency. With no Jewish friends or connections here, they enrolled their kids in the Alpert JCC Early Childhood Education Center. Soon, the family began to develop a core group of Jewish friends.

After their children left home, Joanne became an adult bat mitzvah at Temple Israel and the couple began to immerse themselves in the Jewish community. They focused their time, money, and energies on causes they cared about. Joanne was invited to serve on the temple board. Her seven-year tenure included a term as vice president for ritual practices. She joined the board of the local chapter of the National Council of Jewish Women and the board of Jewish Family and Children’s Service, all while working full-time as a school speech pathologist. Jerry joined the Temple Israel board after Joanne’s term ended. He served two years as treasurer and is beginning his second year as temple president. He was proud to lead the congregation during the celebration of the temple’s centennial this past year

Jerry, a rheumatologist with Kaiser Permanente, had planned to retire from medicine at the end of 2019 but then came the pandemic. He was called back to support his fellow physicians in various capacities. Jerry cited his Jewish background and values – to help where and when he can – as motivation.

Now, this couple who spent their professional lives helping one patient at a time, has decided to help where they can, by establishing an endowment to benefit Jewish Long Beach. As they prepared for retirement and assessed their trust, the Levys made a list of the philanthropic causes they cared about –the University of Kansas, the Arthritis Foundation, and others But Jerry and Joanne determined their highest priority was ensuring a strong Jewish community for families like theirs, now and well into the future.

The Levy family endowment will continue to grow in the coming years and one day, their children will have a say in how the funds are allocated. Joanne and Jerry say it is important their adult children understand their priority is investing in the Jewish community and advancing the causes they believe in.

Jerry and Joanne know well that financial challenges and building membership are ongoing challenges for synagogues and Jewish organizations Though they can’t stem that tide alone, the couple hopes that, with the help of friends and other dedicated and generous community members, the organizations they care about, including Jewish Long Beach, will be able to keep the doors open for the next 100 years. Jerry and Joanne, who will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary in October, might not be able to change the entire world but hope to change a small part of it – one starfish at a time.

To learn more about how you too can give a Legacy Gift through Jewish Long Beach, please contact Kevin Giser at kgiser@jewishlongbeach.org or 562.426.7601 ext. 1011