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DONORS
WHO GIVE: JEAN AND HERM GORDON
In Evansville, Indiana, UJA set an emergency meeting and asked everyone
to donate cash because of the ’67 war. Jean and Herman Gordon clearly
understood that they had to decide in advance what they would bring.
"What do you think we should do?" Herman asked Jean.
"Give ‘til it hurts," she replied. So they went to the bank,
borrowed money, and took their cash to the meeting.
Thirty years ago when the Gordons moved to San Diego, they joined Congregation
Beth Israel. "It’s our second home, our spiritual home," they
both agreed. We made friends here and worked on the board, the membership committee,
Women of Beth Israel, and so on. We got involved. While the Gordons have also
made contributions and served in a variety of capacities at the Jewish Community
Foundation, Jewish Family Services, American Jewish Committee (they received
the Colonel Solomon Award), Seacrest Village, Hillel, Camp Mountain Chai, Agency
for Jewish Education and more, they feel that the synagogue is central to Judaism.
We believe that when anything important in life happens to you, you need the
synagogue; and we believe in Dor L ’ Dor.
Herman Gordon, known in the community as Herm, says, "We like to share.
And we want to make sure that all children have the opportunity to attend religious
school, even if their parents can’t afford it. Our gift of endowment will
help make this possible at CBI."
Jean and Herm will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary in December. They
have five children, nine grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. Twenty of
them will take an eight-day cruise to commemorate the occasion. "We’re
not just blood relatives, we want to build common experiences with our family
so we’re more than blood.
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To help continue this, we’ve set up a Charitable Remainder Trust at the
Jewish Community Foundation. When we are gone and the money is in place, each
of our children will be able to direct one/fifth of the interest earned to the
Jewish cause of their choice annually."
Jean says that Herm is a recruiter. He encourages his friends to get involved,
and he urges organizations to add younger individuals to their boards and committees
while he agrees to continue to help.
Jean’s grandfather contributed to bringing other Jews over from Europe.
He was president of Temple Aaron in St. Paul, Minnesota several times, and was
instrumental in helping to complete the building. Herm’s parents provided
funds to make sure other family members were able to come to the United States
from Europe, and he remembers how they helped a widowed aunt raise her six children.
So Jean and Herm learned philanthropy at home, but Herman claims they knew about
endowment through osmosis. He was an accountant and says he "…just
always understood the long-range importance of endowment for the Jewish community."
They both stressed that all endowment gifts – modest or large – are
important and easy to set up. "Give within your means and give with your
heart," say the Gordons. They know that when you give ‘til it hurts,
it really feels good. Please add your name to the growing list of Dor l’ Dor
Society members and help us plan for generations to come.
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