Growing up Jewish in South Africa was easy – my brother, sister and I attended Jewish day school K-12; we went to Jewish summer camps, attended synagogue most Friday nights and all holidays. It was simply the way we lived, and we never wondered how this was made possible. My husband, also South African, grew up the same way.

Throughout my childhood, my father was always involved in the Jewish community where we lived. There was hardly a committee or board he was not a part of, and his tireless dedication to the community was an integral part of our family life. My father instilled in me the importance of community involvement – and when my parents came to visit us in San Francisco, just three months after we left South Africa, he noticed the article in the J, describing the Young Adult Division of the SF Jewish Federation. This would be my first introduction to the Federation and its vital role in the lives of Jews, not only in the Bay Area, but all over the world.

Being Jewish in the Bay Area is not as easy as it was in South Africa – there are too many choices and the community is much larger and more fragmented than the one I grew up in. It’s through the Jewish Federation that my husband and I found our community, the one we feel most comfortable with. We want to give our 3 children the kind of life we had: Jewish day schools, summer camps, vibrant programs. And Federation makes that possible for all Jews in the Bay Area, AND throughout the world.

I give for my children.
I give for my father.
I give for my community.