Meet Peter & Susan*.  Peter and Susan and their three children have arrived home from camping at Big Sur, where Peter’s family — he is the oldest of six children — holds its annual reunion. Their youngest is settling in after four weeks at Camp Ramah. Their son is making last-minute preparations to leave for Hebrew University and the Nativ⁄College Leadership Program in Israel. Their oldest daughter attended the same program in 2000-01, experiencing Jewish life and Israeli culture through university study and time on a kibbutz.

When Susan was 14, her family moved from Seattle to Palo Alto.  It was her father, a member of the board at Congregation Kol Emeth, who suggested she join United Synagogue Youth. There was a “nice boy,” president of the youth group, whom she should meet.  He was 18; she was 16, and they have been together ever since. 

“I witnessed my mother and grandmothers raising funds for Israel through the Mizrachi Women’s Group,” Susan explains. “When our first daughter was six months old, we saw Israel for the first time.”  They have continued to travel back and forth, visiting with friends and family. Today, their oldest is studying comparative religion at the University of San Francisco, with a minor in Jewish studies. Books, Judaica and works by Jewish and Israeli artists throughout their home reflect these close ties to Israel and Jewish life.

Peter grew up in California, where his family was involved with both Kol Emeth and the South Peninsula Hebrew Day School. Their youngest daughter, an eighth grader at South Peninsula Hebrew Day School (SPHDS, a Federation beneficiary agency), recently celebrated her bar mitzvah and is beginning her volunteer work with the Jewish Coalition for Literacy, a project seed-funded by the JCEF. 

Jewish education and youth are twin commitments for the couple, and they have served on numerous boards — day school, synagogue, agency — that reflect their concerns. “It is a legacy learned from our parents and grandparents,” says Susan, “We have a responsibility, not only because we are able to give, but because of the direction we were given by our parents. We are committed to continue their legacy.”

Peter, who was co-founder, president and CEO of a bio-medical equipment firm, explains, “It was important to us that grants go out to the general community under the name of the Jewish Community Endowment Fund. We established our philanthropic fund with a one-time gift before selling a family business. My advisors helped time our gift to ensure maximum funds were available for charitable purposes. The hard work and long hours it entails to grow a business now bring other rewards. Since its sale, we have been able to increase our philanthropy and devote more time to the grant making process.”

* Please note that names have been altered to protect the privacy of the donors.