The Next Generation of Philanthropists
“It was our generation that changed the world in the 1960s, and today, it’s our turn to do that again.”
– Ed and Harriet Levine
A lot of attention today is on baby boomers and the role they will play in their communities as volunteers and philanthropists like the generation before them. Nonprofit organizations, in particular, are being challenged to re-engage this boomer generation – all 78 million of them – the group that essentially changed the world in the 1960s and 1970s.
In the last issue of “MorseLife Honors,” Sheila Engelstein noted that “it is up to the next generation of philanthropists to foster all that has built in the Jewish community in Palm Beach County.” Specifically, she noted that it will be time for baby boomers to follow the lead of those before them to provide the expansion of services and life in the Jewish community.
Ed and Harriet Levine, active and dear friends of MorseLife and seasonal residents of Palm Beach know that they represent that new generation of volunteers and philanthropists, and they take it to heart through their approach to their lives and their work.
Ed Levine, a native of Altoona, Pennsylvania, developed a deep appreciation for family, and for the needs of loved ones at an early age. “By the time I was 12, my sister Leah and I had lost our beloved parents,” he recalled. “While we had the considerable support of relatives in Pennsylvania, we both knew we were to make our own journey in life.”
When Leah married Joseph Holtzberg in Brooklyn, Ed went to live with them, and through their support, he finished school and went on to attend Farleigh Dickenson University. “With Leah, who was my guiding light, and Joseph and my older relatives, I had a good old-fashioned upbringing – taught to work hard, and never taken anything or anyone for granted,” he said. “From my older relatives, in particular, I learned to communicate with and gain a respect for older adults.”
After a backpack trip to Israel, Ed became an insurance broker, eventually building his own business. But Ed always wanted to do more in his life – to make a difference to the community. He became active in the UJA on Long Island, and later lent his volunteer time and expertise to the Board of Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, an acute/chronic care facility in the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn.
“Becoming successful in my business offered me the opportunity to give back,” he said. “My priorities were to my family first, and then, to causes about which I cared deeply.”
He married Harriet in 1985, and eventually came to Florida with their children, Michael, Jamie and Alison. Their friends, Arthur Loring and Robin Berman, encouraged Ed and Harriet to become active in the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County, where Ed used his expertise in risk management and the two chaired major fund raising events.
Through Robin Berman, he also took an interest in MorseLife and met Keith Myers, President and CEO for MorseLife. “When I met Keith, I was impressed with him immediately – I liked his dynamic personality and knowing what he could bring to the organization,” Ed noted. It was then that he decided to again become active in helping an organization serving older adults, as he did up north when he worked on the board of Kingsbrook.
As for his motivation, Ed looks back on his upbringing. “I never saw the aging of my own parents, but I always learned a deep respect for older adults,” he said. “Beyond my beloved sister, there were so many older people who stood up and advised and supported me over my lifetime.”
At MorseLife, he chairs the Marketing Committee and both Ed and Harriet take an active role on events with friends Robert and Robin Berman. Regarding the needs of older adults, he notes that Harriet’s mother is fortunately well and active, but they share a deep responsibility for the care of elders. “Our perspective is that parents helped their children – so when it’s time, children should go to bat for their parents.”
As for his perspective on philanthropy, “it is either in your heart or it’s not.” He notes that people of his generation do have so many commitments, including that of caring for the parents who raised them and their children. “But personally, I remember being particularly moved when I attended a Jewish Federation program in which the speaker talked of the responsibility to give at least 10% of your wealth annually to tzedakah,” he said. “That made so much sense to me, given the needs of our community.”
Both Ed and Harriet wish for greater participation in causes among their peers, including support of organizations such as MorseLife. “It was our generation that changed the world in the 1960s, and today, it’s our turn to do that again,” he said.