An Archive of Gratitude: Happy Event and Special Occasion-Related Gifts Made Prior to 2017
December 2016: A Very Special Birthday Celebration Indeed!
Steve’s grandmother (and SGF Trustee) Lillian Alpert turned 99 (yes, 99 – not a typo!!) on December 17, 2016! Her dear lifelong friend Leonora Chertoff and daughter/son-in-law Elaine Alpert and Bill Marsh (Steve’s mom and step-dad) joined forces to host a luncheon in her honor at her favorit restaurant in Brooklyn. In lieu of gifts, Lil asked that contributions be made to the Steve Glidden Foundation. to date, we have received a total of $479 in donations from the following people (in alphabetical order):
- Sydelle Cantor
- Andrew and Faith Chertoff
- Blanche Finkelstein
- Alice Kelner
- Roslyn Kuslansky
- Florence Rothstein
- Shirley Salshutz
- Ruth Siegel
- Charlene Trenk
- Molly Wilensky
Bill and Elaine will match these and whatever additional donations come in, so please add to the pot and make them “poor”! Thank You and see you at her 100th!!
March and May 2015: Since July 2011, Erica Streit-Kaplan, (one of Elaine’s former students and now a lifelong colleague and also a justifiably proud mother), has been encouraging donations to SGF in lieu of toys and other gifts for her two daughters’ birthdays. Erica’s daughters Eleanor and Anna have both asked, once again, that this family “tradition” be continued. We are so proud of Eleanor and Anna for choosing philanthropy over “stuff” (thanks, Eleanor and Anna!)
April 27, 2015: Generous contributions in loving memory were gratefully received from:
- Lillian Alpert
- Susan and Allen Alpert
- Yael, Ben, Max and Cody Alpert
- Kathy and Barry Goldstein
- Steve and Mindy Hoberman
- Carolyn and Jeffrey Rubin
May 2013: Anna Kaplan and her parents Erica and James did it again!! Anna had a birthday and for the third year in a row, donations were made in Anna’s honor to benefit the SGF Summer Camp Scholarship Fund. This time, one anonymous and one named donation were made in Anna’s honor. Thank you Alison plus anonymous donor and happy birthday, Anna!
December 2012: SGF Trustee Lil Alpert (who also is Steve’s grandma and Elaine’s mom) turned a very healthy 95 on December 17. To help celebrate the occasion, Lil’s lifelong friend Leonora Chertoff organized a fabulous surprise birthday luncheon at Lil’s favorite restaurant, “The Three Star” on Avenue U in Brooklyn. In lieu of physical presents, Leonora asked guests to donate to SGF in Lil’s honor. A total of $513 was collected (thanks for organizing this, Leonora!) from the partial list of names below (more names will be added as we confirm them). Unfortunately, just a few days after the party, Joe Trenk, one of the celebrating guests and yet another lifelong friend, passed on suddenly at age 93 without warning. We will remember Joe, who worked as an attorney until the day of his passing, with warmth, gratitude and lovey. Thanks to all the folks listed below:
- Mary Frigand
- Alice Kelner
- Roslyn Kuslansky
- Gloria Mason
- Shriley Salshutz
- Ruth Siegel
- Joe and Charlene Trenk
- Molly Wilensky
April, 2012: Oak Hill Middle School (the school that Steve attended) hosts a “Faculty Foul-Up” once per year, during which students raise pledges based on how many baskets their teachers can make on free-throws (they either pledge per teacher or per basket). Each year, the funds raised are donated to a different worthy cause. This year’s “take” has been designated to SGF. The total amount – $1,341.00 – was much higher than any previous year’s amount. THANK YOU Oak Hill Middle School Students, especially the students who helped organize this event. All the funds raised went directly to 2012 summer camp scholarships.
July 2011: Erica Streit-Kaplan, who is one of Elaine’s former students (and now a lifelong colleague and also a justifiably proud mother), sent the following note:
“Dear Elaine, Enclosed are donations from Anna’s 6th birthday party. Several friends decided to donate in lieu of gifts, which makes us so happy. Hope this helps a bit with the SGF work. Fondly, Erica and James.”
February 2011: A longtime, loyal and consistent SGF supporter named Jeff Wisnia reached an undisclosed “major milestone” birthday this month. His wonderful wife Judith– an equally consistent supporter, planned a stealth surprise party for Jeff, and asked that donations to SGF be made in lieu of physical presents. Thank you!!!!!
December 2010: The McLaughlin Family (of the Boston area) has a wonderful Christmas Eve tradition that in many ways honors and exemplifies what many strive for in experiencing the true spirit of Christmas. SGF and the kids we help benefited directly this year from the McLaughlin Family’s generous Christmas spirit. Here’s what happened: Each year, this wonderful family gathers on Christmas Eve. In addition to the general merrymaking and holiday celebrating that goes on, each person puts some money into a decorated gift bag, along with a slip of paper with their own name and the name of their favorite charity. Later in the evening, Mrs. McLaughlin (the matriarch of the family) picks a name from the bag, and that person gets to name the charity they chose and tell everyone the reason why it was chosen. All the money collected then gets donated to that person’s chosen charity. One guest of the McLaughlins this past Christmas Eve was one of our very generous and consistent supporters – Evelyn Amrhein. Her name was the one that got picked, so she got to tell everyone there about SGF and the good work we do. And we received a most generous $300 donation. Thank you, Evelyn, Jim, Mrs. McLaughlin and everyone else in the family!! This is a wonderful holiday tradition that I hope spreads far and wide. If your family doesn’t gather for Christmas, maybe it’s worth a try on Thanksgiving, July 4 or any other day you gather together. Awesome!!
May 2010: Isabel Silverston donated $300 from her bat mitzvah gifts to enable children to attend summer camp through SGF scholarship. Thank you, Isabel, and mazel tov on your accomplishment!
December 2009: SGF received a $5,000 bequest from the estate of Shirley Jane Glidden, who was Steve’s paternal grandmother. SGF is grateful for this most generous bequest, which will generate enough funds each and every year to send a child to a quality day camp for nearly 2 weeks.
November 2008 and May 2009: SGF has been the beneficiary of the latest example of unequivocal altruism and generosity by young people and their coach and parents: The Storm King School Varsity Basketball Team donated $650 in November 2008 and then an additional $200 in May 20009 – the proceeds from their annual team shirt sale to SGF! These gifts are especially meaningful because Jay Garrels, the coach of this team, was one of Steve’s counselors, and had a lot to do with the way Steve grew in confidence and generosity while at Winona. Thanks Jay, thanks team, and thanks team parents, who came out in force to purchase more shirts than ever before in Storm King School history!
SGF was awarded a grant from MyEmma.com, a communications and marketing company, that has enabled us to have the very well received new “look” for our NewsFlashes. MyEmma.com’s generosity has saved us dozens, if not hundreds, of hours sending out email NewsFlashes, has streamlined our Subscribe functions, and has made our communications look professional, while retaining Steve’s and SGF’s personalities. Thank you MyEmma!!
Some people make gifts in honor of a special person or special occasion, for example a birthday, bar or bat mitvah, anniversary, graduation, or for a holiday. Others have directed memorial contributions to SGF to honor the memory of a loved one who has passed on. The first such set of memorial gifts was made in loving memory of Irene Lee. Click on Irene’s name to read about this loving woman and the family and friends who care so much about her and about our world and its children.
The Newton Mothers’ Forum donated the proceeds of their June 2007 fundraising event to SGF, and presented us with a check for $3,817.50. We are enormously grateful to Janet Clay and to the entire Newton Mothers’ Forum. Thank you!!