by Elaine Durbach
NJJN Bureau Chief/Central

March 5, 2009

Generosity comes in many forms, and those handling gifts and bequests at the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey have learned to take surprises in stride.

Even so, the staff was particularly delighted when Beverly Brown contacted them. She said she had $50,000 to pass on to orphans in Israel, on behalf of a very good friend.

Brown, who is not Jewish, was a high school senior working at McDonald’s in Garfield when she met Jacob Saperstein in 1979. She was a hostess, so it was her job to greet people with a warm welcome. With Saperstein, however, it turned into much more than professional pleasantry.

The teenager from Westfield had lost her own father just six months before. She took a shine to the genial, elderly man from Elizabeth, clad in his bright red jacket. He came in each week on his way to a dance session at the Westwood Lounge in Westfield, and they would joke and chat while he had a cup of coffee.

“He was very outgoing and good-natured,” she said, relating the story to NJ Jewish News. “He loved to talk with people and make them laugh.”

Brown introduced Saperstein to her mother, Ruth, who also loved dancing. Though never a romantic match, the two became fast friends. They joined a group of seniors who went dancing together a few times a week, often in the company of Saperstein’s longtime buddy, Ira Greenbaum, another Elizabeth retiree.

Brown went away to college soon after meeting Saperstein. She majored in chemistry and math, but turned to finance after she graduated. For a few years, she didn’t see much of Saperstein, but her mother suggested another link-up between her dancing partner and her daughter.

Alerted by trouble she saw surrounding friends’ wills and funerals, Ruth urged her companions to ensure they had trustworthy executors. She suggested to Saperstein that her daughter be his executrix, and he readily agreed.

Brown, now a bank professional in her early 40s, wasn’t too surprised when Saperstein showed her his will. “He didn’t earn much, but he saved a lot and he invested wisely,” she said. “He was a Depression child, and he valued money. He never lived beyond his means.”

Saperstein, who never married or had children, spent much of his adult life caring for his parents. He was employed at a metal works company and then as a timekeeper for the Singer Manufacturing Co. He lived in a modest apartment in the Elmora section of Elizabeth. Aside from taking to the dance floor, he led a very simple life.

In the mid-1990s, Saperstein suffered an injury and had to move into the Workmen’s Circle nursing home, later Elmora Hills Healthcare and Rehabilitation, in Elizabeth. Brown and her longtime boyfriend, Bob Rosengarth, visited him there about once every six weeks and often took him out to eat at the University Diner.

With pride, Brown said, he would tell her that his father always made donations to the nursing home, that he had “helped build it.” But Saperstein never talked much about his own philanthropic concerns.

Saperstein died in January 2008, at the age of 92. He didn’t leave a major fortune, but it was enough to benefit quite a few people.

Brown received his instructions that his money be given to the Deborah Hospital Foundation, which supports the provision of free treatment at the Deborah Heart and Lung Center in Browns Mills, and, less specifically, to the “Israeli government” to “help orphans.”

A roadblock

When the time came to fulfill his wishes, Brown hit a roadblock. The part about contributions to Deborah was straightforward, but it wasn’t as easy as she had expected to find those Israeli orphans in need of help. A letter to the Israeli consulate drew no response. When she began researching on her own, she got correspondence from institutions she wasn’t sure she could trust.

And then a friend suggested she contact the federation. Brown’s voice lit up as she described her interaction with Jessica Mehlman, the Central federation’s assistant director of financial resource development.

“When I finally connected with Jessica, it was a huge weight off my shoulders,” Brown said. “She and the other people at the federation have been so wonderful to work with.”

They told Brown there are no traditional orphanages in Israel, but they did thorough research, getting firsthand suggestions from people in Israel, and provided her with three appropriate options. She chose a children’s home run by Orr Shalom, a network of facilities in Israel that provide shelter and support for youngsters whose families can’t take care of them.

“I really can’t say enough about the staff at the federation. I’ve never seen an organization work the way they did,” Brown said. “They exuded such total commitment; it really gave me confidence that we could meet Jack’s desires.”

The Central federation has a four-star rating — the best attainable — from Charity Navigator, the national charity evaluator. In Brown’s case, Mehlman said, because they simply provided her with guidance, they charged no administrative fee. They have done the same with donations to emergency disaster relief funds. With donors whose money they manage, a minimal fee is charged to cover expenses.

“Because the reach of federation is huge, we’re able to verify which partnerships or organizations are trustworthy,” Mehlman said. “It means we’re able to guide people on how to give their dollars in the most effective way.”

Saperstein’s pal, Greenbaum, now 93 and still a keen dancer, also became friends with Brown and her mother, who died in 2003. Brown and Rosengarth visit him the way they used to visit Saperstein, and he has watched with approval as she has carried out Saperstein’s wishes.

“The two of them are very kind, considerate people, and Jack was very close to them,” said Greenbaum. “Beverly has taken care of things beautifully for him.”

Comment: comments@njjewishnews.com

--TOP--