New Jersey Jewish News
Monmouth County Feature
Medical center calls Manasquan honoree an ‘inspiration’
When Bobbi Krantz of Manasquan volunteers for a project, she gives it everything she’s got, including time — lots and
lots of time.
“When I get involved in something, I’m in it for life,” she laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever done very much on a short-term basis. I learned a long time ago that fund-raising and dedication are essential to growth and expansion, and dedication involves a commitment of time, effort, and energy.”
On Saturday, May 6, Krantz will receive the Good Will Ambassador Award from the Kimball Medical Center Foundation, which is associated with Kimball Medical Center in Lakewood. The event will take place at Eagle Ridge Golf Club and Restaurant in Lakewood.
Krantz has been involved with the center’s volunteer efforts since she moved to New Jersey 40 years ago. And now, the KMC Foundation, which has raised millions of dollars to renovate, improve, and expand the hospital facility and enhance its scope of services, has chosen to celebrate her many years of service.
“She is a wonderful inspiration,” said Angela Cuccinello, assistant to the foundation’s vice president of development. “She is a dynamic lady, and we are lucky to have her as a member of the Kimball Medical Center family. She has become a very important part of this hospital.”
Two other area residents will also be honored on May 6; Joseph DeBella, a past mayor of Howell Township and a former foundation president, will receive the H. George Buckwald Humanitarian Award. In addition, Dr. Richard Sacks, a long-time practitioner at KMC, will be presented with the Caring For and About People Award.
“Receiving this award is prestigious, but the company with which I find myself is also exciting,” said Krantz. “I am honored to be considered in the same category as former Mayor DeBella and Dr. Sacks.”
Krantz’s dedication to volunteerism had its roots in her childhood. As a 13-year-old high school student in the Bronx, she became a member of ARISTA, a school service organization. She worked with hearing-impaired students and tutored disabled peers on a one-to-one basis, including a young man who suffered from paralysis.
“I was able to relate to him on a very comfortable level,” she recalled. “He was a joy. He made me feel needed, and I guess I needed that on some level. He gave me as much, if not more, as I was able to give him.”
She continued her volunteerism during her years at the City College of New York.
Krantz moved to Ocean County 40 years ago with her husband, Dr. Robert Krantz, who has a dental practice in Brick. (The couple has three children: Ricki, who has joined her father’s practice; Andy, a Red Bank attorney; and Brian, a financial trader in New York City.) She became active in the Jewish Federation of Greater Ocean County, and the family became members of Temple Beth Ahm in Lakewood.
“My motivation was a desire to get involved with the community, especially since I was a new community member,” she said. “I was lucky enough to meet some people who were involved with Kimball Medical Center. I knew right away that this would be a good outlet for my desire to give back to the community. I found the right path.”
Krantz became a member of the KMC auxiliary, which is a major part of the KMC fund-raising process, and eventually served as the auxiliary’s president. When she began working at Ocean County College 31 years ago and became director of the school’s Fine Arts Center 15 years ago, she successfully merged some of OCC’s resources with her involvement in KMC. She was the KMC Lakewood unit’s theater party chair for 20 years; all money raised as a result of the theater excursions was turned over to the auxiliary, and, Krantz said, the project raised many thousands of dollars on an annual basis.
When Krantz and her husband moved to Manasquan from Lakewood eight years ago, there was no disruption in her volunteer work. She switched her federation affiliation to the Jewish Federation of Greater Monmouth County, to which she feels a strong commitment, and was part of a federation mission to Israel in the mid-1990s.
For 25 years, Krantz was the coordinator of the Ocean County Teen Arts Festival, a two-day annual event in March that concentrates on all aspects of the arts, including visual, creative writing, and performing. Students in each category are selected to participate in a statewide festival that takes place every May; winners receive verbal and written critiques from a panel of professionals.
Krantz has been a member of the Ocean County Cultural and Heritage Commission for more than 20 years. She has served on the Ocean County College Foundation for the past five years and joined the Ocean County Library’s arts acquisition committee last year.
She anticipates that her two most recent volunteer positions will become long-term commitments.
“It’s amazing to see the results, particularly in the many services of Kimball Medical Center. The center was once a small hospital in a small town. Both have grown in a very substantial way, and Kimball has kept pace with the changing times and the needs of the community it serves.”
Krantz doesn’t foresee retirement on the horizon.
“I plan to continue working on everything I’m involved with right now,” she said. “I may even add a few projects, if time permits. But I love what I do and I’m grateful to have the opportunity to give back to the community. I’m committed for the long haul.”
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