Why I took the big step to ensure my legacy

By Rosalee Bogo, 2024 Annual Community Campaign Chair

Since my last article, I am very excited to share with you something I am very proud of. With the advent of the Lion Behind the Pin program, there has been a lot of talk lately about legacy and endowments. It really got me thinking about the future and my own legacy. So, I started the process of endowing my gift to Jewish Federation of Greater Naples a few months ago. Being the 2024 Annual Community Campaign chair and having been involved in Federation as a volunteer for 40 years, I realized how important this is to me. As I age, I want to be sure that when I am gone, I will still make a difference and all my work will not have been in vain, and in a small way, I will still have purpose.

I have a son who is part of the Gen X group, who shows no interest in Judaism, even though he went to Jewish Day School and had a bar mitzvah. He, like most of his friends, aren’t really interested in going deep into learning about the Holocaust and their knowledge of Judaism is superficial. Can I realistically expect him to carry on my legacy when I am gone?

So, my decision was an easy one. I joined a few of my local Lion of Judah friends and endowed my pin. These women who have also stepped forward and ensured their legacy are Jane Schiff, Phyllis Seaman, Sharon Stein, Paula Filler, and of blessed memory, Shareen Willens. After attending the Lion Behind the Pin luncheon on Feb. 2 and learning about this fantastic program, I know we will have more Lions proudly join this philanthropic and passionate group.

We talk so much about raising money for local needs and satisfying our community’s core needs is of upmost importance. I thought back through the years to what I have seen traveling on Federation missions and know that we make a difference in the overseas countries we help. Though these trips were years ago, we are still in the same countries I visited, and more.

In Cuba, where food is rationed, we provided chicken for Shabbat dinners at Friday night services. In Azerbajan, I delivered a food package to two elderly ill sisters in a 5th-floor flat where we provided a social worker to care for them. Now they would get debit cards to spend on their needs. How about the Holocaust survivor in Odessa who Federation sent a medical team to rig a hoist to raise her up in bed after she broke her hip. I went to a school in Kiev where the children were learning about Judaism and a Jewish summer camp where they could just be kids. All this is provided by Federation.

In Buenos Aires, I visited an ORT school training Jewish youth for jobs. One of my most impactful trips was to a true shetel in the Russian countryside which had a Chesed center. We walked through mud to get there and witnessed the socialization and appreciation for what we provided for their needs. The needs of today are different, but our willingness to help is still there.

As our slogan says, No Gift Touches More Lives.

Think about where your dollars are going now. After your passing, who will answer the needs of our people? Talk to Jeffrey Feld, Alicia Feldman or our financial group, TOP, who handle our Naples Federation funds or talk to your personal financial advisor for advice. Make the decision to allow the generosity of your life to continue after you are gone.