Tell Us Your Story: The Hebrew Cemetery Support "Each One Reach One"

Charlotte Jewish News November 2021

By Jill Blumenthal

As Charlotte Jewish News readers have learned in recent issues, Foundation for the Charlotte Jewish Community and the Harold Grinspoon Foundation are sponsoring “Each One Reach One,” a campaign designed to increase the number of donors making legacy gifts to Jewish agencies. “Each One Reach One” employs a simple strategy — it asks donors who have already committed legacy gifts to share with their friends and family their motivations for leaving a legacy, in the hope that their example and stories will make legacy giving both inspiring and accessible.

The Hebrew Cemetery is honored to support “Each One Reach One.” Of course we hope this effort will help us increase the size of our own Legacy Society and ultimately the endowment that will support the cemetery in perpetuity. But we also believe that it will benefit the entire Greater Charlotte Jewish community by demonstrating that all individuals and/or families are capable of making a significant difference through legacy giving.

We asked some of the existing members of our Legacy Society to share their motivations for their gifts. Here are some answers we received.

Lorrie Klemons: Barry and I are extremely grateful and committed to the Charlotte Jewish community and each one of the Jewish agencies that have enhanced our family’s Jewish life for the past 33 years. We are thrilled and honored to leave a legacy gift to guarantee that other families will enjoy all that we gleaned from our fabulous Jewish community.

Lisa Strause Levinson: My first response is, “Why wouldn’t you be a legacy donor of the Hebrew Cemetery Association?” I think that a Hebrew cemetery is the backbone of any Jewish community, no matter the city or town. For me, Charlotte is where I have lived most of my life. Our cemetery is a link to the history of our Jewish community, starting in the 1800s, and is where generations of my family are buried, including my parents. I want to leave a legacy that the cemetery will always be here for the community.

Marc Silverman: The Hebrew Cemetery is an important part of Charlotte’s Jewish community infrastructure. It serves a vital need and is very much unappreciated until it is needed.

Brian Yesowitch: I am very proud to publicly declare that I have made a legacy commitment to the Hebrew Cemetery Association. The cemetery’s creation was a statement of hope. A group of a dozen or so Jewish families from different backgrounds, who spoke different languages, decided in 1867 they would build a home far away from their birth communities in Europe. The Jewish legacy they created was our Hebrew Cemetery. More than 150 years later, it’s now our chance to build an even greater legacy for those generations of Jewish men, women, and families that will depend on our Hebrew Cemetery Association for services and compassionate support when they experience loss. I encourage all of Jewish Charlotte to support our Hebrew Cemetery through the Charlotte Jewish Legacy program even if they aren’t association members or intend to be buried here.

I also feel required to share my own reasons for making my own legacy commitment. My practical side loves the idea that after I’m gone, the organizations I care about, including the Hebrew Cemetery, will receive a much larger gift than I was able to give during my lifetime, while reducing the tax burden on my family. As someone who loves stories and history, I appreciate the idea of adding my own story to the cemetery’s. My legacy gift will allow me to tell part of my story and what I value while leaving a meaningful legacy that will outlast my life.

Want to share your own story with the community? Please consider joining us. Be remembered by your community and the Hebrew Cemetery with a gift in your will, trust, retirement account, or life insurance policy. Gifts of any size are meaningful and have a real impact .

Thank you to Lorrie and Barry, Lisa, Marc, Brian, and all other members of our Legacy Society for their generous support of our mission. Would you like to share your story as part of “Each One Reach One”? Please contact

me or our director, Sandra Goldman, at director@hebrew-cemetery.org or (704) 516-1859. Membership Update The Hebrew Cemetery is grateful for the support of its members, which allows us to offer our services to our entire Jewish community. Your annual membership dues provide an important source of revenue to help offset operating costs such as maintaining the grounds and paying our professional staff. Since 2004, the Hebrew Cemetery Association’s annual membership has been $72. Due to rising costs, the board of directors decided that the Cemetery will raise its annual dues to $108. Please know that no one is turned down for membership due to financial hardship. We appreciate your support.