Ellie Ganz
Ellie Ganz Presented by The Foundation of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation
Growing up in Charleston, West Virginia, I often witnessed men one- upping each other for charity, and I vowed that I would NEVER announce my charitable gift publicly. I went collecting JNF Blue Boxes with my dad when I was very young and I was appalled to see these same men having negligible money there. So I saw a difference between publicly proclaiming and actually doing. I chose not to announce my gifts, but rather to give quietly, preferably anonymously.
Ellie Ganz
After I moved to Miami in 1971, I became involved in Federation. My late husband, Arnold Ganz, became heavily involved in the nascent Foundation, and I began to change my views. The Foundation was being featured as “the community’s philanthropic bank account” and talked about planting trees for the future. In 1973, I was in the Federation building when I heard about the
Lion of Judah. The speaker was saying that women would tell their husbands that they would like to have that adorable pin. I was appalled. In 1981, we went on our first mission to Israel. Our children had all been there during high school, but we had somehow avoided it. It was a life-changing event, and we fell in love with
Israel. We decided it was time to step up, and I became a Lion. Marilyn Smith and Marcy Lefton presented me with my pin. I was just a little embarrassed to be doing this publicly. I continued in my evolution. I began to understand about being “a light unto nations,” and how my behavior could help influence others. I “came out” publicly as a charitable member of the community. I helped found the Golden Care program, which requires a $100,000 testamentary gift, which was a win-win for isolated seniors, mostly without families. I co-
Ellie and her husband Arnold Ganz (of blessed memory)
sponsored the Smith Ganz Young Leadership program (along with Harry Smith), which brought emerging leaders from all corners of the community together, and introduced them to such dignitaries as Rabbi Yitz Greenberg and Rabbi Irwin Kula. Rabbi Kula of CLAL brought rabbis and cantors from the entire Jewish spectrum to learn together, and he reported that it was the first time that many rabbis in the community had met or studied together.
I became more active Jewishly. My family and I began the Ganz Family Supporting Foundation after my husband passed in 1987, the first Supporting Foundation at GMJF. I became a Heritage Society member and a LOJE. In 2007 I was honored to have been chosen as Miami’s Kipnis Wilson-Friedland Award Honoree at the International Lion of Judah Conference. Shortly after, my mother-in-law, Pauline Ganz, of blessed memory, added the torch to her Lion, and as my daughters matured and became active in their own communities, they also became Lions and LOJEs. Suzy and Amy are both heavily involved in their Jewish communities, and all of their children have likewise become involved in their college and school Jewish communities. My son Charlie was on GMJF’s investment committee for many years, then went on to become the Foundation Chair in Boca Raton. In our family, we try to look to the future and understand community needs, then help to resolve some of those. It isn’t often that we get to see such wonderful results in so short a time. So we have become a l’dor v’dor (from generation to generation) family. As my father planted for me…. Am Yisroel Chai !
Presented by The Foundation of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation
Ellie Ganz receiving the Hannah G. Solomon Award at a National Council of Jewish Women event.
Ellie Ganz becoming a member of the Heritage and Lion of Judah Endowment Societies
Temple Beth Am AND Rambam Day School
Presented by The Foundation of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker