Couple Donates $20M For New York Jewish Day Camps

By JTA September 27, 2017

(JTA) — New York philanthropists Jack and Shirley Silver have donated $20 million to the UJA-Federation of New York to improve Jewish day camp facilities.

The legacy commitment gift announced on Monday is the largest given to the UJA during the donor’s lifetime, the agency said in a statement.

The gift is directed to the UJA’s new Jewish Day Camp Centennial Signature Initiative, established to renovate the infrastructure of the Henry Kaufmann Campgrounds, the largest Jewish day camp system in North America, according to UJA.

The campgrounds house 12 separate day camps on 505 acres of land on three separate sites in Long Island, Rockland County and Staten Island, each accommodating a diverse camper population including Jews, non-Jews, children with special needs and life-threatening illnesses, and seniors. Each summer, more than 6,000 children and 1,200 counselors spend their days on the campgrounds. The camps are run by 15 JCCS and YM-YWHAs in the Greater New York City Area and the Sunrise Association, which provides free camp for children with cancer and for their siblings.

Jack Silver is the founder of New York-based SIAR Capital, and his wife Shirley is a former social studies teacher. They are co-founders of the Jack S. and Shirley M. Silver Foundation, and namesakes of the Jack and Shirley Silver Center for Special Needs at the Manhattan JCC.

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