Fast Forward

Philanthropist Death Inspires Family To Make Largest Donation Ever To JCC

Marti Ann Meyerson, daughter of Marlene Meyerson, with her family as the community celebrated renaming the JCC in honor of her late mother. (l-r:) Hannah Hooper, Marti Ann Meyerson, David Hooper, and Jamie Hooper. Image by Saskia Kahn

By Michelle Honig February 6, 2018

Last Friday, the JCC of Manhattan, located on the Upper West Side, was renamed the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan in honor of a multi-million-dollar donation from the Meyerson Family Foundation. Marlene Meyerson, a longtime supporter of the JCC Manhattan, passed away last year. The gift of $20 million is believed to be one of the largest donations ever made to a Jewish Community Center in the US. The renaming of the JCC was celebrated by the community with a marquee reveal of the new name (eliciting cheers from the crowd) and a day of festivities.

Michelle Honig is the style writer at the Forward. Contact her at honig@forward.com. Find her on Instagram and Twitter.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO