Adelsons Give $6M to Boston Jewish Groups

By JTA June 19, 2012

Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Dr. Miriam Adelson, have given $6 million in grants to three Boston Jewish institutions.

The gifts from the Adelson Family Foundation were awarded to Hebrew SeniorLife, Gateways: Access to Jewish Education and Chelsea Jewish Foundation.

Hebrew SeniorLife will receive $3 million as part of its $100 million campaign and will establish the Adam and Matan Adelson Multigenerational Program in honor of the Adelsons’ two youngest children. The program will support Hebrew SeniorLife’s volunteer programming.

The Adelsons had donated $20 million to NewBridge on the Charles, the institution’s 162-acre retirement community in Dedham, Mass., named the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Campus, which provides independent and assisted living as well as long-term and post-acute care.

Gateways: Access to Jewish Education, which creates opportunities for Jewish children with special educational needs to engage meaningfully in Jewish learning, will receive $2 million. Part of the gift is a challenge grant to encourage others to support Gateways, which partners with Jewish schools throughout Greater Boston, providing both direct services and professional development that foster inclusivity.

Chelsea Jewish Foundation will receive $1 million for its specialized residences for patients with ALS and multiple sclerosis at the Leonard Florence Center for Living. The Adelsons had contributed $5 million for the project.

“If a community is measured by how it cares for its most vulnerable members, Boston’s Jewish community can look with pride at the services rendered by these three organizations,” Miriam Adelson said.

The Adelsons have given more than $30 million to Republican candidates for president in recent months and have promised tens of millions more.

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