My dad was president of Temple Israel in Memphis in the late 1960s. It was there that I met my husband, Herman Goldstein, who was originally from Birmingham. After we were married, we moved to Birmingham in 1946 — and I have been a member of Temple Emanu-El ever since.

Years later when visiting us in Birmingham, my mother got the idea from our Temple of selling bulbs as a fundraiser, which she took back to Memphis where it was so successful. The Sisterhood presented her with a beautiful silver engraved plate, which I still cherish, reading, “seeds are planted to blossom and beautify the world”. I think that the Endowment Fund is much like these bulbs — with each gift we are planting the seeds to enrich our congregation year after year. I really just want this Temple to be able to go on forever. It is very important to me that we continue this legacy.

Also very important to me is Jacobs Camp, which is why I created a special fund to provide financial assistance scholarships for children to have these summer experiences. Years ago, after Henry S. Jacobs provided the land for the camp, my father went around to all of the temples in the Southeast and raised the money to get the camp started. I love this scholarship fund — it is so important to be able to inspire our children and give them this experience. So many have made life-long Jewish friends or met their spouses at camp. Along with the Temple, the experiences at Jacobs Camp help create the foundation for a strong Jewish heritage.