A Love for Children Led to Transformational Legacy Gift
S
28
When I look back upon my childhood, I sincerely believe that some of us need that one helping hand to assist us. Hilda and I feel that the greatest contributions we can make to Judaism and to mankind is offering educational opportunities to children and young adults and caring about and providing for the sick and the needy. We are pleased and thankful to be able to help those in need.”
The Sol and Hilda Goldman Early Childhood and Summer Camp Scholarship Fund provides scholarships to children in need regardless of race or religion who seek access to the highly recognized preschool and summer camp programs of the Jewish Community Alliance. We are grateful for Sol’s generosity and commitment to our community and are honored he trusted us with his bequest.
Legacy
English. They worked hard Jewish Center where we to provide for our family, were members. my brothers Maurice and I spent some time in the Joseph and me. My mother Navy and Joe was in the was my greatest inspiration. Army Air Corp and flew 25 She was an Orthodox Jew missions over Germany. often overheard speaking When we returned from Yiddish at home. We didn’t service, Joe and I started a have other local Jewish small slaughterhouse that relatives except for our later became Gold Merit uncle, our mother’s brother. Packing Company. Later as In spite of the challenges volume grew, Winn-Dixie facing a Jewish immigrant became one of our best and Sol and Hilda Goldman family in Jacksonville, most helpful customers. ol Goldman was a Florida, in the early 1900s, Therefore, I will always have Jacksonville native mother kept a kosher Jewish a warm spot in my heart for and the son of home and insisted that all of the Winn-Dixie Company. I immigrant parents. us receive a Jewish education learned early in life how He and his brother grew up including a Bar Mitzvah, and important it is to try and get “poor as dirt” on the city’s that we all graduate from along with everyone. Westside — their father a high Although we “The Sol and Hilda Goldman butcher and their mother a school. have no Scholarship fund ensures support is homemaker. After serving in Born in children, Hilda, available to every child that relies World War II, Sol worked 1920 and a nurse by on the JCA for services. We’re and saved to establish the raised training from proud to be able to help unite our Gold Merit Meat Packing during the Florida State community during difficult times Plant, which would become depression, nursing school, and are grateful for those who one of only three meat I recall had a very busy continue to donate to our distributors in Florida. Sol’s how so life. She was scholarship fund to help make this company was a blue-ribbon many lived always active at possible.”—Rochelle Stoddard, JCA vendor for Winn-Dixie. in severe the Center in board president." poverty. many volunteer Upon Sol’s death in 2016 Although positions. She at age 96, the Jewish bread was only a nickel, no has volunteered with many Foundation established its one had the nickel. My Jewish organizations and largest single endowment brother Joe and I got our was President of the gift to date with the “Sol experience in the meat National Council of Jewish and Hilda Goldman Early business early in life from Women from 1963 to 1965. Childhood Education and our father who worked a Because of our love for Summer Camp Scholarship kosher butcher shop. While children and young adults Fund.” we were in Robert E. Lee and our belief in helping In 2003, Sol recorded his High School, we worked for those in need, Hilda and I reasons for giving in the local meat packers. Even have established many funds Foundation’s Book of Life: after graduation and until to benefit Jewish and When my parents Louis World War II we still stayed non-Jewish causes. and Gertie Goldman, of in the meat product area. I I believe in respecting blessed memory, immigrated celebrated my Bar Mitzvah everyone’s personal situation to the United States from at the Third and Silver Street and in treating them as I Russia, they couldn’t speak, location of the Jacksonville would like to be treated. read or write a word of