When he was 7 years old, Marty Rogoff and his family moved to Harrisburg, where he stayed until he went off to college. Marty then spent 40 years living in New York and in Philadelphia, but when he moved back to Harrisburg in 2014, he immediately reinvested himself in the community. “The longer I’m here, the more I get a greater sense of the generations that preceded my family’s arrival. My first week back here, I was at the JCC and ran into one of my counselors from day camp, and then a few minutes later, a guy who was one of my campers when I was a counselor. I mean, that’s just amazing! It seemed like we had passed a baton to one another—and were connections to the past. I think the Legacy giving program is kind of like that, too.”
Marty wanted to contribute to the community in a tangible way, so he joined the Board of Jewish Family Service, and became President of the Board in 2016. “I look at JFS as the tikkun olam arm of our community. Through the work of the terrific people at this Agency, the greater community witnesses a priority of the Jewish people: to make a difference in people’s lives through service –for Jews and non-Jews alike.”
Marty sees the work that JFS does as paramount to the health and well-being of the community. “From adoption and foster care services, to counseling for children, to the programs we have for seniors, it’s an extremely impressive organization,” he says. “Lois Lehrman Grass had this incredible vision for JFS from the beginning, and it’s an honor to help to carry out and to continue that vision.”
Marty didn’t necessarily see himself as someone who would participate in a program like Legacy Giving, but now sees it as his way of thanking the community in which he had a “perfect” childhood, learned the values that helped to shape him– and where he met his wife 45 years ago. “We don’t have kids here, so when we’re gone, Harrisburg is done for us. Well, I don’t want it to be done. We believe that we are a link to something longer—and to something very important. “
Please join Marty in leaving a legacy gift to JFS through your will, trust, retirement account or life insurance policy. Thank you to the Jewish Community Foundation for coordinating this important initiative on behalf of our community.
