In “Henrietta Szold: Continuing Her Legacy of Giving during Women’s History Month,” Betsy Silverfine, the annual giving officer for Hadassah’s Florida & New England Region, writes about how she tries to follow in the footsteps of Hadassah’s founder, Henrietta Szold, whose commitment to community service was unrelenting. A role model for women who want to serve their communities, Szold set up night schools so immigrants could learn English, and she was the first woman to graduate from The Jewish Theological Seminary’s rabbinical school. When she was 49, she went to Palestine and found her calling – ensuring the welfare of the Jewish community. When she came home, she founded Hadassah to help her realize that goal. Her drive led to the creation of the two world-class hospitals that today form Israel’s Hadassah Medical Organization. Szold also served the Jews in Palestine by organizing the Youth Aliyah program, creating a home for hundreds of young Holocaust survivors. Hadassah is part of Silverfine's DNA. Like Szold, Silverfine works on behalf of others, raising money to supports the hospitals and the youth program. She never makes assumptions. Instead, she works hard to find out what potential donors are interested in. By focusing on forming long-term relationships with them, she has learned that many Hadassah supporters are continuing the work of their mothers and grandmothers just like Silverfine herself, whose mother, a nurse, sailed to Israel in 1948 to help the new state and hospitals.
Betsy Silverfine is a member of the HADASSAH WRITERS’ CIRCLE, a program of Hadassah’s Media & Public Relations Office that offers Hadassah’s volunteer leaders, members and professional staff a way to share their thoughts and feelings about Hadassah’s work in the United States and Israel.