Jewish Museum Milwaukee has been privileged to participate in the Create a Jewish Legacy Program, which is coordinated through the Jewish Community Foundation of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation. Funded by the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, Create a Jewish Legacy is a community dedicated to ensuring the future of Milwaukee Jewish institutions by promoting endowment giving. Over forty people have signed a letter of intent to leave a legacy to JMM–we will be celebrating their stories here!
Penny Deshur has been engaged with the Museum since before it opened as a Museum. Through her work with the Wisconsin Jewish Genealogical Society, Penny took pictures and documented local cemeteries creating an important collection that genealogists worldwide can utilize through the JMM website–for this work, Penny won the prestigious Governor’s Award for Archival Advocacy.
As Museum planning began, Penny volunteered to be a docent and was in fact the first volunteer to work with any group in the Museum. She then became the president of the organization. She was thrilled to be able to undertake the Create a Jewish Legacy program under her presidency, helping fulfill one of her goals for her term, helping the community understand the importance of endowments for institutions like ours!
Penny had this to say about the importance of this program and endowment giving:
“As a past president of Jewish Museum Milwaukee, I look back at the museum’s development and am so proud of what it has become. Its future is bright. As a docent, I’ve seen and heard the positive responses of the visitors, young and old. I feel a responsibility to secure the future of Jewish Museum Milwaukee for our children, grandchildren and the community at large.”
In particular, she has a passion for exploring the lessons of the Holocaust and using themes of resilience, bullying, and personal responsibility to help students understand this devastating time period, and to build connections to their experiences.
Thanks to Penny for her hard work to make this Museum accessible and viable for visitors , for those who visit in person or virtually, and for helping Jewish Museum Milwaukee secure its future by Creating a Jewish Legacy.
If you are interested in Creating a Jewish Legacy, contact Patti Sherman-Cisler.