I’m standing in this hotel ballroom looking around at hundreds of attendees at this conference and can’t help but wonder: “How did I end up—at of all things—a fraternity meeting?” I’m also wondering, “Why are all of these people so young?”
Let me start by saying that this wasn’t an ordinary fraternity meeting. This was the 111th convention of Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi), the world’s largest Jewish fraternity. And, here I am, a somewhat (ahem) more mature female presence at this meeting.
Who am I kidding? I felt like I was at a meeting of 300 Jewish grandsons. Let me tell you how I got here.
As the director of development for the Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF), I was at the AIPAC Policy Conference in 2015, and I saw a group of young men at another table. I didn’t know them and since I’ve never been accused of being shy (that’s not a great trait in my business), I walked over and introduced myself. This began a relationship that has been one of mentorship, volunteerism, and, above all else, tikkun olam.
AEPi’s commitment to tikkun olam is not a secret in our Jewish philanthropic world. For many years, the brothers have raised awareness and money for Jewish and Israeli causes on their campuses and in their communities. As soon as I began talking about working together with AEPi, we knew that this would be a great opportunity to get more young people aware of and involved in ICRF.
The fact is that cancer personally touches one in three people. Since the undergraduate brothers selected ICRF to be one of the beneficiaries of the fraternity’s national philanthropy efforts a few years ago, I’ve heard so much more about those personal connections. When I come to this meeting in the summer, I almost always meet a young man who tells me a story from his family and thanks me for everything that ICRF is doing to fund research to prevent more cancer deaths.
I’ve been to several AEPi conventions before, but this year was different. After so many months of awful news in Israel, on college campuses and in city streets, I felt like there was a dark cloud hanging over the whole world. People are being so rude to each other. The lack of civility and decency in our world frankly has been wearing on me.
But surrounded by so many young AEPi men who came to Florida because they wanted to learn, advocate and better themselves and their Jewish communities, I felt joy. I felt like the dark cloud was replaced by sunshine for a few days. I felt hope.
I met hundreds of young men and watched them bond, and show respect for each other and for the leadership of the fraternity and their chapters. They wanted to work together to build something better—something brighter and more filled with joy.
In previous years, I’ve never been able to stay for the entire AEPi convention. I usually came for a couple of days and then left. This year, I was able to stay the whole time and saw how much everyone at AEPi cares. They care about each other. The alumni care about the undergraduates. The undergraduates care about their communities. They all care about Israel and their own Judaism. And they care about bettering the world.
During the convention, I was called up to the stage, and ICRF was presented with a check for $125,000. This was not money raised by the alumni. This was raised by the young men in that room. I got very emotional at that moment—not just because of the generosity but because of the caring.
A few weeks ago, at our annual gala dinner, ICRF recognized AEPi for its hard work and fundraising support. In front of hundreds of people in Chicago, many of them AEPi alumni (including our ICRF board chair), we paid tribute to AEPi. As AEPi’s CEO, Rob Derdiger, came to the stage, I took advantage of the moment to comment: “AEPi develops future leaders in the Jewish communities, and this is both admirable and necessary. As the years pass, I hope these young men will realize the significant impact they have made in the battle against cancer.”
And while we recognized AEPi for its financial support, I think we all really wanted to thank AEPi for its work in instilling Jewish values in its members, keeping them focused on helping their communities and others. This is a formidable task that is renewed with each incoming freshman class. It’s that commitment to the future of Jewish communities that distinguishes AEPi. Looking back to my summer experience at the AEPi convention, I can’t help but smile. I can’t help but feel optimistic, despite what’s happening globally. AEPi says they are developing the future leaders of the Jewish community. If this is the Jewish leadership we have, then I have more hope. We are in good hands. We are going to be safe. There’s a brighter light for the world.