Dec 22, 2010

Pacesetter Event Brings Out the Best in Jewish Philanthropy

More than 450 of Miami’s most committed Jewish philanthropists came out in full force on Thursday, December 16 for the Greater Miami Jewish Federation 2011 Pacesetter Event at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach.

This annual event, which regularly draws large crowds, was one of the largest Pacesetters in the community’s history, thanks to an extraordinary number of new Pacesetters, who contributed $10,000 or more to the 2011 Federation/UJA Campaign. More than $2.8 million was raised at the event, with the average donor increasing their commitment nearly six percent over last year.

The 2011 Pacesetter Event was co-chaired by Lily and David Serviansky and Ray Ellen and Allan Yarkin. The evening featured remarks from a number of community leaders, including Federation Board Chair Barbara Black Goldfarb and Federation General Campaign Chair Brian L. Bilzin. Both spoke movingly about the important work accomplished by the Annual Campaign – in Miami and around the world – and how Federation’s overseas partner agencies, such as the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), were able to quickly help Israelis affected by the devastating Carmel region fires earlier this month.

The evening also featured a keynote address by Washington Post syndicated columnist and ABC News analyst George F. Will. Peppering his remarks with humor, historical analogies and personal reflections, the media icon offered a stirring defense of the State of Israel’s right to exist and asserted the Jewish people’s historic and cultural claims to the land.

Summing up his remarks to the crowd, Will said: “Israel was not made by flimsy people, it was made by sturdy people, and it continues to be sustained by sturdy people – people like you.”

To view photos from the Pacesetter Event, click here.