Meet our Anshei Greensboro VIP for this week - Irene Cohen! She has been an incredible asset to our community over the years, and we couldn’t love her more if we tried! ❤️
Why Federation?
"Federation does so much to meet the needs of Jewish people around the world and our local Jewish and non-Jewish needs here in Greensboro. Part of the money Federation raises goes to The Joint Distribution Committee and I have seen myself how the money JDC raises helps older Jewish people survive around the world. I have visited some of these people - it is very moving!"
What leadership roles have you had during your time involved with Federation?
"I was co-chair and chair of our annual campaign. This was very meaningful - it is an incredible feeling when you raise money to help others! I was also very involved in helping Federation resettle Jewish immigrants from the Soviet Union. We found, cleaned up and furnished apartments, helped them learn English, find jobs and settle into schools."
Tell us about Beltsy.
"I worked closely with many others to find a sister city for Greensboro which became Beltsy, Moldova. We did many projects to revive the community there – we cleaned up The Jewish cemetery, helped set up The Chesed, printed a book “One People One Heart” and sold the book to raise money for a library in The Chesed. We also started a family day camp there for two weeks every summer thanks to many involved from our community!"
What has been your favorite Federation mission thus far?
"I have been on many missions – they were all incredible. If I had to pick, I’d say Israel, Ukraine, and Moldova."
What would you tell someone who was considering a move to Greensboro?
"Greensboro is a great city with a wonderful Jewish community. We have an amazing Federation, Jewish Foundation, JFS, and B’nai Shalom Day School (which I also helped start!) Greensboro was a wonderful city to bring up our sons Larry and Scott, who both grew up feeling very secure in their Judaism. As you can tell: we love Greensboro and recommend it as a wonderful place to live and bring up a family."