JCC Spring Community Report 2024 - Flipbook - Page 8
Donor Spotlight: Larry Backman
Larry Backman remembers
when the LeventhalSidman Jewish
Community Center
was only a pile of
blueprints and
scaffolding back
in the 1970s.
It would take
years before
the swimming
pool, Fitness
Center, and
Early Learning
Center would
be buzzing with
laughter and
excitement, but Larry’s
parents believed in the
vision of the JCC from the very
beginning. They made it their
mission to help the JCC thrive as a hub for learning, celebration,
and Jewish life for people of all ages.
When his parents died in 2021, Larry began to think more
seriously about the multigenerational importance of the
JCC. He fondly recalled how his mother had taken his own
children swimming at the JCC pool. The ease, stability, and
sense of home the JCC offers isn’t something Larry takes for
granted. Larry and his sister, Ellen Kent, decided to continue
“I am lucky to have several
grandchildren and I want
them all to grow up with
a deep understanding of
Jewish culture, even if their
choices and identities are
different from my own.
The JCC gives them access
to knowledge and Jewish
community that they are
unlikely to find elsewhere.”
—Larry Backman
Above: Larry Backman & his wife, Judy;
Right: Our ELC students enjoy reading
in our PJ Library Corner located in the
Leventhal-Sidman Lobby.
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their parents’ legacy by generously supporting JCC Greater
Boston’s Diller Teen Fellowship and PJ Library Programs to
nourish Jewish culture and identity for future generations.
When the JCC embarked on its lobby renovation this past
year, Larry and Ellen eagerly agreed to fund the new
PJ Library Corner, creating a welcoming space for families
entering the new lobby.
“I think it’s necessary to have a communal
space grounded in Jewish identity and culture
outside of a synagogue. The JCC provides
that. In a time of so much polarization, it is
important to not feel judged by what we look
like, how we pray, or what we believe. At the
JCC, you can simply come as you are and be
who you are.”
—Larry Backman
Now, as a grandparent, Larry takes pride in knowing that his
four-year-old grandson is finding his own sense of connection,
community, and joy at the JCC in Columbus, Ohio. The JCC gives
him a daycare experience and cultural identity that will no
doubt shape his development and sense of self for decades
to come.
