Pearl C. Goodman, our mother and a devoted philanthropist, passed away last week at the age of 97. She and our father, Dr. Stanley Goodman, were married for 73 years, and throughout their lives they shared a deep commitment to strengthening the causes and institutions that mattered to them. Philanthropy was more than a responsibility to them — it was a source of meaning, connection and joy, and a value they passed on to their children and grandchildren.

Mom was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., to immigrant parents, but Fort Lauderdale was our parents’ home for 65 years. It was the community they jointly chose when our father began his medical practice, and it was where they raised their three children: the two of us, and our brother Arnold, z”l. Our parents believed that being part of a community carried with it a responsibility to help it grow. Their philosophy was simple: Give locally, give to causes you care about and be involved. They did not see philanthropy simply as writing checks. They gave their time, their attention, their connections and their resources to institutions that mattered to them and to the community they called home.

Courtesy

Pearl C. Goodman

When considering where to settle, our parents would visit the synagogue first — they wanted to be sure they would be comfortable with Jewish life in the community — and their first Jewish philanthropy focused on their synagogue as well. Originally called Temple Emanuel, now Temple Kol Ami Emanuel, it was the synagogue where we celebrated our bat mitzvahs and weddings, and it remained an important part of our family’s life for decades. Our parents were generous not only financially but also with their time and leadership, serving on the temple board over the years. Mom beamed when she talked about the growing number of children in the religious school. She felt deeply that the strength of a Jewish community depended on passing Jewish life and values to the next generation. The Goodman Chapel, dedicated last year in honor of our parents’ lifelong philanthropic contributions, is a lasting reminder of their commitment to Jewish life in Fort Lauderdale. 

Goodman Jewish Family Services of Broward County was, in many ways, their philanthropic baby. They were involved with JFS long before “Goodman” became part of its name. At one point, the organization was struggling financially, and our parents came to its rescue with a substantial gift. But their commitment went far beyond that gift: they followed the organization’s work and took enormous pride in the people it served. They cared about helping families with housing and financial assistance; providing food through The Cupboard, a kosher food pantry; supporting Holocaust survivors and veterans; assisting victims of domestic abuse; and providing mental health and disability services. Whenever Mom spoke with the organization’s leadership, she would thank them for the work they were doing to help people in the community. She wanted to hear about the people being helped. The impact mattered more to her than the recognition.

Our parents also believed in the power of art and its ability to enrich a community. Over more than 30 years, they built a renowned collection of Latin American art, eventually acquiring nearly 90 works. They were drawn to the art because of its beauty, but also because so much of it told stories about history, politics, culture and social change. Living in South Florida, with its deep connections to Latin America, made the collecting particularly meaningful to them.

Building the collection was a shared endeavor. They studied the careers of artists, attended auctions, researched individual works, and carefully considered when and what to acquire. Their collection included important works by artists such as Fernando Botero, Leonora Carrington, Frida Kahlo, Wifredo Lam, José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, Alice Rahon, Rufino Tamayo and Joaquín Torres-García.

But perhaps the most important decision they made about the collection was what to do with it. Rather than keeping it within the family, they donated the entire collection, along with a study center, to the NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale so that the people of South Florida could enjoy these wonderful works of art. They spent decades building something they loved, but they believed its greatest value was in sharing it with the community.

Their philosophy of philanthropic giving — give locally, give to causes you care about and be involved — has been passed from our parents to their children and eight grandchildren, who are now in their 30s and 40s. Their six great-grandchildren are still too young to have had many conversations with Pearl and Stanley about philanthropy, but we have begun family conversations with our children about their own giving and the values behind it. In time, we hope to have those conversations with the next generation as well. We hope that the joy of giving that was so important to Pearl and Stanley will continue to be part of the lives of their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and all the generations that follow.

Laurie Goodman is an institute fellow and the founder of the Housing Finance Policy Center at the Urban Institute. She is a mother of four and a grandmother of four. 

Nanette Goodman recently retired as research director at the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University. She is a mother of two and a grandmother of one.