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For Lydia Shorenstein, helping those in need is a way to honor the lessons of the past. Though she originally came to JFCS because of our Holocaust education programs, she has provided invaluable leadership to ensure those in greatest need receive expert care and compassionate support.
Lydia’s father, Simon Preisler, was an Auschwitz survivor who resettled with his wife, Etelka, in Germany after the war. Undeterred by the atrocities in his past, Simon became a well-known philanthropist and a leader of the local Jewish community in Frankfurt. He instilled in Lydia the importance of giving back.
Lydia Shorenstein
Guided by her parents’ extraordinary example, Lydia has been a respected leader of the civic and arts communities for decades, serving on the boards of numerous nonprofit organizations. Thoughtful and compassionate, Lydia is inspired to become involved with an organization when she personally connects to a cause.
She became involved with JFCS decades ago when a friend introduced her to the Holocaust Center. She saw no better way to carry on her father’s legacy than by working to prevent genocide. With her late husband Doug, Lydia founded the Preisler Shorenstein Institute to provide Holocaust education to young people and created an endowment fund to support this work in perpetuity.
Lydia, who has served on the JFCS Board of Directors since 2018, is a dear friend and invaluable leader of the organization. She is committed to the agency’s broad scope of programming to address critical needs throughout the community. Among the highlights of her service to date is her incredible leadership of JFCS’ emergency response during the COVID-19 pandemic. Well aware that the world can change in the blink of an eye, Lydia gave generously to help our community’s vulnerable seniors, medically frail and disabled adults, and families with children.
“Thinking about the vast number of people in our community who needed help and couldn’t get it on their own, I was propelled to act,” recalls Lydia.
A motivational role model, she made phone calls to donors to encourage them to give to this vital cause, expressing how each individual act of kindness can add up to a world of difference for our community.
“In times of crisis, it’s important that we all come together to support those that need the most help,” says Lydia.
Lydia honors her father’s legacy every day by making our community a better, stronger place, and by showing that real leaders step up to help when needed most. Her passion, dedication, and strategic vision are leaving an indelible mark on JFCS and our entire community.