Passion for the Future of the Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee

By Ryan G. Van Cleave | Photo by Nancy Guth

Like so many locals, Larry Greenspon is a former Midwesterner—he lived and worked for some four decades on Chicago’s south side. By 1992, he started wintering in Longboat Key largely because his job allowed him the freedom to work away from home. What better place to be during the slush and snow of Chicago’s winters than Florida, right?

These days, Larry’s officially a local, and he’s come to support his new community in impressive, generous ways. He’s given to local theaters, food banks, the Boys and Girls Clubs, plus plenty of other worthy groups and organizations. But no matter how you look at it, it seems like destiny that The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee (JFED) and Larry would become great partners. “Not only does the country of Israel and I share the same birth year,” Larry says, “but we share the exact same birthdate too! That’s telling me something.”

In recent years, Larry’s found more and more ways to support the events and programming that JFED does. A key moment that motivated his most recent gift to them happened when he was the lead sponsor for their 70th birthday celebration for Israel. “I never expected such a turnout—some 3,000 people showed up and filled the federation grounds.” It’s those grounds that Larry is most interested in. Sure, they’re doing good work. But Larry had to wonder: How much more good work could JFED do with better, more up-to-date facilities?

Larry felt that the 32-acre campus was a diamond in the rough that simply needed some polish. And he was the one to provide it via a cornerstone lead gift. The refurbished campus will now be called The Larry Greenspon Family Campus for Jewish Life that includes The Larry and Mary Greenspon Sports Complex. Larry simply refers to what’s planned for the campus as a “refurbishing” and a “redevelopment.” But JFED considers it to be far more than that.

Mike Ritter, President of JFED’s Board, explains what this gift means to JFED. “Larry is a true visionary and his support has already been transformative,” he says. “Larry’s generosity will allow us to serve the changing needs of our Jewish community for many years to come. His philanthropy will also serve as a leadership example for others to participate in our vision for the new campus.”

More specifically, though, Ritter believes that Larry’s gift will have a significant impact on both the Jewish community and the community as a whole. “Our plan is to utilize our entire 32-acre campus to appeal to families with children, pre-teens and teens, attract younger Jews in their 30s-50s to more actively participate in Jewish communal life, engage baby boomers and older generations in cultural and educational programming and work closely with Jewish institutions as well as local faith, need-based, arts and minority-based organizations.”

Larry is especially interested in that last point. The idea that people of all faiths and backgrounds are served by JFEDs campus pleases him greatly. It’s one of the reasons he’s been a longtime fan and supporter of Israel Tennis Centers (ITC), a foundation that utilizes tennis as a vehicle to enrich the lives of children in Israel. Their 14 tennis centers throughout Israel work with about 20,000 kids a year, and more than half a million since it began. “Arabs, Jews, Christians, Muslims, Bedouins, they’re all welcome and they all participate,” Larry notes. “It’s worked out amazingly well. And while people might find it a little strange, ITC recently rolled out a women’s empowerment program.”

Along with JFED, ITC is a nonprofit that “hits home for me,” Larry says. “Tennis is a big part of my life. It’s done a lot of good things for me. I’ve always thought it could be a positive thing in the lives of others, too.”

For JFED, Larry’s commitment to improve the campus is a positive thing in the lives of others. And Ritter notes the timing of this support couldn’t be better. “We are seeing changing and increasing needs and interests among Jewish people living in Sarasota-Manatee. There are many new people moving here who are looking for Jewish engagement as well as current residents who want increased involvement. We will now have the ability to have a true Campus for Jewish life in Sarasota-Manatee.” Larry knows that having a robust JFED with adequate facilities helps keep Jewish people more involved in their faith. “The Fed sort of becomes the center of Jewish life in many cities,” he says. “That’s what Jewish life revolves around. You have synagogue and you have the Fed.”

Thanks to Larry, JFED will be able to significantly increase their programming and improve the reach of their efforts.

“As you get older,” Larry admits, “you start to realize that you can’t take it with you. I’ve made a few dollars in my day, and I’m proud to be able to support worthy causes. And for me and my family, this is a very nice legacy. For the Federation, though, this is a necessity. They deserve first-rate facilities. They deserve so much more. I’m very excited about their future.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION about The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee,
please visit www.jfedsrq.org or call 941.371.4546.