Substantial gift leads to name change for Jewish nonprofit in Jacksonville, adding initials of beloved donors
The family of Jacksonville philanthropist Lawrence "Laurie" Jay Dubow and his late wife, Linda Jo DuBow, made such a "substantial" donation to Jewish Family & Community Services that their parents' initials have been added to the nonprofit's name.
The family and the agency declined to reveal the amount of the donation.
But the intent of the DuBow Family Foundation gift was not only to honor the DuBow patriarch and matriarch but to ensure the organization's future, according to Colleen Rodriguez, CEO of what is now called The LJD Jewish Family & Community Services. She said part of the "transformational" donation will create an endowment, which is a fund set up to provide long-term support for a particular organization or cause.
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"The children, grandchildren and now great-grandchildren of Laurie Jay DuBow and Linda Jo DuBow are honoring them by making a substantial gift," she said. "We couldn’t be prouder to carry the name of two such extraordinary individuals who have meant so much to the agency, to the people we serve and to our community."
Linda DuBow died in 2019.
"Their gift … will help ensure that JFCS can continue to provide the critical services that people rely on for many years to come," Rodriguez said.
Founded in 1917, the agency provides a range of services to people of all faiths, including a food bank, emergency financial assistance, adoption services, counseling and child-abuse prevention. It also provides Jewish life services, such as assisting Holocaust survivors.
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Giving and caring family
The DuBow family are longtime supporters, so Linda DuBow would be "thrilled" with the renaming, Lawrence DuBow said.
"She’d be very excited because Jewish Family & Community Services is an agency that she had a strong feeling for. It’s one that she really respected and wanted to help," he said. "It’s particularly important because of the work they do in the community — not just helping with Jewish families, but all families in need. It’s an integral part of who we are and what we do."
In a video, the 90-year-old DuBow said his family's tradition of giving began with his mother. She would always help anyone coming to their Chicago back door seeking food or money, he said.
"She didn't give a lot because she didn't have a lot," he said.
But watching her charity made an impression on her son.
"I just never forgot it," he said. "It was a good lesson."
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DuBow came from a family of pharmacists — his father, uncles and cousins — and he followed the same career path. He then served in the Korean War, worked as a pharmacist and eventually became "a giant in wholesale pharmaceuticals, distributing medications to drugstores across the country," according to the University of Florida, which he has supported in a multitude of ways.
For the school's College of Pharmacy alone, he established the DuBow Family fellows, a graduate student education fund, and served on the program's development and national boards and as a member of the College of Pharmacy's Advisory Council.
He and his wife were married almost 60 years, he said in the video, and not only had the same initials but the "same personality." He always consulted her on his philanthropic decisions.
"We were best friends," he said. "I respected her opinion. She had good answers, better insight … and feel for people than I did."
DuBow has long been active in the community, not only philanthropically but as a civic leader. He has served on the boards of directors for The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, HabiJax, WJCT, United Way of Northeast Florida and Jacksonville Housing Authority. He was an early partner of the Jacksonville Jaguars and member of the Super Bowl XXXIX host committee.
In 2020 the DuBow family was among a group of philanthropists that collectively donated at least $1 million over three years to a 904WARD, a civic group working to end racism in Jacksonville.
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He collaborates with his entire family on philanthropic activities, which are sometimes made through the DuBow Family Foundation. They are particularly supportive of organizations that serve children, such as Jewish Family & Community Services, which DuBow called "a unique agency,"
"It performs so many services and they take care of people in need and people who require assistance and help, all encompassed into one agency to make sure these they not only survive but thrive," he said.
The latest donation also includes an endowment that "stays there forever," he said. It will gain momentum and interest to support other programs.
"It is important to give while you're still alive," DuBow said. "I've never seen a Brinks truck in a funeral procession."
bcravey@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4109
THE LJD JEWISH FAMILY & COMMUNITY SERVICES
The main office is 8540 Baycenter Road in Jacksonville with hours 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The food pantry is 6261 Dupont Station Court with hours 1 to 3 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday.
To make appointments or get more information, call
(904) 448-1933, email info@jfcsjax.org or go to jfcsjax.org.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jewish nonprofit in Jacksonville honors donors by changing its name
