Alumna bequeaths Gratz College $1 million, largest gift in school history
Gratz College recently received an endowment gift of $1 million, the largest such gift in the Montgomery County institution's 120-year history, officials said Tuesday.
Gratz College recently received an endowment gift of $1 million, the largest such gift in the Montgomery County institution's 120-year history, officials said Tuesday.
The gift was bequeathed by Berenice Abrams, an alumna from the class of 1936, in memory of her parents, said Joy Goldstein, the college's president.
The gift is restricted for the use of the Benjamin and Dorothy Abrams Scholarship Fund, which will aid teachers working in the field of Jewish education.
Abrams, 96, died in 2014. Her gravestone reads, "A strong and independent woman, generous benefactor of Jewish education."
Her sister Gladys also attended Gratz, which is in the Melrose Park section of Cheltenham.
Abrams earned a college degree from the University of Pennsylvania and attended graduate school there for social work.
Known by her friends as "Bernie," she went on to become a social worker. She never married but inherited what was described as a modest sum. She invested the money, managing her own funds up until the week before her death, Goldstein said.
Abrams said her father encouraged her to attend Gratz, but she was less than eager, so he asked her to at least try it for a few months, Goldstein recalled.
The gift, which Goldstein called "transformational," was announced last month.
"We are so grateful for Berenice Abrams' visionary generosity in establishing this scholarship fund," Goldstein said.
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