Congratulations to our 2008 IMPACTING LIVES "Tell Us Your Story" Contest winner, Estelle Berman! See Estelle's story below.

My entire life has been impacted by the Center.  My parents, Joe and Edith Rose, were members before I was born.  The Labor Zionists organizations they belonged to met at the Center.  My Father believed you should support organizations that help you and serve the community. 

I started taking dance lessons at the Center when I was four and swimming lessons at six.  At that time I think a child’s membership was $3.00.  Remember, it was the Depression.

While in grade school my brother Johnny Rose and I attended the Yiddish Folk Schul.  We took the street car after school to get to the Center.  When classes were over we did our home work in the public library on the first floor while waiting for our parents to come from their grocery store.  Sometimes we played ping pong in the game room.  I continued to take swimming lessons and finally passed life saving.  During those grade school years my family was at the Center many Sunday nights for a cafeteria supper. The women had spent all day cooking to raise money for their organization.

During my teen years the boys joined AZA or formed a fraternity.  The girls formed ”sororities”.  (This was before BBG existed.)  All the groups met at the Center on Sunday afternoon.  Wednesday nights there were mixers.  You had an opportunity to meet Jewish teens from ALL the congregations and high schools.  My oldest and deepest friendships were formed in our little sorority, Kappa Tau. 

World War II ended my senior year in high school.  Anita Boresow Loeb, Bertha Boresow Pener and I spent countless hours collecting veteran’s names for a plaque and planning a program honoring them.  Lillian Litman was the youth adviser working with us.

Upon returning from the Korean War my brother attended a Young Adult Council meeting at the Center where he met his future wife, Marian Carroll.

In 1954 my mother-in-law Ida Berman, moved here from Little Rock.  The “Golden Age” Club, co-sponsored by NCJW, met at the Center.  She was able to make new friends in a strange city.

When my children were young the Center was still on Linwood and they went to “Fun time” with Skipper Feingold.

After the Center moved to Holmes my family spent lots of quality time at the pool.  Many evenings we had supper with friends on the patio.  My sons played baseball in a Center league. 

Often when Sol Margolin saw my father he’d say:  “Joe we need money.”  My father pulled money out of his billfold and hand it to Sol on the spot.  Fundraising was a LOT different in those days.  We attended all the Resident Theater productions.

After the Center moved to the Campus my children Manny, Steve and Sandy Berman honed their leadership skills in BBYO.  At the 1971 annual meeting Marvin Greenbaum, Center president, announced Carol Schifman and Steve Berman were recipients of the Devins Youth award.  The award was “given to two teenagers who have given of themselves in service to the Center and to the Jewish Community of Greater Kansas City.”  Today, Manny is a hospital administrator in Portland, Oregon.  Steve is the Director of Jewish Community Programs at the Center.   Sandy is on the Center board and chair of the Book Fair.  She works at Shook, Hardy and Bacon as a medical librarian

My late husband Fred and I served on the BBYO Committee for many years.  Fred was chairman for two years.  Fred was part of the Committee when the late Dave Belzer was hired as BBYO’s first full time director.  My grandsons Jeffrey and Joseph Berman continued the family BBYO tradition.  Joseph along with his cousin Miriam Achtenberg received the Center’s Wasserstrom Youth Leadership Award.

Now I take water aerobics at the Center.  I am a patron of Center Season and  play mah jong at the Heritage Center as well as attending some of their programs.

Because I believe, as my father did, that individuals should support organizations that support them, I am giving to the Capitol Campaign.  - Estelle Berman