Shirley Ogden z”l

The joy of giving emanated from the time of my childhood.I was born to a very ordinary immigrant family of a working father and a stay-at-home mother. At her eulogy, my mother was called "the first social worker" because of what she gave of herself to ease the plight of others. If she knew of recent arrivals to our community who needed help, she rushed to make sure they got a roof, clothing and food. She worked very hard to raise funds for Mount Sinai Hospital, Youth Aliyah and the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric care. She and two friends collected money to purchase mezuzahs for the first floor of the Baycrest Centre when it was first established on Bathurst Street. My father, even though he lost his job during the Depression, gave as much as he could to JNF andUJA Federation. When he passed away still owing a pledge to UJA Federation, I made sure it was honoured.

I am a Life Member of Hadassah-WIZO, Baycrest Centre, Mount Sinai Hospital and the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada, of which I am also a founder. My husband also gives —a legacy from his family — and he donates to many Israeli projects. We have been to Israel many times, sometimes staying as long as two months, and we have a son living there. My children and grandchildren also visit Israel often. We make frequent donations to our favourite charities, as well as to Jewish schools and other causes we deem worthy. On the occasion of an anniversary, we started a fund at the Baycrest Centre.

Though my husband is now confined to a wheelchair, we continue to give and hope to do so for many more years. We have included our favorite charities in our wills and hope that our children and grandchildren will continue to on this path.