…that Jews be able to leave the FSU and move to Israel.

Frances's deep commitment began in college, where her Jewish roommates impacted her life in a significant way. They were loyal, loving, and treated her like a sister. They also told her about the plight of countless Jews, both young and elderly, who suffered with little or no safety net in countries where they were hated, but not allowed to leave.

After college, Frances went to Israel with one of her friends and began learning about what it meant for Jews to be able to "return" to a homeland they had never seen except in their dreams and prayers. While in Israel, Frances seized an opportunity to travel to Moscow. She was determined, with youthful exuberance, to lobby for the easing of travel restrictions for Soviet Jews, allowing them to move to Israel if they chose to do so.

Unfortunately, Frances's family didn’t understand the importance of her passion for the Jewish people, and were angry about her trip to Moscow. Those were turbulent times, and "good Americans" just didn't go to Russia. The family essentially abandoned Frances, doubting her patriotism. The people of Israel had suddenly become her only family.

Frances now lives in Illinois, where the family farm has been left to her, since she is the last member of her grandfather's line. Frances leases the land to a neighboring farmer, and hundreds of acres of this prime farmland are producing corn and providing for our nation's need for food and energy.

Her commitment to Israel is as strong as it ever has been, and during a recent visit with The Fellowship’s Yael Eckstein, Frances said, "For Israel! Everything for Israel! This is your inheritance." Frances is supporting The Fellowship with her current gifts, and has arranged to have the farm provide financially for the Jewish people well into the future. As Yael said to Frances, "Your gift could literally change the lives of an entire Jewish village."

If you would like to join Frances and establish a gift that goes beyond your lifetime, The Fellowship's estate planning staff can help. This gift will provide generously for your family now, create a legacy that will bless Israel, and share your values with those who are left behind. This can be a true legacy of your faithfulness to your family and to the Jewish people.

Please contact our Estate Gift Department, without obligation, for more information.

…were of her father leaving coins that he would place in a blue bag at the door. Most often, this would just be a penny, but he'd say, "This is for the Jewish people. God wants us to love them and support them."

As a child, the Germans forced Irina to work in a labor camp. She soon proved herself to be a leader and was put in charge of many of the girls. She was once considered "insubordinate" to a German general when she insisted he get medical help for one of her girls who was very ill. He ordered her in front of a firing squad but while they were waiting for the squad to assemble, a crowd gathered and she was able to slip away.

Irina took her father's advice to heart, befriending Jewish children. Once a Nazi, who had become her new school master, ordered her to give up her special Jewish girlfriend Lolli. She responded, "My Daddy said, 'When you are a friend, you are a friend for life.' I will not give up my friend." She received ridicule and persecution for her stand.

When World War II finally came to an end, Irina came to the United States and continued her support of the Jewish people. As the years went by, she eventually saw Rabbi Eckstein on television and was deeply moved by the plight of suffering Russian Jews. She sacrificially supported The Fellowship monthly and even created a Legacy gift through a charitable gift annuity. Her final tribute to the Jewish people was leaving her home to IFCJ through her will.

Irina passed away on December 16, 2008. Through her bequest and the remainder of her charitable gift annuity, Irina was able to continue to bless the Jewish people long after she went to be with her heavenly Father. Learn more about supporting God’s chosen people while receiving a lifetime income through a charitable gift annuity

…of those people I wept with him," she says. But Theresa, who has faithfully supported The Fellowship now for many years, has done something simple—yet extraordinary— to demonstrate her compassion for God's Chosen people. She has named The Fellowship as a beneficiary of her last will and testament. Moreover, she has also secured a life insurance policy to create an additional future gift. "It makes my heart happy," Theresa says, "…to share what I have." By doing so, her gifts to The Fellowship will go on for generations to come. Theresa would surely agree with the writer Washington Irving, who many years ago penned these words: "There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief…and unspeakable love." The Word of God tells us that the Holy One of Israel sees the tears of His people. It is in troubled times like these that He raises up ordinary individuals like Theresa—and like you—to deliver His message of hope and healing … a message, delivered through tears, that will resonate through the ages.

But God has placed in my heart a desire to support Jewish people." Leann has been giving generously to On Wings of Eagles for almost a decade, helping to fund aliyah (immigration to Israel) of numerous Jews from the former Soviet Union. "Although I'm not wealthy, I've worked too hard to see everything I've saved go for naught," Leann says. So several years ago, Leann prepared a last will and testament to ensure that she—not the government—would determine what happens to her assets after her lifetime.

In her will, she made provisions for her family, and for The Fellowship. "I am always—always—trying to think of ways I can help Israel. I think about it almost every day. I can’t sit by and do nothing while the world turns its back on Israel. I want the Jewish people to know that I will stand for Israel and do whatever I can. I'm adamant about that." With her faithful support and the legacy she has created through her estate plan, Leann has discovered a way to bless the Jewish people—not just today, but for generations to come. Learn more about creating a legacy gift through your will or trust

When members of the Grossman family sailed from Europe shortly after World War I, they were escaping the carnage of the Bolshevik Revolution and the growing persecution of Jews which would culminate with Hitler's Final Solution. Other Jews from the Grossmans' home town in Russia were among those murdered at Auschwitz.

At the immigration station on Ellis Island, the officer processing Baruch Grossman's paperwork believed—perhaps justifiably so—that the name "Baruch" would be a liability for a newcomer seeking to find work in early twentieth century America. And so the immigrant became "Ben" Grossman. It was in inauspicious beginning to his American dream … one that would become a great success story.

Ben Grossman married Doris and settled in Birmingham, Alabama, later relocating to California. He was a hardworking and skilled printer who in his later years established a trust to benefit the Jewish people, appointing his niece, Naomi Storey, as the trustee.

When Ben passed away in 2003, Naomi helped fulfill Ben's wishes by designating a portion of his trust to The Fellowship's Wings of Eagles program. Just as Ben had left a land of hardship for a land of promise as a young boy, he made a journey of hope possible for others through his estate plan.

Ben Grossman made good on his opportunity and the new name given to him at Ellis Island. But the name he was given at birth, Baruch, is the one that best describes the difference he made. Baruch is a Hebrew name which means "The Blessed." In God's Word, it was a little known but influential man named Baruch who served as scribe to the prophet Jeremiah. It may well have been the Baruch of the Bible who recorded these words, which aptly describe the eternal legacy of Baruch Grossman: "For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers" (Jeremiah 16:15.)