(JTA) — Harold Grinspoon, a prominent Jewish U.S. philanthropist, is stepping down as president of his foundation.
The Harold Grinspoon Foundation announced Monday that Grinspoon was stepping down as president of the organization and would be replaced by his daughter-in-law, Winifred Sandler Grinspoon. Sandler Grinspoon, 51, is an attorney and has been a trustee of the foundation since its inception in 1993, according to a statement released by the foundation. She also serves on the executive committee of the Boston Jewish Community Women’s Fund and on the boards of the Cornell Hillel and the Jewish Funders Network.
The Grinspoon Foundation focuses on Jewish education and continuity, as well as programs related to Western Massachusetts, where the foundation is headquartered.
The foundation is best known for its PJ Library initiative, in which it partners with local Jewish federations and organizations to send free Jewish books to families with young Jewish children. Started in 2005, the program has now expanded to communities throughout North America and Mexico, and to Israel under the Hebrew name Sifriyat Pijama.
Harold Grinspoon, 85, made his fortune as a developer and owner of middle-income apartments, first in Western Massachusetts and then nationally. According to a report by the Boston Globe, he began focusing on philanthropy after surviving a brush with cancer in the late 1980s. He and his wife, Diane Troderman, have given away well over $100 million and have willed their estate to the Grinspoon Foundation.
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