The Parkway Jewish Center of Monroeville and the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Pittsburgh are pleased to acknowledge the creation of the Susan R. Klein Fund for Israel Scholarships.

The fund’s creation is thanks to the pre-existing scholarship distributed by Larry Klein, a former member of the Parkway Jewish Center of Monroeville, to honor his late daughter Susan R. Klein. Each year, after an anonymous essay and résumé evaluation, a teen from the congregation was awarded a $1,500 scholarship toward a trip to Israel.

Trip expenses increased over the years, resulting in the request of additional donations from the congregation. The president of the congregation, Ira Mazer, realized other actions needed to be taken.

“Since Larry’s passing, I thought about what I could do to align with Larry’s wishes and perpetuate Susan’s memory. I thought of a couple ideas and hoped the Jewish Federation could help,” Mazer said.

Mazer contacted the Jewish Community Foundation of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh to help aid and continue the scholarship, resulting in the creation of the Susan R. Klein Fund, which will support the Israel Scholarship program of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. This scholarship program makes Israel experiences more affordable for local teens

“We are grateful to Larry Klein, of blessed memory, and to Parkway Jewish Center for supporting the Israel Scholarship Fund,” said Overseas Planning Associate Debbie Swartz. “We look forward to putting the money to good use and helping teens in our community. It’s a privilege to honor the memory of Susan R. Klein and her father, Larry, by continuing their legacy to support our local teens in their Jewish journeys to Israel.”

Combining non–need-based and need-based Israel scholarships with savings and matching dollars from the Passport to Israel program can help pay up to $7,150 per applicant toward a trip to Israel. The deadline to apply for these scholarships is April 7, 2017. For more information about scholarships, visitwww.jfedpgh.org/IsraelScholarships.

For more information about the Susan R. Klein Fund, contact the Jewish Community Foundation at 412-992-5216.