Q&A about Cemetery Preservation

Spotlight on Innovative Programs at Work

Many of Cleveland’s older Jewish cemeteries are located in areas where the Jewish community no longer lives and synagogues no longer exist. Without an organized effort, these cemeteries have fallen into disrepair. Many have been plagued with overgrown trees and grass, broken or missing fences, and overturned headstones. Historically, congregations and benevolent associations have had primary responsibility for the upkeep of their cemeteries; today, not all have the resources needed to carry out their long term responsibility.

That’s why the Jewish Federation of Cleveland stepped in to help and created the Commission on Cemetery Preservation (COCP). In 2015, we launched the Cemetery Preservation Campaign, an innovative effort to increase the Federation’s existing endowment for the COCP.

WHAT IS THE COMMISSION ON CEMETERY PRESERVATION (COCP)?

The COCP is a private foundation of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland with a mission to ensure the dignified maintenance, sustainability, and perpetuity of Cleveland’s Jewish cemeteries under the Federation’s supervision.

As of this year, the COCP has become responsible for the upkeep of approximately 15,000 graves with oversight of 7 Jewish cemeteries, including: Baxter Cemetery, Chesed Shel Emeth, Fir Street Cemetery, Harvard Cemetery, Lansing Cemetery, Workmen’s Circle section of Lincoln Cemetery, Ridge Road 1 and 2.

HOW ARE JEWISH CEMETERIES IMPROVED?

The improvement process has begun with tree removal, stone resetting, and landscaping thanks to the hire of a full-time Cemetery Manager who works with an oversight committee to design and implement appropriate maintenance plans that ensure ongoing care of the cemeteries under the COCP’s jurisdiction. Funds raised by the Cemetery Preservation Campaign are enabling the care of these cemeteries in perpetuity and allowing for the addition of other cemeteries as needed.

“It’s a community’s role to ensure that all cemeteries remain dignified, and that individual people are remembered,” said Harley I. Gross and Reneé Chelm, Co-Chairs of the Cemetery Preservation Campaign.

WHAT ARE THE ADDITIONAL BENEFITS?

Hundreds of community volunteers participate in multi-generational hands-on clean-up events each year. Parents and grandparents use this as an opportunity to teach the next generation about Jewish values. Kids like Maddie, whose grandfather brought her and her sister, said, “I like to help because it’s a good feeling to do a mitzvah (good deed).”

Everyone in the community can participate through a contribution to the Cemetery Preservation Campaign. To date, 450 community members have chosen to be part of this communal endowment fund by generously donating $3.1 million. Each gift is valuable to the future of our community and our cemeteries.

Through the preservation of our cemeteries, we are also helping maintain positive community relations. In a TV interview, a neighbor near Lansing Cemetery said that before the grass was higher than the gate but, “now they are doing a great job.” While another neighbor said, “We appreciate that.”

Endowment Fund Fast Facts

• We were the first Federation in the country to create an Endowment Fund. Today, we have one of the leading programs in North America.
• Originally created as a safety net, Endowment Fund resources are used for the community’s benefit. For example, we support innovation, developing new ideas, and ground-breaking programming.
• Endowment Fund gifts represent a commitment to the health and welfare of our Jewish community and provide security for future generations.
• In times of crisis, resources are used to make emergency grants to assist victims of natural disasters and terror attacks, and for humanitarian aid in the United States, Israel, and around the world.

Meet Janet Shapiro

For more information, contact Janet Shapiro at 216-593-2875 or jshapiro@jcfcleve.org.

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Meet Jennifer Schwarz

For more information, contact Jennifer Schwarz at 216-593-2816 or jschwarz@jcfcleve.org.

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