Noted philanthropist and long-time JPEF supporter Warren Hellman passes away

San Francisco philanthropist, financier, and supporter of JPEF, Warren Hellman, died Sunday, December 18, 2011 at age 77 of Leukemia. While most know him for his incredible business skills, generosity of spirit, and annual “Hardly Strictly Bluegrass” music festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, the Board and staff of JPEF will also remember Warren for his generous support of JPEF over the past five years with his wife Chris through the Hellman Family Foundation.

Their philanthropy enabled JPEF to conduct scores of Educator Institutes in the Bay Area and across the globe, impacting thousands of educators and hundreds of thousands of students through the history and life lessons of the Jewish partisans. They also helped build our E-Learning Platform, providing educators with easily accessible training on the use of our cutting-edge educational content. The family was instrumental in the support of JPEF’s international photography exhibit, Pictures of Resistance: The Wartime Photographs of Jewish Partisan Faye Schulman, which has toured the world thanks to the Hellmans, and is coming to Temple Emanu-El in San Francisco this summer. We will dedicate the San Francisco showing to his memory.

Warren Hellman was a great man, whose impact was felt everywhere. He was beloved by many, and we hope his example for using his significant resources and influence for making the world a much better place with such unique passion and enthusiasm will be emulated by others for many generations to come.

Public services will be held Wednesday, December 21, at 1pm at Temple Emanu-El in San Francisco.