12 Facts About Sylvia Hassenfeld

Sylvia K Hassenfeld was an American communal leader, philanthropist, human rights advocate, and one of the first women to head a major international Jewish aid organization.

In 1940, Sylvia married Merrill L Hassenfeld, whose father, Henry, and his uncles Hillel and Herman, had founded Hasbro toys in 1923, and moved to Providence, Rhode Island.

Sylvia Hassenfeld earned her bachelor's degree from Cedar Crest College in 1944.

Sylvia Hassenfeld served as a director of the board of trustees of Hasbro and was involved in the early test-marketing of many Hasbro products while her children were growing up but her main interest was philanthropy.

Sylvia Hassenfeld was involved in numerous Jewish philanthropic organizations, including as the national chairwoman of the women's division of the United Jewish Appeal, and the vice chairwoman of the Jerusalem Foundation, and was on the executive boards of trustees of the United Israel Appeal, the Jewish Agency for Israel, Brandeis University, and the Israel Museum.

Sylvia Hassenfeld was the president of the Hassenfeld Foundation, which supports Jewish causes, hospitals and medical centers, and academic and educational institutions around the globe.

Mrs Sylvia Hassenfeld was the first female president of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, from 1988 to 1992.

Sylvia Hassenfeld oversaw JDC operations in the Middle East and Africa, most dramatically the 1991 Operation Solomon airlift rescue of over 14,000 Ethiopian Jews, bringing them to settle in Israel.

Sylvia Hassenfeld received numerous awards and honors in recognition of more than fifty years of national and international philanthropic and humanitarian leadership.

The Sylvia Hassenfeld family was very closely connected with Brandeis University from its earliest days, including her father-in-law, husband, and her children.

Sylvia Hassenfeld was made an Honorary Citizen of Jerusalem, a presidential appointee to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, was awarded the 1994 Emma Lazarus Statue of Liberty Award by the American Jewish Historical Society, and was honored by the National Conference of Christians and Jews.

Sylvia K Hassenfeld died on Saturday, August 15,2014, at her home in Manhattan.