The Stuart J. Drell Scholarship Fund – Continuing a Legacy
Drell and her daughters Elana, Jordana and Marissa established a fund to honor their beloved late husband and father Stuart J. Drell. The fund was established in 2001 at Congregation B’nai Israel in Scotch Plains, New Jersey and since its establishment, it has awarded over $20,000 [check amount] in scholarship awards, in memory of Stuart Drell, to young adults who were members of Congregation B’nai Israel. Now that Renée has relocated to Connecticut, the fund has been transferred to the Jewish Foundation of Greater New Haven and will award scholarships, for college, to young adults at her new synagogue, Congregation B’nai Jacob.
“I think the respect and the integrity of my late husband are reflected in the fact that his colleagues and friends donated the money for this scholarship fund,” Renée explains. “We thought that the best way to honor and perpetuate my husband’s memory as well as his ideals and interests was to create the Stuart J. Drell Scholarship Fund.”
“Having it go towards an educational scholarship was a deliberate choice,” daughter Elana Drell Szyfer offers. “Our father was very focused on education and ensuring we had the best education irrespective of financial considerations. He believed education was a direct line to lifelong opportunity.”
“We also ask scholarship applicants to tell us about any adversity they might have overcome,” daughter Jordana Drell explains. “One of the special things about my father was he had two spontaneous retinal detachments in his forties.” Drell was treated at the Eye Research Institute by Dr. H. MacKenzie Freeman and Dr. Charles Schepens in 1983. The Eye Research Institute later became known as the Schepens Eye Research Institute of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Hospital. After his treatment, Drell expressed his gratitude by starting a charitable organization — ChariToys, a toy store stocked with donated toys and merchandise sold at a discount with all proceeds benefiting ERI.
“The Stuart J. Drell Scholarship Fund reflects not only the integrity of my late husband but also the importance of Judaism in our lives,” Renée concludes. “We are honored to continue his legacy this way.”
Scholarship applications will be available through Congregation B’nai Jacob. Awards are needs based. For more information about the Stuart J. Drell Scholarship Fund please contact Congregation B’nai Jacob, Woodbridge. To find out how you can create your family scholarship fund, contact Lisa Stanger, Esq., Executive Director, Jewish Foundation of Greater New Haven, 203-387-2424, ext. 382, [email protected], www.newhavenjewishfoundation.org, or Create a Jewish Legacy.