HYLA AND BARRY VINE
TOWERS RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION FUND IN HONOR OF HYLA AND BARRY VINE
“It is important to understand Barry and Hyla Vine’s generosity knows no boundaries…they continue to care and do everything they can to enrich the lives of our elderly. They’re always there for us!” says Vivian Kantrow, the Towers Development director. “The Vine Gift Shop, a Towers mainstay, provides a volunteer job for 40 seniors while raising vital funds for programs and activities.”
Barry Vine recounts, “About 20 years ago, I began bringing a few things to the gift shop ladies to sell. I started by donating some costume jewelry from my business, and then added some gift items and it just grew from there. There’s this personal connection which continues until this day.”
“When I go to the Towers, it’s like going home,” he offers. The structure represents “an extension” of his boyhood days spent on Legion Avenue. “If you follow Legion up to Oak Street, you basically come to the Towers. That’s where my father’s store was located, where I first became involved in the JCC, and where I started my business. Today, when I see the functionality of the people living there and their feeling of community, it duplicates the special neighborhood atmosphere that I grew up in.”
“Barry and Hyla have supported the gift shop from the very beginning and have been helpful in so many ways,” says Ellen Duboff, the Treasurer of the Towers Residents Association. “We wanted to make sure they receive the recognition they truly deserve.” Isidor (Izzy) Juda, the current president of the Residents Association, cites “two reasons” for establishing this fund. “First of all, we did this to honor the Vines for all the good they do for us. Secondly, we did it to help perpetuate the Towers. We hope that more people will continue to donate to this fund so it will grow.”
Barry Vine agrees. “The Towers has real needs. It’s important to recognize the value and significance of this place, for others to participate and lend support. Somebody’s got to do it! For the people who live there…for future residents, their families, and our entire community.”
To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the Towers has embarked on an endowment campaign. To date they have 14 new endowment funds.