Building a foundation for the future




BARBARA HARVIS & DR. ANDREW RENNY

BARBARA HARVIS & DR. ANDREW RENNY

Barbara Harvis and her husband Dr. Andrew Renny have been married for 42 years, have three daughters and are blessed with six grandchildren. Although their daughters all live in other areas now, they are building their own new Jewish roots in their new communities, passing down the customs and values they learned here to their children. All of this started with Harvis and Renny, who have spent significant time laying the groundwork for their children and grandchildren to lead impactful and Jewish lives. As Legacy donors, their gifts will help ensure continuity in shared customs and values.

Renny is a recently retired gastroenterologist who practiced in the community for 36 years and owned Renny Gastroenterology Associates. Harvis is a retired attorney and health care administrator who has served on the boards of Beth Judah, Jewish Family Service, BJE, Federation and Foundation. As dedicated and involved members in the community, the couple is pledging gifts to the following agencies: Shirat Hayam, The Board of Jewish Education, the Sam and Sara Schoffer Holocaust Resource Center, Jewish Family Service, Jewish Federation and Jewish Community Foundation.

Growing up in Ventnor, Harvis was an active member of Beth Judah, where she attended Hebrew school, became a Bat Mitzvah, and was very involved in USY. After a hiatus from Atlantic County, the couple moved back to the area with their daughters in 1985 and immediately joined the vibrant Beth Judah community. Harvis served on the Board of Trustees for over 20 years and along the way they made lifelong friendships and raised their three daughters as part of a warm Beth Judah family.

Similar to her involvement with Shirat Hayam, Harvis served on BJE’s executive board for many years. From tots to seniors, BJE provides educational programs for the entire Jewish community. She shared, “programs like PJ Library, Kulanu for teens, financial support for teen trips to Israel, and adult lectures and book clubs bring people together from all areas and institutions and create community in our area.” BJE’s programs instill Jewish customs, values and wisdom to young and old, affiliated and non-affiliated.

Harvis and Renny received encouragement and support from Beth Judah and BJE, both of which were instrumental in the amazing experiences their daughters had at Camp Ramah and as active members of USY. These experiences helped to shape their daughters into the knowledgeable and socially conscious Jewish adults they are today.

The couple are also deeply connected to Jewish Family Service. She believes that JFS counseling services are critical, but they also provide programs to seniors through Village by the Shore and programs for Holocaust survivors. She explained, “these are programs that truly make a positive difference in people’s lives.” It is apparent that the couple is fortunate to have met and interacted with so many in the survivor community.

The duo is equally passionate about the Holocaust Resource Center. Renny explained, “we want to support the Holocaust Resource Center’s mission of educating future generations by promoting awareness of the Holocaust and combatting anti-Semitism and all forms of hatred.” Renny’s parents were Hungarian Holocaust survivors and the family was able to participate in Holocaust Center sponsored events which connected them to other local survivors, many of whom had their oral histories and experiences documented. The couple was fortunate to go on the Stockton faculty led study tour of Poland and Germany in 2016, which as Renny noted, “was a moving and educational experience that included visits to several concentration camps.”

Finally, Harvis pledged a LIFE & LEGACY gift to Jewish Federation and the Jewish Community Foundation, because of the broad impact it has on the community as a whole and the organizations’ ability to support all of the constituent agencies and bring together the community in ways which include people who are religious and secular.

When Harvis and Renny moved to this area as a young family, they both immediately became involved in Jewish Federation activities, including their Young Leadership program. This was instrumental in their continued involvement in the Jewish community and communal organizations for the past 35 years. Harvis served on Jewish Federation’s board from 2013-2021 and holds a seat on Jewish Community Foundation’s board.

Harvis and Renny are fortunate to participate in the LIFE & LEGACY program because it gives them the opportunity to help to ensure a lasting Jewish community for future generations. They said that they feel so fortunate to have lived and raised their daughters in a community with strong Jewish connections and values, a community which nurtured their spiritual and intellectual growth and instilled in them a sense of tzedakah and tikkun olam.

To learn more about the LIFE & LEGACY program or to make your own gift, please contact Jewish Federation’s Foundation Legacy Coordinator Samantha Hammond at samantha@jewishbytheshore.org or call the Jewish Federation office at (609) 822-4404.

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