Two million thanks
Weizmann receives large donations
by Marcia Kay
Assistant Editor
Two Washingtonians who recently have made million-dollar contributions to the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, were named members of Weizmann's President's Circle last week.
The President's Circle was established in January and recognizes individuals who have contributed $1 million or more to the institute.
Anne Reich, whose family was actively involved in the formation and rededication of the District of Columbia Jewish Community Center (DCJCC), established the Steven M. Reich Postdoctoral Fellowship in Cancer Research at the Weizmann Institute. Steven Reich died of lung cancer in December 1996.
Anne Reich was one of the first donors to the DCJCC's rebuilding campaign.
Martha Sagon, who in 1990 endowed a Career Development Chair to provide support for young scientists with outstanding potential, established the Martha S. Sagon Research Program in Children's Diseases. The endowment will support research in the prevention and treatment of diseases afflicting children. Currently, Weizmann is conducting research in Downs Syndrome, juvenile diabetes, pediatric cancer, growth retardation, Jewish genetic diseases and cystic fibrosis.
Reich's gift is her third to Weizmann. The money will support a scientist working on cancer research during a crucial period in his or her career.
Reich said she chose to donate her money to Weizmann, as opposed to the many other research institutes and hospitals in the world because, she said, ``the research they do is remarkable. There are so many firsts and I am proud that it is an Israeli institution.''
Reich already had a keen interest in Weizmann when, in 1986, she took three of her grandchildren to Israel where they had the opportunity to visit the Weizmann Institute and observe, to some extent, the center's research projects.
``We were so impressed,'' she said. At the time, one of her grandsons, Barton Rubenstein, was in search of a school in which to continue his graduate work. He already had a bachelor of science degree in physics from Haverford College and chose to study at Weizmann, where he received his master's degree. He continued his studies at Weizmann and in 1994 received his Ph.D. in neurobiology/brain research.
Sagon has been a member of the American Friends of Weizmann Institute's board for many years. She also has served on the national board of directors of the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science.
As a child growing up in Manhattan, Sagon said she met Chaim Weizmann, a renowned chemist as well as a pre-state Zionist leader and Israel's first president, on several occasions.
She considers the Weizmann Institute ``one of the finest research institutes in the world'' and noted that once research is done at Weizmann, ``the benefits of that research are not restricted to the institute. Children all over the world'' benefit from what is done at Weizmann.
Sagon said she has also contributed money to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem for use in the area of lung diseases in babies.
More than 2,400 scientists work at the Weizmann Institute and are currently conducting 850 projects across the spectrum of science, ranging from basic research in the neurosciences, cancer and children's diseases to environmental research, chemistry, physics and computer science.