The Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center recently hosted its 25th KidShare fundraiser at The Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee.
The event raised more than $650,000, a record setting total that included 10 commitments of $25,000 each. The rest was raised through sponsorships, ticket sales, silent and live auctions, a raffle and individual donations.
Held annually for the past 25 years (including two virtual events during the COVID-19 pandemic), KidShare has raised more than $6 million to support the JCC’s mission of providing access to high-quality wellness, education, camp and community service programs for children of all ages, abilities, faiths and economic backgrounds.
Proceeds from the event specifically support the following JCC programs: Gan Ami Early Childhood Education, Kids Center After School Care, Albert & Ann Deshur JCC Rainbow Day Camp, Steve & Shari Sadek Family Camp Interlaken, JCC Disability Inclusion, and JCC Scholarships.
The 2025 gala featured small plates from more than 30 local restaurants, caterers and confectioneries, including Bartolotta’s Lake Park Bistro, DanDan, Lupi & Iris, Mason Street Grill, Carnevor, Milwaukee ChopHouse, Blue Bat Kitchen, Noble Catering & Events, Purple Door Ice Cream and Ultimate Confections.
During the event, the JCC acknowledged all 67 individuals who have served as KidShare co-chairs over the years, recognizing them as honorary co-chairs. Honors were also given to JCC special events director Micki Seinfeld for her 25 years of community impact and 178 local restaurants for their participation in KidShare over the past quarter century.
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- Cecelia Gore of the Brewers Community Foundation and Randy Bryant of Ten Chimneys. Photo credit: Linsey Kimmel
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- Sheryl Rubin of the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center and Dr. Jonathan Rubin of the Medical College of Wisconsin. Photo credit: Linsey Kimmel
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- Gail Komisar, Randi Schachter and Sarah Komisar, all of BILTRITE Furniture-Leather-Mattresses, with Adam Pawlak of Egg & Flour Pasta Bar. Photo credit: Linsey Kimmel
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- Mark Shapiro of the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center, Rick Hurd of PyraMax Bank and Randy Esenberg of CCS Facility Services. Photo credit: Linsey Kimmel
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- Brenda Long, civic volunteer, Arvind Gopalratnam of the Milwaukee Bucks Foundation and Bryan Sadoff of Wealth Enhancement Group. Photo credit: Linsey Kimmel
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- Dr. David Margolis of Children’s Wisconsin, Jody Margolis, civic volunteer, Micki Seinfeld of the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center, Julie Rosenfeld, civic volunteer, and Dan Rosenfeld of Mid-America Real Estate. Photo credit: Linsey Kimmel
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- Senator Jodi Habush Sinykin of Wisconsin Senate District 8 and Dan Sinykin of Monterey Mills. Photo credit: Linsey Kimmel
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- Daiana Szef of J.P. Morgan Private Bank and restaurateur John Wise of Marcus Hotels & Resorts. Photo credit: Linsey Kimmel
