Richard Barnett’s 98-year-old mother works in Philadelphia as a rabbi’s administrative assistant, a position she has held for 56 years at the temple where Barnett grew up and where she is a leading donor. He credits her giving nature and humility as his inspiration for becoming a donor with the Life & Legacy Foundation.
“She’s given her whole life to the Jewish community in Philadelphia, and I wanted to [give an endowment] to follow her legacy, which she’s given her life to,” Barnett said in an interview with the Jewish Observer Nashville.
Barnett, 68, of Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, pledged 100 percent of his assets — including the proceeds from the sale of his house and his retirement savings — to sustaining Jewish Nashville via the Foundation.
He worked as a risk management analyst in Atlanta for 30 years before retiring in 2010 and moving to Tennessee in 2013. Barnett is a member of Congregation Micah and an associate member of West End Synagogue.
Barnett signed a letter of intent with L&L in 2018, according to Norma Shirk, the L&L community coordinator. In 2021, he added gifts for more organizations.
After Barnett passes away, his assets will go to the Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville before being distributed relatively evenly between the JFed of Greater Nashville, Congregation Micah, West End Synagogue, Congregation Sherith Israel, The Temple, Chabad of Nashville, the Gordon Jewish Community Center, Jewish Family Service, National Council of Jewish Women Nashville, Akiva School, BBYO Nashville, Vanderbilt Hillel and the Nashville chapter of Hadassah, where Barnett is a board member and soon-to-be associate chair to focus on expanding male membership and activities.
Despite never having lived in Nashville — he lives 20 miles outside of the city — Barnett said he feels a strong connection to its “tight-knit Jewish community.”
“I don’t have any family or relatives here, so although I don’t participate in a lot of activities — I don’t go to services — but I feel like if I do need something, I can call the rabbi,” Barnett said. “Even if they don’t know me, they would be just as helpful. It gives me a feeling of security and being part of the community is a great feeling.”
He said he pledged a slightly larger gift to the Micah Children’s Academy due to his love for children. The Academy is a learning center for kids aged six weeks through pre-school housed in the education wing of Congregation Micah. Its curriculum is based on Jewish values and a project-based, hands-on approach.
“I was never married. I never had children, but children give me joy,” Barnett said. “So, I designated a bigger share to the Micah Children’s Academy. I think it’s important to get children involved and learning.”
Barnett said giving back to the community is inherent to Judaism: “We’re directed by the Torah to help others.”
He said his father embraced the spirit of generosity through the corner drugstore he owned in Philadelphia.
“Let’s say your child was sick and you didn’t have any money, he would give [the medicine] to you and he usually didn’t even write it down,” Barnett said of his father. “Things were a lot different back then. Our family has always been very giving.”
Barnett added that his mother was a leading donor at her synagogue for decades, and often avoided the spotlight. Although he joked that his mom might not approve of him “being in the limelight” by being featured in the Jewish Observer Nashville, Barnett said his mom would be proud of him for registering to be an L&L donor.
Norma Shirk, L&L community coordinator, said she called Barnett to thank him for his gifts to Nashville’s Jewish community. During their conversation, she said she realized the two shared a lot in common: both Shirk and Barnett are originally from eastern Pennsylvania and have long worked in the insurance industry.
“Rich is one of a number of Life & Legacy donors who did not grow up in Nashville,” Shirk wrote in an emailed statement to the Jewish Observer Nashville. “But like many other transplants, he’s committed to supporting the local community. His generosity is greatly appreciated.”
This generosity is something that Barnett grew up observing, and he continues to carry the torch of his parents’ giving today.
“It’s a great feeling knowing that I can help others,” Barnett said. “I think everyone, when they die, would like to have some legacy to be remembered in some way. We need to help; if it’s not money, it’s with our time.”
Sign up to be a legacy donor at https://www.jewishnashville.org/life-and-legacy. For more info, contact Norma Shirk at 615-354-1678 or norma@jewishnashville.org.
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