Jennifer Meeropol is the granddaughter of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg and the daughter of RFC Founder, Robert Meeropol. Jenn became the Executive Director of the RFC on September 1, 2013. Prior posts on this page were written by Robert (unless otherwise noted), and represent his opinions, which are not necessarily shared by the RFC.
In August 2017 an envelope with no return address arrived at the RFC office. Inside were two pieces of blank, lined paper and seven $1 bills. There was no note or identifying information other than a postmark from Greensboro, NC. I recorded the donation as an anonymous contribution and didn’t think much more about it.
“This is my first letter to many of you as the Executive Director of the Rosenberg Fund for Children. I am excited by the opportunity to nurture the organization my father created out of the nightmare he experienced as a child and am honored by the trust he has placed in me to carry forward his legacy.” Ten years ago, those words began the first letter I sent to our community as Executive Director of the RFC and they remain true today.
Guest blog by Cleo Rohn, RFC granting coordinator
Like any good millennial, I spend too much time on the internet. Lately, the internet has been a particularly awful place to be. And yet, this weekend, there I was again, sitting at the table with my coffee and consuming another day of news about the world falling apart all around us. But as I scrolled through videos of despair, death and fascist rhetoric, my eyes landed on a quote that has stuck with me ever since:
“All we can do is everything we can.”
Guest blog by RFC Board member, Christina Platt
For those of you who have been contributing to tax-deferred retirement accounts, I have some good news and some bad news. First the bad news: Taxes cannot remain unpaid forever. According to IRS regulations, if you will be 72 years old by the end of this year, you must take a minimum withdrawal from your retirement accounts - including traditional IRAs, SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, 457(b)s, profit sharing and other defined contribution plans. The formula for calculating the amount required to be withdrawn is complicated and I advise you to discuss this with your financial advisor or with a representative of the custodian of your account. The AARP also has a very useful section of their website devoted to this issue.*
Guest blog by RFC Intern, Konah Brownell. "I'm thrilled to be back for a second summer with the Rosenberg Fund for Children (RFC). If you caught my previous blog from last summer when I began my first internship with the RFC, you already know that I'm a former RFC grant recipient, and this time around, I've taken on a new role within the organization. This summer, I've been diving into the dynamic world of social media, crafting compelling posts and selecting thought-provoking articles to be shared across various platforms. This role has given me a unique window into the RFC's heart and soul, enabling me to grasp their core values on a whole new level..."