ORT America Donor Honors Israel's 60th With Five Million Dollar Donation, the Largest Donation to Date For the

NEW YORK, NY and SARASOTA, FL, May 20 (MARKET WIRE) --

For Israel's 60th birthday, ORT America member Betty Schoenbaum has decided to
give something special to the Jewish State -- something that it will not outgrow
in the next 60 years.

The heiress to the Shoney's restaurant and motel chain has given $5
millionORT America in support of World ORT programs in Israel -- one of the
largest
single donations ever received -- to develop the center of the seaside town
of Kiryat Yam into a multi-purpose science, education, culture and sports campus
that is a model for the State of Israel. The donation was made by the
Schoenbaum
Family Foundation.

The glittering, high-tech educational development would herald a
revitalization for Kiryat Yam, a largely blue-collar community of 45,000 where
the average income is about 25 percent lower than the national average and which
has become home to large concentrations of Russian and Ethiopian immigrants.

Her investment in Kiryat Yam's future will, together with funds from ORT
America and the local municipality, transform three acres of publicly
ownedland into a beautiful and practical communal resource featuring a sports
center,
an open air science park, and a social, educational and cultural center for
Ethiopian Jewry. There will also be a full refurbishment of the 40-year-old
Rodman High School, the construction of covered walkways connecting the whole
complex and the creation of the adjacent D. Dan and Betty Kahn Science Center.

The campus is at the heart of Science City, a $20 million mega-project to
revitalize Kiryat Yam's educational and cultural system, which was
launchedlast year as part of World ORT's Science Journey program, to raise the
level
of science and technology education in schools across Israel -- including
Rodman.

According to Mrs. Schoenbaum, whose philanthropy has included projects in
the land of Israel since 1940, "When I reached 90 years of age, I decided that
most of my big giving will be to Israel because if Jews don't give to
Israel, who will? I think it's terrible that fewer Jews are giving to
Israel now."

A major donor and longtime member of the Sarasota Chapter, Mrs. Schoenbaum
was a
founder of ORT Braude College, a major combined fundraising effort of
American ORT and Women's American ORT, the predecessor organizations of
ORT America.

Mrs. Schoenbaum is a former ballet dancer and her late husband Alex was an
all-American football player so she recognizes the importance of having a
strong cultural and sporting component in the Kiryat Yam project.

"There are cultural differences between the Russian and Ethiopian immigrants
but if
they go to school together, if they play sports together, and mix culturally
then
they'll see that we're all the same and there will be a wonderful blending,"
she says.

"I'm very upset about the situation of the Ethiopians in Israel," she
said."I feel there's so much potential there that could be tapped if we gave
them
the chance to get a better education."

"The joy of living is the joy of giving," she says. "Don't wait until you
die
to give, give while you're alive so you can see the good you do. Like I
say, there are no luggage racks on the hearse."

Mrs. Schoenbaum is grateful to The Schoenbaum Family Foundation and to her
four children for encouraging her to support a major project in Israel and to
ORT America and World ORT for providing the right project. The Schoenbaum
Family Foundation consists of Betty Schoenbaum, President, Raymond Schoenbaum of
Atlanta, Georgia, Jeffery Schoenbaum of Palm Harbor, Florida, Joann Miller of
Oldsmar, Florida, and Emily Schoenbaum of Washington, D.C.

Mrs. Schoenbaum explained, "What's beautiful about it is ORT: what they have
done and how they have put the package together and the work they have done;
it's been so smooth. I'm not someone who gives money and says goodbye, I
become involved in what I support and World ORT is a magnificent organization."

"We are thrilled with Mrs. Schoenbaum's generous gift, which can serve as
amodel for other communities in Israel using science and technology education to
help
underprivileged sectors of the population climb the career ladder," said ORT
America President Doreen N. Hermelin. "Her extraordinary contribution will
inspire and empower generations of young people and the broader Kiryat Yam
community."

ORT America provides cutting-edge training and strategic educational
initiatives that
empower 270,000 people annually in 56 countries to become productive citizens
and lead their families and communities forward. This is a responsibility ORT
America welcomes as part of its commitment to supporting Jewish values,
strengthening Jewish identity and providing the educational opportunities
that help people help themselves. For more information, please visit
www.ortamerica.org.

Contact:
Sarina Roffe
sroffe@ortamerica.org
212.547.9159

Andrew Lavin
A. Lavin Communications
212-290-9540
alc@alavin.com

Copyright 2008, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

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