Muriel Ginsberg at her home in Tupper Lake
It is almost impossible to get Muriel to talk about herself. She'll veer off to something important, like the charitable organizations she supports, her parents Mose and May, and Ginsberg's, which was for 90 years Tupper Lake's department store.
The front room of her house is full of plaques recognizing her generosity and hands-on support for the benefit of the Tupper Lake community. "She has done so much, that it is hard to keep it all straight," said Erika Stenger, one of Muriel's home assistant friends. Muriel is 102 years old and never learned to cook--she was too busy working in the store and riding her bike.
Muriel's most recent act of generosity was to establish an endowed fund, the Ginsberg Family Fund, at the Adirondack Community Trust (ACT) that will generate scholarship grants forTupper Lake students.
Her father Mose Ginsberg was a Russian immigrant who came to Tupper Lake as a teenager with nothing in his pockets. Through persistence and honesty, he emerged as the town's major merchant and benefactor. "Dad shared what we had, and we still do it," says Muriel, who inherited his philanthropic spirit.
When he helped establish North Country Community College, Mose Ginsberg said that "education for the future is as essential as the air we breathe." The Ginsbergs have long supported higher education for Tupper Lake students, because, in Muriel's words, "we were poor once and know there are others who want an education and can use the help."
The Ginsberg Family Fund at ACT continues the family's commitment to making higher learning accessible to everyone. It will be administered through Tupper Lake Central School. For more information, contact Cali Brooks, Executive Director, Adirondack Community Trust, cali@generousact.org.
The Adirondack CommunityTrust is the community foundation serving the Adirondacks and beyond. This summer, ACT will distribute more than $550,000 in scholarships through individual donors' funds, such as the Ginsberg Family Fund, and the Crary Education Fund, through the Bruce L. Crary Foundation, a supporting organization.
