Louise Abrahams Yaffe says that people share their time as volunteers for many reasons — personal, social, or just to “do some good.”
But for Yaffe, another reason is that she likes to “work on things that change the world a little bit.”
Yaffe, 89, was born in Philadelphia, but moved with her family to Milwaukee when she was a junior in high school.
She remembers driving down Wisconsin Avenue downtown and first seeing the newly built Ambassador Hotel, which is where she and her family lived for three months while they settled in Milwaukee.
Her family then moved to Shorewood, where Yaffe attended Shorewood High School. She later went on to the University of Michigan, where, until her sophomore year, “I thought I wanted to be an actress” Yaffe said.
Because it was the height of the Depression, she changed her focus. “[I realized that] I better work on something I could do well.”
Immediately after college, she worked in radio and advertising. But Yaffe did have an opportunity to use her acting skills years later in a small role in the movie “Airplane!”
which was directed by her son, Jim Abrahams, and his friends, David and Jerry Zucker.
After marrying her first husband, she began volunteering. In those days, she said, husbands didn’t want their wives to work. And in the years since, she has dedicated herself to serving the community through various positions.
One of these positions was the director of volunteer services at Jewish Family Services, a position Yaffe held for almost 15 years, beginning in 1971.
During her tenure, the number of JNF volunteers grew to over 700, the largest for any social service agency in Wisconsin.
Yaffe will be honored for her work at JFS in a tribute that also will also recognize her son, Jim Abrahams, for his philanthropy, as well as to mark the 25th anniversary of “Airplane!”
The “High Flying Celebration” will honor Yaffe on June 15 with a dinner and program at the Pfister Hotel. On June 16, the Pabst Theatre will host a special 25th anniversary screening of “Airplane!” which will include a costume contest and other festivities.
Proceeds from the event will benefit the JFS Abrahams Ogens Endowment Fund, a fund created by Yaffe’s parents, Buddy and Joe Ogens, to serve older adults and adults and children with special needs.
‘Role model’
Yaffe was a vice-chair of the State Legislative Committee for the AARP and spent 10 years on the Wisconsin Board for Aging and Long Term Care. Through that, she developed the Ombudsman Program, which employs volunteers to watch over and supervise state nursing homes. The program has since expanded to over 20 counties and is now financed by the state.
As a result of that success, Yaffe was inducted into the Milwaukee County Senior Citizen Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2004, the State Board on Aging and Long Term Care created an annual award in Yaffe’s name, to recognize outstanding volunteers who serve in the Ombudsman Program.
Yaffe credits JFS for success in her work with the state and later roles, because they gave her opportunities there to “take chances and develop new ideas.” Her work at JFS has served as “the basis of everything I’ve done since,” she said.
“The experience of working at the agency gave me the security and sort of a different identity than I’d had before,” she added.
Yaffe said she was “surprised and honored” to find out about the tribute. But according to Gerry Biller, who served as JFS president from 1991-1994, and also happens to be Yaffe’s niece, said there is no one who is more deserving of the honor.
“She has been a role model for me all my life,” Biller said. “I’ve learned so much from her about commitment to the community and about the unique and creative ways she has involved people in volunteer work and advocacy.”
Yaffe is “so dynamic,” Biller said. Her “impact on the agency and not only the Jewish community, but the Milwaukee and state community as a whole, is unique in its breadth and depth…. She’s a wonderful, interesting person.”
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