Shelby White

Leon Levy Foundation

Medal Citation

I grew up in an immigrant household in the shadow of the Holocaust and we believed deeply in the importance of philanthropy and giving back even when we didn’t have much. That philosophy was an essential part of my married life as well as my childhood. My late husband Leon Levy often quoted, or as it turns out, misquoted Andrew Carnegie about the need, as Leon put it, to die broke…. We believed in planting trees that might not reach fruition in our lifetime. In the end Leon said, again echoing Andrew Carnegie, all we can do is try to leave a legacy of good works.