Donald and Bonnie Dwares celebrate a milestone with gift to JCC

PROVIDENCE – Donald and Bonnie Dwares are longtime supporters of the Rhode Island Jewish community, and their support is continuing:  The Dwares recently gifted the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center with $55,000, in honor of their 55th wedding anniversary.

“$1,000 for each year of marriage,” Donald said of the gift during a phone interview.

Both Bonnie and Donald expressed pride in the JCC and how it has become an outstanding part of the community at large. They said they want to see it thrive so that it can continue to serve the entire community, both Jewish and non-Jewish.

“When I pass there and see the activity, it makes me happy,” said Bonnie. She said people in the East Side often stop her to tell her how much they love the JCC.

“We have traditions [in Judaism],” said Donald. “Tradition makes it better. That’s what we want. Everyone tells me the JCC is fabulous. We want the JCC to keep going.”

Donald and Bonnie Dwares made a $1 million gift to the community in 2012  that helped in the renovation of the JCC.

At the time, Donald told what was then The Jewish Voice, “Our parents did so much for us. They taught us to give back to the community that helped us as we grew up. And the Alliance’s JCC is the best way that we can help the community, as it serves all the people in Rhode Island, and especially the Jewish community.”

The renovation was completed in 2017.

“Donald and Bonnie Dwares have long led by example in this community,” said Adam Greenman, president and CEO of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. “I hope that others are willing to take the example they’ve set with their generosity, and if they are celebrating a major simcha, they will also consider using it as an opportunity to support our Jewish community.” 

FRAN OSTENDORF is the editor of Jewish Rhode Island.