VOA Oregon mourns the loss of a community pillar and staunch supporter of those who have been marginalized by society
VOA Oregon is saddened by the loss of Arlene Schnitzer. A loss to both her family and her community, Arlene was a great and influential community leader who gave much to improve the lives of those around her. She will be missed.
Kay Toran, the President and CEO of Volunteers of America Oregon had this to say:
“This news truly saddened me in that Mrs. Schnitzer was not only successful in her personal, professional and business life, but she was truly a powerful person who used that success and her enormous wealth to make a significant difference throughout our community. And she was a friend.
Better known for her support of the arts, she was also highly supportive of education, social services, child welfare, juvenile justice, and issues related to social justice.
She and her family have made an enormous positive impact on the lives of so many children, youth, adults, and families in the community in which we live. It is reported their giving in our community exceeds $150 million.
Last year, VOA Oregon was so pleased to honor Mrs. Arlene Schnitzer with the 2019 DePreist Award for Excellence.
The showering of accolades, the musical tributes and Arlene’s warm, thoughtful, and humorous acceptance speech made for one hugely successful and fun evening. In her own words, she said it was one of her ‘very best evenings.’ We are honored to have had her in our presence to accept the award.
Arlene Schnitzer, and her son, Jordan Schnitzer, have been major supporters of VOA Oregon as both individual donors and through the Harold and Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation over the last eighteen years.
The Harold and Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation just recently joined up as Presenting Sponsors for the upcoming 2020 DePreist Award for Excellence. The event is scheduled to be held on September 10th.
Truly, Arlene has been a gift to us all. She will be missed.”