The Rocker Family Scholarship Program
A Tribute to the Rocker Family
Click here to view the story of the Rocker Family Scholarship Program
The Rocker Family Jewish Camp Scholarship Program has enabled hundreds of Greater MetroWest children and teens to experience the magic of Jewish overnight camp. The program is named for long-time Greater MetroWest benefactors David and Marian Rocker who envisioned and pioneered the scholarship program and have helped to support and steer it every step of the way.
In 2020, the Rockers and Rocker Family Supporting Foundation made a historic gift in honor of Greater MetroWest’s upcoming Centennial to ensure support for the scholarship program today and for generations, as well as to provide a major endowment for the future of the Greater MetroWest Annual Campaign. In recognition of this extraordinary commitment, the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ announced the permanent naming of the program in honor of the Rocker family.
David and Marian Rocker have been bedrock supporters of our Greater MetroWest community for decades. In fact, David and Marian’s first gifts to our UJA Campaign date back to when they were a newly married couple in 1967, during the Six-Day War. David was a US Naval officer on a ship off the coast of Israel and Marian was living in their home port in Italy—and they each sent checks home to our Metropolitan UJA Campaign to support Israel in her time of need!
Through the Rocker Family Supporting Foundation of our Jewish Community Foundation, the Rockers work with the trustees, including their sons Daniel and Joshua, to support many causes. In particular, David and Marian have always had a passion for building Jewish continuity for our future, and for investing in youth, particularly opening doors for those from financially disadvantaged families.
These passions came together when David and Marian became the founding donors and visionaries of Greater MetroWest’s first-ever, community-wide Jewish Camp Scholarship Program. Starting with a small pilot of only 16 children in the summer of 2016, this program has grown to enable more than 100 children and teens each summer to have the life-transforming experience of Jewish overnight camp.
David and Marian have given of their hearts, minds, generous support, and countless hours of their time to make this program work for so many children and their families. They are part of a committee that anonymously reviews every scholarship applicant. They envisioned and helped our community institute a volunteerism component that further engages scholarship recipients in our GMW Jewish community, that gives them the added experience of “giving back.” And, they have inspired many other donors to join them in support of this program.
In addition to David and Marian, the Rocker family includes son Joshua, his wife Abby; son Daniel, his wife Rachel, and six grandchildren. David and Marian say they hope their model of giving back helps to inspire future generations in their family and others.
Our community is so fortunate that Rocker Scholarships will continue to open the door for countless children and teens to experience Jewish overnight camp for generations to come.
For more information about the Rocker Family Jewish Camp Scholarship Program, click here.
For more information on the Centennial Campaign, contact Kim Hirsh, Executive Director, JCF, (973) 929-3026.
