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the art of giving

When it comes to 93-year-old philanthropists, there is perhaps none sharper or more endearing than Natalie Charach. Growing up without means, Natalie learned from her assiduous mother that work keeps the mind, body, and soul strong. Natalie’s upbringing and the hardships she and her family endured imbued her with a clear sense of duty and purpose: “I’ve always wanted to give,” she says. “The most gratifying thing is to give.”

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In December of 1941, Natalie, her mother, Rose, and her twin sisters, Doris and Esther, moved from Pittsburgh to Detroit. Natalie worked at the Ft. Wayne ordinance depot after school from four to midnight to supplement her mother’s modest (“Rosie the Riveter”) income. A friend of

Natalie, Red, was having his 21st birthday and invited an army buddy named Manny Charach, fresh off his WWII tour of duty. Manny was instantly smitten with Natalie. “He was a gentleman,” Natalie warmly remembers, “but I wanted nothing to do with him.” After dinner, Natalie, her girlfriend Lil, along with Red and Manny walked to a movie theater. Red and Lil sat together, and Manny and Natalie sat together. Manny walked her home after the movie, and as she was putting the key in the door Manny grabbed her other hand and put his class ring on her finger.

“What’s this for?” Natalie asked him, totally caught off guard.

“We’re getting married,” said Manny.

After a month of telephone calls, they were married at the courthouse during Natalie’s lunch hour, and afterward, she went back to work and Manny started looking for a job. Later, in June they had a religious ceremony at Beth Jacob Synagogue in New Kensington, Pennsylvania.

Manny’s early years growing up in Pittsburgh with his parents, Irving and Clara Charach, taught him similar hard work and charitable values as Natalie. Manny found work as a salesman, and in 1965 he started his own company, Manny Charach Associates, where he was a sales representative for several Japanese electronics companies. Natalie and Manny, through their 71 years together, built the business, their lives, and a charitable legacy with a simple credo: “dignity, honesty, and giving.” The Charach’s charitable giving includes an art gallery at the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield, MI – dedicated to their late

daughter, Janice – where new and emerging artists can showcase their work. Other charitable interests span the globe, including a children’s nursery in Israel, and donations of multiple Israeli ambulances.

Now, Natalie is generously underwriting the Tower Cancer Research communal kitchen and naming it after her son Jeffrey, a cancer survivor who has benefited greatly from Tower and his relationship with Dr. Barry Rosenbloom (and staff, especially Lorraine). “Simply put, Jeff’s alive because of Dr. Rosenbloom and Tower,” Natalie proclaims. “Dr. Rosenbloom is a true mensch.”

Art also played a big role in Jeffrey’s recovery. Painting was something that took his mind off of the pain and kept him in good spirits. Natalie says she could “just look at his art and deduce how he was doing.” Natalie lovingly describes her son as a profoundly talented artist with a heart of gold. “Jeff is truly such a good-hearted person,” Natalie explains. “If someone doesn’t have a shirt, he’ll give the one off his back.”

To Natalie, the TCRF kitchen is more than just a kitchen. It’s a place to break bread, to learn about one another, to bond over the hardships of battling cancer. “We want to create a space where a family can get together and relax or even learn something,” Natalie explains. After long and arduous days of cancer treatment, the kitchen serves as a healthy respite for the patients; a place to converse, laugh and simply ‘press pause.’ The kitchen will also be used as a place to showcase Jeffrey’s art.