The Bessie F. Anathan Fund, a designated fund, was established with The Pittsburgh Foundation in 1976, after the death of Bessie F. Anathan, a well-known humanitarian and philanthropist in Pittsburgh’s Jewish community. The fund carries on the longstanding Anathan family legacy of philanthropy in Pittsburgh by giving to arts and Jewish community organizations as well as to health care institutions.
The fund has given to Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania, the National Council of Jewish Women Pittsburgh Section, Chatham College, Montefiore University Hospital, United Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh Symphony Inc. Funds for Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania benefit The Heart House, and funds for the National Council of Jewish Women Pittsburgh Section benefit the Anathan House for Older People, which Anathan founded.
Bessie Anathan was honored by the Jewish War Veterans in 1965 for her humanitarian and philanthropic work. Two years later, she received the 1967 Woman of the Year award from the Squirrel Hill Kiwanis for her outstanding service to the community.
She founded several service organizations including, the Anathan House for Older People, the School for Hard of Hearing Children and a local Planned Parenthood chapter. She was a charter member of WQED-TV, Planned Parenthood and the National Council of Christians and Jews. Anathan served on the board of Montefiore Hospital History and the National Council of Jewish Women. Additionally, she was an active member of Associated Artists, the Rodef Shalom Congregation, Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation and the Carnegie Museum.
Anathan’s daughter, Jane Anathan Lehman, died on Friday, January 15, 1999, and was remembered by friends and family as a devoted volunteer and patron of the arts. Jane and her husband, Alan G. Lehman, were frequent donors to arts and cultural institutions in Pittsburgh through the Bessie F. Anathan Foundation. Jane Lehman was a trustee of the Carnegie Museum of Art and a member of the Women’s Committee fund-raising arm. She served as chairwoman of the Three Rivers Arts Festival in 1960, early in the Festival’s existence. Jane Lehman was also a member of the boards of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and the Western Pennsylvania Kennel Club.
Read more about Jane Anathan Lehman and Alan Lehman here.
Read more about Bessie Anathan here.