The Adler Family
Mike and Elaine Adler co-founded Myron Manufacturing, a mail order firm specializing in marketing products to businesses, over 60 years ago. While building their business into an international company, Mike and Elaine Adler worked together to nurture in their children a spirit of service. In spite of the demands on their time, Mike and Elaine always put aside time for others less fortunate; in this way, they reared their children, William, Richard, James, and Marie, by example.
As a result of Mike and Elaine’s longstanding commitment to countless community organizations, their children, respective spouses, and grandchildren have all embraced this tradition of volunteerism. The list of organizations that benefit from the personal commitment of the extended Adler family is not only lengthy but encompasses a range of initiatives, including, but not limited to, the following: the Arnold P. Gold Foundation; the Center for Interreligious Understanding; Bergen Community College; the Ciarco Learning Center; Connect, a London-based Stroke and Aphasia organization; the Community Resource Council; Gilda’s Club of Northern NJ; Hackensack High School; Hadassah; the Jewish Home and Rehabilitation Center; Literacy Volunteers; Ramapo College Foundation; UJA Federation, Women’s Division; the USA Toy Library Association; and all of the schools that the Adler children and grandchildren have attended over the years.
In spite of family responsibilities and busy work and school schedules, members of the Adler family find the time to participate in their community in various ways. Adlers can be found serving on boards; working on fundraising initiatives for buildings and programs; tutoring high school students; working with adults who cannot read; visiting older adults residing in adult care facilities every week; and providing scholarships to individuals in need.
In 2003, the Adler family went beyond their personal volunteer activities in founding the Adler Aphasia Center in Maywood, NJ. Ten years earlier, Mike had suffered a stroke after bypass surgery. The stroke left Mike with aphasia. Elaine’s life changed as well. She felt frustrated, confused, and helpless as she tried to put their changed lives back together. Although many hospital-based speech pathology services in the area could help Mike with his aphasia, the Adlers found no program that could help him adjust to living with aphasia. The Adlers researched speech pathology clinics around the world and uncovered several unique programs where people touched by aphasia were learning new ways to communicate.
The Center, conceived of and funded by the Adler family, now has three full-service locations that welcome people with aphasia and their caregivers and offer innovative quality programming and services that help people re-engage in their communities and move forward with their lives.
Elaine Adler summed up her family’s philosophy on volunteerism this way: “The best gift that anyone can give is his or her time to help someone less fortunate. When you do, you meet wonderful, compassionate people who have been drawn to the same cause, and together you can make a difference.”