Forward.com

Young Philanthropists Get InvolvedWhen Jewish philanthropies imagine their ideal young donors, they probably have people like Anne Heyman and Seth Merrin in mind.To say that the Manhattan couple — she’s from South Africa, he’s a New Yorker, they met in Israel — are involved in Jewish causes barely nicks the surface.Heyman, 42, chairs the board of directors of Dorot, an…Read more

Who Gets Tested for BRCA, and Why?Many Jewish women of Ashkenazi origin face an increased risk of inherited breast and ovarian cancers, the result of mutations in two genes that became relatively common to Eastern Europeans. Women with bad copies of either gene, called BRCA1 and BRCA2, have a lifetime risk of breast cancer that approaches 85%. Their overall risk of ovarian…Read more

Giving Gifts That Keep on GivingLike many people, Sarah Wildman and Ian Halpern thought the process of getting married was a form of corporate genuflection. The notion of all that spending and accumulating — the typical wedding now runs upward of $22,000, according to bridal-magazine publisher Condé Nast — made them both a bit queasy. But, they wondered, what if…Read more

Leading Infertility Cause Remains Hard To DiagnoseAs a teenager, Hillary Souza wasn’t especially concerned about her unpredictable menstrual periods. If they had to come, she said, coming sporadically wasn’t so bad. But as she passed through high school and into college, the irregularity lost its appeal. “It’s certainly not fun just out of the blue,” said Souza, of Mansfield, Mass., a…Read more