Alembik Continues Philanthropic Pursuits

Retired attorney Judith Alembik became serious as an octogenarian in her pursuit of giving back and favoring the Jewish community. In both July and November of 2024, Alembik was featured in the AJT for two separate seven-figure pledges to Jewish organizations.

Now, at 88, she’s back on the goodwill wagon with yet another meaningful, well considered project. She said, “The greatest joy in giving comes not simply from generosity itself, but from seeing the lasting impact it has on the lives it touches.”

Alembik’s gifts support organizations that nurture and strengthen Jewish youth. She endowed Ahavath Achim Synagogue’s youth education initiatives, established a fund through the Jewish Educational Loan Fund benefiting the children of clergy, and now, together with her son, Gary, has created the Judith and Gary Alembik Youth Mental Health Fund at Jewish Family & Career Services of Atlanta (JF&CS).

This new fund at $1 million will support youth mental health outreach initiatives through JF&CS’s BeWellATL program, a community-wide initiative dedicated to supporting Jewish youth and the adults in their lives.

Launched in Atlanta in 2023, BeWellATL was created in response to what community leaders identified as a growing youth mental health crisis. The initiative was initially funded through a $500,000 matching grant from The Zalik Foundation, together with support from the Atlanta Jewish Foundation and the Atlanta Jewish Funder Collaborative. In an effort to further encourage community support, The Zalik Foundation will also provide matching funds for the Alembik family’s new gift.

For Gary, the initiative is deeply personal.

“As a family law attorney who regularly serves as a guardian ad litem, I see firsthand the emotional challenges facing many of our young people. Many teens and young adults are struggling with anxiety, isolation, academic pressures, social media stressors, and feelings of hopelessness. Through my work with families and children, I have seen how important it is for young people to know that they are not alone and that support exists within our community.”

BeWellATL is dedicated to promoting the well-being of Jewish youth. Through partnerships with synagogues, Jewish schools, camps, Hillels, and community organizations, BeWellATL offers peer support initiatives and teen and parent workshops on topics including suicide prevention, neurodiversity, executive functioning, emotional wellness, harm reduction, and the impacts of technology and social media.

Gary reports that according to the CDC’s 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Study, more than four in 10 teens reported feeling persistently sad or hopeless, while roughly one in 10 adolescents had seriously considered suicide. These struggles intensified following the pandemic, increased social isolation, and growing pressures facing young people today.

“I have the privilege of serving on the board of JF&CS and have seen firsthand the extraordinary and deeply personal ways this organization touches lives,” Gary said. “Whether through its clinical services, support for Holocaust survivors and seniors, or the Ben Massell Dental Clinic, JF&CS meets people where they are with dignity, compassion, and care.”

The Alembik family hopes this latest gift will help reduce the stigma surrounding mental health while ensuring that Jewish youth and families know they have somewhere to turn in difficult moments. Just as importantly, they hope it inspires others to give.

“My parents deeply believed in the Jewish values of tzedakah and tikkun olam, not simply as ideals, but as responsibilities,” Gary concluded. “Our hope is that this gift will strengthen the extraordinary youth mental health work of JF&CS, remind young people that they are not alone, and encourage others to support an organization that touches, uplifts, and improves the lives of so many people throughout our community every single day.”

In creating this fund, Judy Alembik is thinking beyond financial support by helping ensure that young people facing loneliness, anxiety, or emotional struggles know that their community sees and cares for them in times of need.