December 13, 2024

Honoring an Inspiring Legacy

Published by Caitly Reynoso

Celebrating an Extraordinary $2.5 Million Gift from
The Leslie J. Raffel Foundation

In 2024, All Stars Project was proud to unveil the public phase of our Becoming All Stars Campaign: a $150 million national campaign running from 2018-2027 to transform 100,000 young lives by 2027. As of November 2024, we have raised $97 million toward our goal. Since the Campaign started in 2018, an amazing 8,754 generous and philanthropic households, foundations, and partner organizations have joined us in uplifting youth impacted by poverty in Chicago, Dallas, New Jersey, New York, the San Francisco Bay Area, and virtually nationwide.

Every gift we receive invests in the future of the extraordinary young people we serve in our four campaign pillars: Programs, Presence, People, and Partnerships. This year, we were proud to launch the public phase of the Becoming All Stars Campaign with a transformative gift for the All Stars Project of Chicago: $2.5 million from The Leslie J. Raffel Foundation for the long-term success of our Development School for Youth (DSY) leadership development program.

On November 20, 2024, we celebrated the renaming of our DSY program in Chicago as The Leslie J. Raffel Development School for Youth. Pictured below are the Foundation’s trustees alongside David Cherry, Founder of ASP Chicago; Kaylyn Ragsdale, DSY alumna; and Lauren Horn, Vice President and Director of ASP Chicago. The ribbon-cutting ceremony and celebration took place at our Chicago Hub for Afterschool Development, marking an exciting new chapter in our mission to empower young people in Chicago and beyond.

Recently, we sat down with the trustees of The Leslie J. Raffel Foundation, Marshall and Bobby Gerber, and Leslie’s wife, Angela Arango Raffel, to learn more about Leslie’s enduring legacy. We hope you are inspired as much as we are by the impact of his life and foundation. Stay tuned for more stories of impact and legacy in future newsletter issues as we continue to grow the Becoming All Stars Campaign.

Leslie J. Raffel’s journey from Whiz Kid to Engineer to Philanthropist

The late Leslie J. Raffel (1942-2023), affectionately called “Les” by friends and family, was a man who exemplified unbridled curiosity, an adventurous spirit, and a profound belief in the power of education. Growing up in a Jewish family in suburban Chicago, Marshall Gerber recalled his younger cousin as a “brilliant young man with a unique innocence” and a strong desire for knowledge. After skipping a grade in high school, Leslie enrolled in Purdue University’s prestigious Industrial Engineering program and later received his Master’s Degree in Engineering at Stanford University.

While at Stanford, Leslie was recruited by the aerospace company Lockheed Martin and even worked on a defense project for NASA. Leslie was a man of many passions, far beyond his role as an Industrial Engineer. A licensed pilot, a skilled Salsa dancer, and an enthusiastic collector of Italian wines, he lived life with boundless curiosity. His adventurous spirit led him to spend two years exploring Italy on his motorbike, building connections that spanned the globe—all through his beloved ham radios. His wife, Angela Arango Raffel, shared a vivid memory of cruising through the Sonoma Mountains when Leslie’s radio crackled to life with a call from a friend from a distant country. His excitement was palpable.

“He wanted to know everything—who they were, their culture, their families. It was always about them.”

Leslie’s post-Stanford career led him from engineering at Lockheed Martin to starting his own company in the plumbing industry. His knack for problem-solving and ingenuity drove him to create products that made life easier for others. Leslie’s philanthropic spirit and desire to give back grew alongside his passion for innovation. Over the years, he created scholarships at Purdue for Jewish engineering students, helped fund college educations for his family and employees, and established a foundation that supports cultural and educational initiatives, including the Botanic Gardens and Highland Park Arts Center. His foundation’s support of the All Stars Project is a beautiful extension of his values, furthering opportunities for youth in Chicago and beyond.

The Leslie J. Raffel Foundation was introduced to the All Stars Project through Bobby Gerber, the son of Leslie’s cousin, Marshall, and a member of both our Chicago Board and National Board of Directors. As a Managing Partner at Neil, Gerber, & Eisenberg LLP (NGE), Bobby has been a dedicated All Star for nearly 20 years. Fun fact: Bobby Gerber met David Cherry, Founder of the All Stars Project of Chicago, as an associate at NGE. In 2007, Bobby played a pivotal role in NGE hosting Chicago’s first DSY event.

Bobby Gerber shared his motivation to connect Leslie’s foundation with the All Stars Project:

“I saw an intersection between Leslie’s passion for education and young people…and thought that was a good synergy for the foundation. It was an opportunity for us to use assets from the foundation to make a difference in his name and to keep the legacy going of investing in young people and education in Chicago.”

Over the years, Bobby has championed our mission by hosting career-training workshops for young people and chairing community events. Like his cousin Leslie, Bobby believes in the power of involvement philanthropy beyond financial support, stating that relationships formed through volunteering enrich the youth we serve and the adults who dedicate their time.

The All Stars Project is deeply grateful to Bobby Gerber and The Leslie J. Raffel Foundation for its generous gift, which empowers us to continue making a difference in underserved communities for years to come. As we celebrate the dedication of The Leslie J. Raffel Development School for Youth, we look forward to expanding our programs and partnering with like-minded foundations and organizations committed to investing in FREE outside-of-school programs to support and empower marginalized youth nationwide.

Thank you to the Raffel and Gerber family for sharing Leslie’s legacy with us and helping bring his passion for learning and community to a new generation of All Stars.

Every gift All Stars receives for our transformative, free-of-charge youth development programs is part of the campaign… please join us! We encourage you to visit our campaign webpage at https://allstars.org/becoming/ and read our latest campaign newsletter HERE.

For more information on the Becoming All Stars campaign, please do not hesitate to contact All Stars Project’s Chief Development Officer, Jenny Zak, at (212) 356-8441 or jzak@allstars.org.