United Way Miami Presents Tocqueville Award for Outstanding Philanthropy to the Wolfson Family
Wolfson Family Recognized with United Way Miami’s Highest Honor for their Legacy of Giving
MIAMI, FL – April 18, 2023 – United Way Miami recently awarded the Wolfson Family with its highest honor, the Tocqueville Award for Outstanding Philanthropy, in recognition of their devotion to the South Florida community and generations of support in areas of education, healthcare, affordable housing, and the arts.
“The Wolfson family have been lifelong champions of the Miami community and have created a legacy of giving that has impacted the lives of thousands of our most underserved,” said Symeria Hudson, President and CEO of United Way Miami. Their generosity is inspiring, and I am extremely grateful to the entire Wolfson family for their unwavering dedication to United Way Miami and to building a stronger Miami, together.”
The Wolfson family was honored at the Tocqueville Society’s Grand Reception, which was held on March 28 at the home of Caroline Bierbaum LeFrak and James T. LeFrak in Miami Beach. More than 300 of South Florida’s most noted philanthropists gathered for the celebration sponsored by Van Cleef & Arpels, City National Bank, and The Ansin Foundation. United Way Miami’s Tocqueville Society brings together a distinguished group of top philanthropists who share a keen devotion to the Miami community and to its future generations.
“The Wolfson family has been instrumental in Miami’s growth and success for over 100 years and their intergenerational philanthropy has had a tremendous impact,” says Jayne Harris Abess, co-chair of the Tocqueville Award Committee. “I have had the great privilege of watching every generation of the Wolfson family give themselves to our community. Their generosity knowns no bounds. The Wolfson family is a shining example of how important it is for all of us to give back and teach our children and grandchildren to do the same.”
The Wolfson family legacy of giving in South Florida began a century ago with one of America’s most prominent businessmen, Colonel Mitchell Wolfson, Sr. who served two terms as a city councilman in Miami Beach before being elected as Miami Beach’s first Jewish Mayor in 1943. He launched South Florida’s first television station, WTVJ, and was the co-founder of Wometco Enterprises, which owned the Seaquarium and the area’s best known movie theaters, including Dadeland Theater on Kendall Drive, the Miracle Theater in Coral Gables, and the 163rd Street Theater in North Miami Beach. He gave generously to Miami Dade College from its inception in 1960 to help lay the foundation for what would become one of Florida’s foremost educational institutions – a tradition of giving that would continue through the Mitchell Wolfson Sr. Foundation.
The spirit of public service and educational endeavors would continue through Colonel Wolfson’s sons – Louis Wolfson II and Mitchell “Micky” Wolfson Jr. – Louis would serve on the Florida House of Representatives and Micky’s passion of preserving history would lead to the creation of the Wolfsonian – a state of the art museum and home to one of the largest collections of its kind in the world, which he would later donate to Florida International University. Continuing the family’s tradition of generosity through various business enterprises and charitable endeavors, Louis Wolfson III founded Pinnacle Housing Group and PHG Builders and has been at the forefront of the housing crisis developing affordable housing projects in South Florida. The Wolfson’s intergenerational mindset is a way of life and has been passed on to a new generation of Wolfsons who are excited to lead the charge and give back to the community that has given so much to them.
The 800-member United Way Tocqueville Society contributed nearly $10 million this past year to benefit more than 100 programs and initiatives focused on education, financial stability and health. The society was named after French historian, Alexis de Tocqueville, who recognized, celebrated, and immortalized the voluntary spirit he witnessed in America during the 1800s. Years later, United Way’s Tocqueville Society continues to honor those individuals who demonstrate an extraordinary sense of philanthropy with remarkably high levels of giving.
