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Jewish philanthropist Irving Carter dies after contracting coronavirus
He was one of the largest donors to Magen David Adom and received the exceptional honour of being named honorary board member
April 6, 2020 13:27
He was one of the largest donors to Magen David Adom and received the exceptional honour of being named honorary board member
April 6, 2020 13:27One of the Jewish community’s most prolific philanthropists, Irving Carter, has died after contracting coronavirus aged 76.
Mr Carter, who was born in April 1944, was a successful property developer and used his family’s foundation, the Locker Foundation, as a vehicle to donate to charities and causes from across the spectrum of the Jewish community.
Irving Carter died in hospital on Friday, at 8pm.
Magden David Adom (MDA), the Israeli medical emergency service, was a favourite charity.
Mr Carter was a Vice President of Magen David Adom UK and an honorary member on the board of Magen David Adom in Israel, the only time such an honour has been bestowed on an individual outside of Israel.
“He loved MDA. He loved the idea of being able to save lives,” Daniel Burger, the chief executive of Magen David Adom UK, said. “It was all about saving lives in Israel. He loved innovation, he loved new projects.”
“His love of humanity and helping where he could touched me... he would always try and help whoever he could.”
Mr Carter began donating philanthropically more than 30 years ago.
In 2017, Mr Carter donated the replacement for the specialised small ambulances for Jerusalem’s Old City.
“He donated blood mobiles, which now with COVID-19 are absolutely essential because with the lockdown people can’t give blood in the centres, so the blood mobiles are going to them,” said Mr Burger. “He was a great philanthropist for many causes.”
By 2017, after almost two decades of involvement with Magen David Adom, Mr Carter had donated more than 28 ambulances, 12 motorbikes, two mobile blood banks and a mobile intensive care unit.
Mr Carter was also intimately involved with other Jewish charities, such as Tikva, which cares for Jewish children in Ukraine, and Chai Cancer Care.
“It is heart-breaking,” said Karen Bodenstein, the chief executive of Tikva UK. “I loved Irving like I would my own grandfather. He was very much family.”
“Irving’s got – had – a huge heart. He put on this very big bravado. He was a larger than life personality. Beneath all of that, he had a heart of pure generosity and kindness,” she added.
Ms Bodenstein said that for Mr Carter and his wife Gillian, who played an big part in encouraging his charity endeavours, “it was all about giving back.”
Louise Hager, the chairman of Chai Cancer Care said that “he was such a good friend to Chai, a real mensch.”
“He was a very special man, he was a real character,” she continued, “He was a good friend and the community is extremely blessed to have someone who really – across the whole spectrum – supported causes.”
Mr Carter’s shiva was held over Zoom on Sunday night. It is expected that there will be a memorial event at St John’s Wood Synagogue in the future, where the family donated a youth wing dedicated to Mr Carter’s mother.
He is survived by his wife Gillian, two children and two stepchildren.
Magen David Adom are planning a memorial event in Israel to celebrate his life and his generosity, while Tikva and Chai are also planning commemorations.
