Ira Riklis Blog

It was the pictures that spoke a thousand words for Ira Riklis some seven years ago during his first visit to the Emunah Bet Elazraki Children’s Home in Israel. Attending the bar mitzvah there held for the son of a friend, he noticed that the staff took pictures of the children as they celebrated. Inquiring about what he saw, he learned that it was standard practice at the home and that when the children grew up and left the home, a collection of the many pictures taken over their time there went with them.

It was then that Ira Riklis realized that the Children’s Home really was a home for them, a place where they were cared for and loved just as most children are in homes with their biological families. Unfortunately, the children at Bet Elazraki all come from dysfunctional families unable to provide them with the care and love the need to grow into healthy, functional, loving adults. The Home gives them a fresh chance and provides the peace of knowing that they are loved—and the pictures they take with them hold those memories and that deep connection wherever they go.

If you could save the lives of three people and earn yourself a couple of cookies and a juice drink by spending less than an hour of your time, wouldn’t you do it? Most of us, in thinking over the proposition, would say Yes, sign me up! But in actuality, as Ira Riklis can tell you based on statistics, fewer than one in 14 of us actually take steps to do so?

We’re talking, of course, about donating blood. And one of the top two reasons (along with “I never thought about it”) people give for not doing so is that they “don’t like needles.” While, like most of us, Ira Riklis may not much care for needles, he can tell you—based on his many years of making regular blood donations—that the needles don’t hurt. In fact, nothing about the process hurts, any brief discomfort lies only in our anticipation of the event. So put that out of you mind and find a time—soon—to save a few lives. It’s the easiest way to be a hero with almost no effort on your part!

Ira Riklis and his wife Diane have left their mark on the University of Pennsylvania and plan to continue to do so far into the future. So far, they’ve endowed three scholarship programs as well as term professorships and have also funded the Dean’s office for the Graduate School of Education and a student lounge at the Hillel. Most recently, they’ve established the Dr. William Zucker Entrepreneurial Intern Fellowship at  the Wharton School of Business.

They do so because the University has left its mark on them. Both credit the experiences the had there and the graduate degrees they earned (Ira Riklis from the Wharton School of Business and Diane from the Graduate School of Education) as instrumental to the successes they’ve enjoyed throughout their adult lives and careers. Much of their support as grateful alumnae has been to the GRE since that’s where they perceive the greatest need lies.

As a Jew, it’s only natural that—among the many groups and causes he gives too—Ira  Riklis supports worthy Jewish organizations. But all-too-often when it comes to religious matters (as in many other areas of life), different groups have different perspectives and seek to convert those who come to them for help to their point of view. Fortunately, there are others, such as Aish HaTorah, who take a more open view and welcome all who come to them.

It’s that spirit of openness that has led Ira Riklis to become such a strong supporter of the educational organization which teaches Jews about their holy book, the Torah, and seeks to connect them to their spirituality. While the group does spring from a strict, Orthodox ideology, it doesn’t try to convert others to their perspective as a precondition for access to their services. Rather, they believe in the principle of “Your Life. Your Judaism,” where each person comes to their faith in their own way and at their own pace.

How often do you do your best, your very best? We all strive to do well every day of course. But at critical times when we really need to focus and perform, we want to be at our best physically and mentally. We want as much going for us as we can possibly muster. Ira Riklis knows that this holds true especially for the disadvantaged among us, the homeless working poor and those who are looking for work.

That’s why for the past twelve years, you can often find Ira Riklis lending a hand at the Central Synagogue Caring Committee kitchen on Friday mornings between 5:15 and 8:30. The kitchen is the only one in the area to serve hot breakfasts and sack lunches at those hours, which were chosen especially to give a boost to those seeking to boost themselves up from difficult circumstances. The meals provide them with the nourishment they need to stay focused on doing their very best throughout the day.

If you’re like most of us, you’re probably concerned about a wide variety of social and environmental issues. You support some and would like to do more if you had the available resources to give. While Ira Riklis has been blessed with financial success, he, like everyone else has limits to what he can give. He does offer support in the form of time and money in varying amounts. While each receives different levels of support from him, there’s the same meaning and intent behind every act of giving: a celebration and affirmation of life.

One symbol of this life-blessing approach is that Ira Riklis often gives in multiples of 18. Some causes receive large amounts. Some receive smaller amounts. Some receive a check for $18. While that may seem somewhat odd, it’s based on the ancient Hebrew tradition of Gematria. In that system, words are studied for their numerical equivalents. And the numerical equivalent for Chai—the Hebrew word for Life—is 18.

As an avid, expert skier, Ira Riklis’ favorite resort, hand down, is Vail, Colorado. He’s been going there for 35 years now, but he still remembers his first visit way back in the summer of ’75. But he also remembers the trip that brought him there: a cross country driving excursion from Philadelphia to the western mountains, the Pacific coast and back with his wife Diana. While she had traveled widely in Europe, it was her first exposure to the wonders of the United States.

Overall, it was a wonderful trip. And it did lead to Ira Riklis discovering Vail. But the method of travel left something to be desired. They undertook their long journey in a brand-new AMC Pacer. Those who remember this car, may recall it as a striking an unique design at the time. It looked something like a jellybean on wheels, wide and rather squat. Unfortunately, that small, wide body, surrounded by massive side, rear and front windows, made it a rolling solar oven, especially when traveling through the badlands and deserts of the Southwest. Add to that the fact that the car was woefully underpowered (think 5 mph top speed heading up the Rockies), and you can imagine some of the trials they faced on their 7-week, 8,000-mile adventure!

The motto for CityMeals on-Wheels—an organization dedicated to making sure poor, elderly New York City residents have enough to eat is “Nourish your soul. Feed elderly New Yorkers.” And that feels about right to Ira Riklis, who has been a long-time supporter of the group. The funding provided by his family has earned them the rank of “Very Grand Patrons,” but rather than feeling grand, they feel privileged to be able to help for while the money goes to feed others, it is their souls who are being nourished as well.

The group—which began operations 30 years ago—provided more than two million meals to disadvantaged seniors last year alone. For many of those people, it’s their main source of nutrition. But Ira Riklis knows that the meals are just part of the story. Those who deliver the meals to the often home-bound elderly also provide companionship and connection with the outside world. How about you? Is your soul being nourished? You might want to look for similar groups operating near you!

Talk with Ira Riklis about his love for the sport of skiing, and it won’t be long until the conversation gets around to his love of his favorite ski resort: Vail, Colorado. He can wax poetic about the miles and miles of well-groomed runs, the great restaurants and lodges and the spectacular scenery. But of course, he’s not the only one who feels that way. John Denver’s hit song “Rocky Mountain High” was inspired by his love of Vail and the surrounding mountains.

President Gerald Ford was another who loved the area and it was he, who in a quite indirect way led Ira Riklis to discover the town way back in 1975. Vail was not so well known then, but as Ira and his wife were heading back east after a long driving vacation around the country, they learned that President Ford was going to be in the mountain town. Hoping they might catch a glimpse of him, the couple made a detour to the town. They never did see the President, but like so many before and after, they fell in love with the area and have been returning there to ski ever since.

Like other former students of Dr. William Zucker, Ira Riklis can tell you that as a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business was a strong believer in the benefits of practical, hand’s-on experience. In his classes on entrepreneurship—demanding, yet rewarding—he emphasized both theory and practice. Dr. Zucker passed away in 2006, but his legacy and his work survives in the lives of those who learned from him and have gone on to achieve success as businessmen and women.

One of those people is Ira Riklis, for counted Dr. Zucker as not only a teacher, but a mentor and a friend. It is in the spirit of honoring that connection and extending Dr. Zucker’s legacy for new generations of students that he established the Dr. William Zucker Entrepreneurial Intern Fellowship. The fellowship supports exceptional students by providing them with internship opportunities and in turn encourages them to reach out to other students as ambassadors of entrepreneurship.