Sheldon David, z”l, was a long-time supporter of the IVDU school. Here he is with an IVDU student.
In January 2021, on the occasion of Sheldon David’s 1st Yahrzeit, Yachad and IVDU are honored to announce the renaming of our IVDU High Schools as the Marilyn and Sheldon David High Schools. Marilyn, the first principial of IVDU, and her husband Sheldon, were long-time supporters of Yachad and IVDU and were tremendous people who gave so much back to the community. May their memories be a blessing and an inspiration to us all.
On Thursday January 7th, the Marilyn David IVDU Boys High School held a full day learn-a-thon in honor of the memory of Mr. Sheldon David, whose first yartzheit was Sunday January 10th.
From the family of Marilyn and Sheldon David:
Growing up, Yachad played a huge role in our lives. Our parents were not only involved on a board level, but they made sure that on a practical level, Yachad came into our home. Whenever there was a shabbaton at the Yeshivah of Flatbush or Young Israel of Flatbush, the afternoon oneg was at our house. Our parents would join the shabbaton for any meal that they could. Our mother hosted a weekly Yachad class in our house.
After 20 years as a second-grade teacher and 5 years of running an after school Talmud Torah-stye program, our mother was hired to run Yachad’s IVDU High School. It was never just a job – it was fulfillment of a lifelong dream and quickly became a family project. When she didn’t have a budget for a Hebrew teacher, our father came in and taught chumash. When the boys wanted to learn how to lein, our father gave lessons. When she wasn’t sure where her building would be, she held school meetings in our home.
There was no more fitting way to honor our mother’s memory when she was nifteret than to name the school after her.
Even after our mother’s passing, our father’s involvement continued. While both IVDU High Schools were under our mother’s name, our father spent more time in the Boys Division. He taught parsha lessons and made a siyum for the boys. He connected with them and spoke with students to build them up and gain confidence in themselves. He dedicated the shul, paroches and shulchan cover in memory of loved ones in an effort to beautify the davening experience for the students. He was in constant contact with the IVDU leadership on how they can build the school even more.
His continued involvement led to our and our children’s involvement in IVDU both before and after his passing. One grandchild organized the IVDU basketball team to play against his high school basketball team. Three granddaughters made their bat mitzvah chesed projects for IVDU. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, when classes were on held on Zoom, our children ran basketball clinics, cooking classes, baking classes and dance lessons for the Boys and Girls Divisions. IVDU has become a family to us and we are privileged to rename the school after both of our parents – the Marilyn and Sheldon David IVDU High Schools. This name truly shows our parents unity and love for each other as well as their love for Yachad.