“Were it not for the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, there might be no Google.” That sentence began a recently published article in the New York Times. At first that statement seems improbable – but given the backstory that statement is most probably true. You see, thirty years ago the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society assisted the Brin family as it attempted to immigrate to the United States and escape from anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union. There was nothing extraordinary about the family, in fact it was rather ordinary as it sought to come to the United States in hopes of improving their lot. A member of that ordinary family was a six year old named Sergey Brin. Today, that same Sergey Brin is the co-founder of Google and is posed to become a titan of philanthropy as he will most certainly give back to his adopted country. (Much like the immigrant Andrew Carnegie did in the 19th Century.)
Congratulations to the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society on a job well done.