Janet Cohen has touched the lives of so many in Southwest Florida. Take the Jewish community, which now has a beautiful and updated museum to commemorate their history and culture. Or the students at Florida Gulf Coast University, where Cohen funded the Harvey and Janet Cohen Student Union (which is lovingly known as Harv’s Place on campus) to host career fairs and social events, and provide quiet places for people to relax between classes. When asked about her contributions, she jokes, “You mean I did right for a change?”
Cohen’s charitable efforts in Southwest Florida date back to the ’90s when she and her late husband, Harvey, retired to the area. “I think it started with the Naples Philharmonic,” she ponders.
To Cohen, giving back isn’t about keeping score of the dollars or earning praise from peers, it’s about making a difference. Recounting her youth, Cohen says that even though her parents didn’t have much to give, they taught her the importance of supporting the community. Whether she’s helping a close friend behind the scenes or publicly pledging millions to a children’s cause—like the $3 million she gave to fund a garden at the Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida to offer respite to sick children and their families—her sense of responsibility is evident.
“It’s a very good feeling to know that I’m accomplishing something worthwhile,” Cohen says. Soon after the garden project, she contributed to the creation of the The Salvation Army Fran Cohen Youth Center in East Naples, in memory of her only daughter, Fran.
The next year, she was at it again, supporting the Holocaust Museum & Cohen Education Center by donating $1 million toward its new building off Tamiami Trail. Last year, other efforts led to the opening of Avow Hospice’s Aunt Janet’s House, where kids can benefit from bereavement therapy in a setting that feels more like a home than a therapist’s office. Her reason for such dedication to supporting her community: “I don’t know, maybe I’m turning into Florence Nightingale.” –Jaynie Bartley