The Joan Margolius Cherner Women’s Empowerment Fund was established by Philip and Alan Margolius and Jennifer Margolius Fisher z’’l in memory of their beloved sister and aunt.
Donations to the fund at first supported JWI’s Mother’s Day Project, allowing JWI to expand the project with extra flowers, gifts, and volunteer opportunities, as well as needed financial literacy educational materials, for women in more than 200 shelters across the United States.
Now, Joanie’s Fund has inspired a brand-new concept for survivors living in domestic violence shelters: “Joanie’s Place,” an expansion of JWI’s National Library Initiative, is creating peaceful spaces in domestic violence shelters where abuse survivors can relax in moments of mindful meditation; use laptops to access JWI’s financial education and job readiness trainings; and gather to heal and grow together.
The inaugural Joanie’s Place debuted in a D.C. domestic violence shelter in September 2022.
Joanie’s Fund also supports Financial Futures - a series of Life$avings financial literacy workshops created to guide parents who have survived domestic violence through meaningful conversations with their children about money.
About Joan Margolius Cherner
Joan Margolius Cherner grew up in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Lilyan and Bernard Margolius. She was adored by her brothers Philip and Alan and the friends who filled their home off of 16th Street in Shepherd Park. Joan was a member of Calvin Coolidge High School cheerleading squad and an active member in her high school sororities. She attended the University of Maryland, where she met her first husband, Stanley Karlin.
Joanie is remembered by friends and family as a beautiful, stylish, fun-loving, and hard-working woman. She had a warm, loving nature that drew in everyone who met her. Her older brother Phil describes her “reflective light”—if you were okay, she’d luxuriate in your success. If you needed her, she’d be there. She loved her family – her children, grandchildren, brothers, nieces, and nephews. And she was surrounded by a great circle of friends throughout her life. The Joan Margolius Cherner Women’s Empowerment Fund honors her memory by bringing flowers and love to women who so desperately need to feel love on a day that is especially challenging for them.
Joan Margolius Cherner is survived by her husband of more than 30 years, Gerald (Jerry) Cherner, sons Billy (Toni) and Michael (Ann) Karlin; bothers Philip (the late Phyllis) and Alan (Denese) Margolius; stepchildren Norman Cherner, Beth Lamb, and the late Jeffrey Cherner; grandchildren Jacob, Nicole, Benjamin, Rose and Dov; and loving nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grandnephews, and friends.
Read more about Joan Margolius Cherner in JWI magazine's fall 2017 issue.
Joan Margolius Cherner (1943-2017)
Joanie’s Fund is a fitting tribute to a woman who brought love and joy into the lives of so many.
Donations to The Joan Margolius Cherner Women’s Empowerment Fund support JWI’s Mother’s Day Project and the National Library Initiative. The Fund enhances and grows the projects, allowing JWI to send financial literacy resources to domestic violence shelters nationwide on Mother's Day, and create dedicated spaces where women can relax, regroup, and start building safe new lives. Additionally, with this funding, JWI can host Mother’s Day parties and let children create cards and gifts for their mothers in the shelters. JWI is grateful to the family of Joan Margolius Cherner for dedicating the legacy of their beloved mother, grandmother, sister, and aunt to this important initiative.