What do you call an attorney buried in sand up to his neck?
Lawyer jokes are an American pastime. Like baseball and apple pie, castigating the legal community is enjoyable as afternoon. But it seems that someone forgot to tell attorney David Kirschenbaum, of the Kirschenbaum Law Offices, how to act. He might just start to give attorneys a good name.
In the heart of Cleveland’s theater district, Kirschenbaum decided to donate some prime retail space for the creation of the Here Here Gallery, a nonprofit entity inspired by Bernice Steinbaum, owner of the Steinbaum Krauss Gallery in the Soho section of New York City.
“I think it was a wonderful gesture by Mr. Kirschenbaum,” Steinbaum says. “I think he’s a little bit of a visionary. He wanted to do something to impact the community.”
Kirschenbaum shrugs off any glory for his gift to the gallery — a four-year, rent-free lease.
“When God’s good to you,” he says, “it’s criminal not to give. You have a right to make money where you want and lose money where you want. You just can’t take your whole life, you’ve got to give something back.”
The gallery, at 1305 Euclid Ave., is at the former site of Cowell & Hubbard jewelry store. To get it ready for its first installation, “There but for the grace of … Temporary Shelters,” Steinbaum and friend and attorney Esther Weissman worked tirelessly with the artists whose work is displayed. It was Weissman who put Steinbaum and Kirschenbaum together.
“She has the art bug,” Steinbaum says of her friend. “She wanted something wonderful for her town and she was willing to give of her time to make a difference. And that is what this show is all about.”
The only money the gallery has received is a small grant from the Gund Foundation that was used to cover the invitations for the opening of the exhibition. Steinbaum will head a committee that decides what exhibitions the gallery presents. And in keeping with the spirit of Kirschenbaum’s gift, the gallery will be available to nonprofit organizations to host events.
“We need something like that,” Kirschenbaum says. “The more you have down there, the better the area.”
For the record, the punch line to the joke is, “Not enough sand.”
How to reach: Here Here Gallery, (440) 717-4714; Kirschenbaum Law Offices, (216) 621-0890; Esther Weissman, (216) 579-1818
Daniel G. Jacobs ([email protected]) is senior editor at SBN.
Giving on the Web
It was bound to happen. With the ability to do everything else on the Web, why shouldn’t we be able to give our money away as well?
Charity and nonprofit organizations can register with www.givetocharity.com and have benefactors fill their coffers without missing a beat while they’re looking for the latest bargain on eBay. Givetocharity accepts major credit cards and eCharge, and a pledge receipt is immediately e-mailed to the donor.
The charity follows up with a receipt through the traditional postal service.
The site is truly international, with translations into French, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.