For P.J. Pearlstone, doing good in the Jewish community is all in the family. He’s descended from four generations of philanthropists. His great-grandfather, Joseph Meyerhoff, was well-known for his involvement with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, with the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall being named in his honor. The Pearlstone Retreat Center was originally founded in memory of his grandfather, who had purchased the former Camp Milldale land, as the Jack Pearlstone Institute for Living Judaism. And his father, Richard Pearlstone, was the national chairman of the United Jewish Appeal — now part of the Jewish Federations of North America.
This would be a tough act to follow for anyone, but Pearlstone has built upon this legacy of giving in his own way, as part of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore. He’ll soon be kicking off his second year as the organization’s Annual Campaign chair, a position usually held for a single, one-year term.
“I never felt pressured or expected to continue my family’s legacy of leadership, but it was something I wanted to continue and that I felt like I was in a position to do,” Pearlstone said. “I want to help improve the Jewish community for everybody.”
Pearlstone, 49, lives in Pikesville with his wife, Karen, and their dog, Bentley. They belong to Beth Tfiloh Congregation, and have two adult sons.
Pearlstone has spent almost his entire life in Baltimore. Growing up, he wasn’t as religiously observant as he would later become, and had his bar mitzvah at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation. Pearlstone noted that as the Jewish community grew, it became more diverse and increased the need for collaboration amongst various denominations.
His first brush with Jewish philanthropy was not in Baltimore at all, but in Florida, where he lived for a few years, working with the Greater Miami Jewish Federation. Pearlstone lived there for nine years, and when he moved back to Baltimore, he got involved with The Associated almost immediately.
“It was a great way to continue the family legacy, but also to meet new people,” he recalled. “My two young kids were going to a new school. It was another way to connect with different people.”
Pearlstone was Chair of the Pearlstone board from 2014-2016 and has been on the Associated board since 2008. He’s held many different positions at the Federation, all leadership-related.
“When I’m asked to do something, I usually say yes,” he quipped.
The Associated’s campaign chair is a role selected by past board chairs and other leadership positions, in part due to the sheer amount of work and dedication that it requires. While it’s a very active role during most years, the 2024 campaign was anything but uneventful, as it launched in September 2023, shortly before Oct. 7. The tragedy meant that many of the campaign’s resources had to be shifted to new, additional programs, such as ones designed to prevent and spread awareness of antisemitism and provide mental health resources for Jewish Baltimoreans.
Pearlstone said that it was a real challenge, but it was a challenge that he, the other Associated leadership and Baltimore’s Jewish community all rose to.
“There’s been a massive shift of resources, but it’s also been a bit more challenging on the campaign front. People were very scared, especially on [Oct.] 8th, 9th and 10th, when [the attack] was so fresh and no one knew what was going to happen,” he explained. “But we really rallied around [the community] like we’ve done in the past, like we did during COVID.”
The Associated also ran an emergency campaign to benefit Israel, as part of the Jewish Federations of North America’s larger campaign. The Baltimore campaign raised several million dollars, with one anonymous donor individually contributing one million, contributing to the JFNA’s total amount of over $850 million.
“Without having [the campaign] in place, we couldn’t respond in the way we did. So that just kind of shows how the annual campaign plays a crucial role in the Baltimore Jewish community, and allows community members to pool their resources and talents to address these challenges,” Pearlstone said. “If we don’t have an annual campaign, we can’t keep the lights on and respond when things like this happen.”
Most of the 2024 campaign was spent dealing with the aftermath of Oct. 7’s effect on the Jewish community and how its resources could be used to treat it. This year, one of Pearlstone’s goals is to address knowledge gaps between donors, so they are more educated about The Associated’s operations.
“I think there’s a huge gap in knowledge, in the general Baltimore Jewish community overall, of what The Associated does and how much it does,” he added. “People don’t realize how much it does and how much it touches. It’s a lot more robust than people think.”
Despite all the hardships of the past year, there’s still a lot for Pearlstone to look forward to in his second term as campaign chair. He noted that he’s excited to work with new Associated CEO Andrew Cushnir, as he was on the search committee that hired him; as well as the opening of the organization’s soon-to-be-redeveloped Goldsmith Campus in Park Heights.
“We play such a crucial role in supporting and protecting the community, and ensuring that essential services are available to those in need,” Pearlstone said. “It fosters this sense of unity and solidarity among us, how important taking care of Jewish Baltimore is.”
