Photographs by William Taufic.
Great philanthropists like Joel E. Smilow of Southport are born, not made.
“I trace my passion for philanthropy back to my childhood in greater Washington, D.C., when I watched my father, who was a patent examiner in the U.S. Commerce Department, making out five dollar and ten dollar checks to a number of not-for-profits,” says Joel. Shortly after graduating from Yale in 1954, where he worked at a student-run sales agency to supplement his scholarship, the deal was cinched. “I concluded that success in business, coupled with helping others, would lead to a fulfilling career.”
Joel’s rising star led him to Procter & Gamble and later to Playtex Products, Inc., where he eventually became chairman and CEO. He never forgot his commitment to giving back. Following generous gifts to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the New York Philharmonic, Memorial Sloan-Kettering, Johns Hopkins, NYU Medical Center and others as well as the Smilow Family Breast Health Center at Norwalk Hospital, he made a “transforming donation” to Yale-New Haven Hospital for its Smilow Cancer Hospital. The nearly $500-million state-of-the-art facility opened its doors in October and offers the most comprehensive cancer care between Boston and New York City. All this from a man who “had never been in Connecticut or seen Yale prior to showing up on the Old Campus in September 1950.”
He gifts others but seems gifted himself with an eye for visualizing the jewel in the crown, the contribution that will spark a dramatic difference in quality of life.
“The Smilow Cancer Hospital’s primary purpose is to provide outstanding, compassionate care for, and treatment of people with cancer. Great facilities help attract great people, and this facility will help Yale Medical School recruit top researchers,” says Joel.
According to Marna Borgstrom, president and CEO of YNHH, “We have built one of the finest patient-focused cancer care facilities in the country and are very grateful for Joel and Joan Smilow’s overwhelmingly generous gift, and for sharing our vision of creating