Amtrak Victim Left Legacy to Rekindle Detroit's Entrepreneurial Flame

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Detroit never lost its pull on Rachel Jacobs, one of eight people killed in last week’s deadly Philadelphia Amtrak derailment.

To continue the 39-year-old metro Detroit native’s legacy of giving, a CrowdRise memorial campaign has been launched by Jacobs’ family to raise money for Detroit Nation, the community-building charity she co-founded.

The charity leverages the talents of Detroiters like Jacobs, whose lives have taken them elsewhere but whose passions remain with the Motor City, to help startups and entrepreneurs that are defining the new spirit of Detroit.

Jacobs lived in Manhattan with her husband, Todd Waldman, and 2-year-old son, Jacob. When the train trashed, she was on the return leg of her twice-a-week commute to Philadelphia to her job as CEO of an educational software startup, ApprenNet.

The CrowdRise campaign total stood at nearly $15,000, by mid-day Monday, as Jacobs was being remembered at a funeral in Southfield.

Burial was to follow at Machpelah Cemetery in Ferndale, The Detroit News reports. The family will sit shiva at their home through Wednesday night, with religious services each day at 7 p.m.

“True Loss for the World”

Detroit Nation said on its Facebook page last week that legions of Detroit ex-pats she rallied “are devastated by the poss of our founder.”

“To the Detroit Nation family and to all who know her, Rachel embodied a passion for building communities and demonstrated that one person can always make an impact,” the post read. “We will miss her warmth, her vision and most of all her ability to connect and give purpose to those who shared in her goal of giving back to our hometown. We remain committed to honoring Rachel’s legacy and to building upon her incredible foundation.”

Longtime family friend David Techner told The Oakland Press the Jacobs’ death “is a true loss for the world.”

A defining passion was the city of Detroit’s rebirth, he said, but “she was active in all kinds of issues,” continuing a legacy of public service established by her parents, John and Gilda Jacobs. Gilda Jacobs’ political career spanned 1981-2010, from a spot on the Huntington Woods City Commission to the state Senate.

“That’s exactly what she patterned her life after,” Techner said of Jacobs’ commitment to public service. “She and her sister (Jessica) are exactly what you would want – great people. ... It was in her DNA to be active and involved.”

High Bar for Achievement

The comments on the CrowdRise page help tell the story of a kind, brilliant and compassionate woman who inspired others with her unflinching support for Detroit.

“In memory of Rachel, with the hope that word of her amazing efforts on behalf of Detroit will spark others to carry on her mission,” Cheryl Scott Dube and Paul Dube wrote.

“In tribute to Rachel Jacobs, who personified tikkun olam, and in sorrow and with hugs to John and Gilda, who raised an extraordinary daughter, and in solidarity with our native city of Detroit, which has benefited so greatly from Rachel’s efforts and will continue to rise due in no small part to her devotio,” wrote Howard and Carol Boigon.

“Rachel was an inspiration to me and my family for as long as I remember,” wrote Katy Zack. “We will miss the high bar she set for achievement in love, family, career and beyond.”

“In honor and memory of the incredible Rachel Jacobs, a true Mensch and inspiration to the Swarthmore and Detroit ex-pat communities,” wrote Trish (Mulvoy) Kipins. “May her memory be a blessing.”

Others recalled Jacobs during her days in college at Swarthmore College and, later, Columbia Business School.

Classmate Jill Rubin recalled “the time we spent in college digging the compost pile and rummaging through trash for recyclables. I remember her smile, her kindness, optimism and brilliance.”

How to Make a Memorial Gift

• Detroit Nation at www.crowdrise.com/rachel- jacobsdetroitnation, or to Rachel Jacobs Detroit Nation, 600 renaissance Center, Suite 1740, Detroit, MI 48243
• Downtown Detroit Partnership at [email protected]
• Columbia Business School, where the family would like to create a scholarship for aspiring women social engineers at http://giving.columbia.edu/- giveonline/?schoolstyle=140

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Photo via Crowdrise

Related Links:

• FBI Asked To Probe Claim That Amtrak Train Was Struck Before Crashing
• ‘Greatest Man We Have Ever Known’ Midshipman Called by Teammates
• UPDATE: All Eight Fatal Victims From Amtrak Crash Identified
• UPDATE: Train May Have Been Traveling 100 MPH, 7 Reported Killed In Amtrak Derailment In Pennsylvania
• Tragic News for Family of Huntington Woods Native In Philadelphia Amtrak Derailment
• WATCH: 13-Year-Old Boy Asks for Help Finding Dad Missing In Fatal Amtrak Train Crash
• Howard County Man Killed in Amtrak Derailment
• Amtrak Employee Files First Derailment Lawsuit