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<\/p>\nEvery year, American\u00a0mah\u00a0jongg\u00a0players\u00a0purchase\u00a0a new card from the National Mah\u00a0Jongg\u00a0League, listing the winning hands\u00a0they\u2019ll\u00a0use for the next 12 months.\u00a0For generations, these card sales have also helped raise millions of dollars for charitable causes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, a new fundraising campaign,\u00a0\u201cBuy a Card for Dorothy,\u201d\u00a0is turning that tradition back on itself: using sales of the League\u2019s 2027 cards to honor Dorothy S. Meyerson, one of the women who helped establish the American game and its charitable fundraising tradition nearly 90 years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The campaign\u00a0seeks\u00a0to\u00a0establish\u00a0a permanent memorial in Forest Hills, where Meyerson lived, developed her influential rules for\u00a0mah\u00a0jongg, and\u00a0operated\u00a0a nationwide business from her home. Its goals include a public mural honoring Meyerson, an honorary street co-naming of\u00a0\u201cMah\u00a0Jongg\u00a0Way\u201d\u00a0on the block where her former home still stands, and community celebrations of her legacy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cForest Hills celebrates its history,\u201d\u00a0said Barry Joseph, a local author and organizer of the campaign.\u00a0\u201cHelen Keller spent her final years here. She has a mural. The Ramones got their start here. They have\u00a0a mural.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0time Dorothy S. Meyerson had one, too.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Woman Who Helped Create American Mah\u00a0Jongg\u00a0<\/p>\n
When\u00a0\u2018mahjong\u2019\u00a0arrived in America from China in the early 1920s, it became an overnight sensation.\u00a0But the craze eventually faded, in part because competing rules made it difficult for players to share a common game.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dorothy S. Meyerson helped change that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Jewish woman living in Forest Hills, Meyerson developed her own standardized rules for the game, building on versions still being played in the community. As a founding member of her synagogue\u2019s Sisterhood (Forest Hills Jewish Center), she began teaching the game in her home as a fundraiser, distributing printed copies of her rules to participants.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 1937, her efforts soon caught the attention of Macy\u2019s, which published her rules and hosted her free weekly\u00a0mah\u00a0jongg\u00a0lessons at its flagship Manhattan department store. For nine years, she taught there every Thursday afternoon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Meyerson\u00a0subsequently\u00a0expanded her teaching model to department stores across America, training representatives to teach the game and sell her rulebook. Her rules remained in publication, with annual updates, until her death in 1971.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 1937, Meyerson joined three other Jewish women to\u00a0establish\u00a0the National Mah\u00a0Jongg\u00a0League. As its founding vice president and longtime\u00a0Chairman\u00a0of Standardization, she helped shape the distinctly American version of the Chinese game, including the League\u2019s annual\u00a0selection\u00a0of winning hands.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Today, American\u00a0mah\u00a0jongg\u00a0continues to bring players together around tables across the country, particularly within Jewish communities, where the game became a beloved intergenerational tradition.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For her role in shaping the game, the memorial campaign celebrates Meyerson as the\u00a0\u201cMother of American Mah\u00a0Jongg\u201d\u00a0and Forest Hills as the birthplace of the American variation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bringing Dorothy\u2019s Fundraising Tradition Full Circle\u00a0<\/p>\n
Since 1937, the National Mah\u00a0Jongg\u00a0League has published an annual card listing the official winning hands for that year. These cards have also become a powerful fundraising mechanism.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Under the League\u2019s longstanding Collector program, individuals and organizations gather card orders on behalf of players. The League then sends a charitable contribution based on the number of cards sold to an eligible charity chosen by the Collector.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For the 2027 card, the contribution is $7 per card, at no\u00a0additional\u00a0cost to the purchaser.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Joseph, who is serving as the campaign\u2019s Collector, is inviting\u00a0mah\u00a0jongg\u00a0players nationwide to\u00a0purchase\u00a0their 2027 cards through the campaign. Proceeds will support the memorial project through the Reform Temple of Forest Hills, which\u00a0is serving\u00a0as its fiscal conduit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The deadline for campaign orders is January 15, 2027. Standard cards cost $16, and large-print cards cost $18.\u00a0The League will mail the cards directly to purchasers in spring 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the most remarkable things about Dorothy\u2019s story is that it begins with a fundraiser for her synagogue\u2019s Sisterhood,\u201d\u00a0said Joseph.\u00a0\u201cNow,\u00a0nearly 90\u00a0years later,\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0using the fundraising model she helped\u00a0establish\u00a0to bring that\u00a0story\u00a0full circle.\u00a0We\u2019re\u00a0asking players across the country to honor the woman who helped make their weekly games possible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a boy I remember going to the cemetery with my father and watching him show his respect by laying honeysuckles, roses, and\u00a0mah\u00a0jongg\u00a0tiles on and around her tombstone,\u201d\u00a0recalled Jeffrey Meyerson of Salt Lake City,\u00a0Dorothy\u2019s grandson.\u00a0\u201cI and my cousins are blown away by this amazing outpouring of attention to honor her in such a public way.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
From a Neighborhood Discovery to a National Campaign\u00a0<\/p>\n
Joseph, a longtime Forest Hills resident currently\u00a0writing\u00a0a book about how a century of Jewish\u00a0women built\u00a0community through a Chinese game, discovered Meyerson\u2019s story while researching the origins of American\u00a0mah\u00a0jongg.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was astonished to learn that two of the League\u2019s four founding leaders had lived just blocks from his home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI had no idea that such an important chapter of American cultural history unfolded right here in my neighborhood,\u201d\u00a0Joseph said.\u00a0\u201cI know the streets Dorothy walked, the synagogue she attended, and even the sanctuary where her daughter was married. The more I learned, the more I realized that writing about her would not be enough. I wanted my neighbors, and\u00a0mah\u00a0jongg\u00a0players everywhere, to know her name.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The project has already attracted support from Meyerson\u2019s family, historians, neighborhood leaders, and\u00a0mah\u00a0jongg\u00a0advocates, including Dorothy\u2019s grandchildren: Allison Davis, Jeffrey Meyerson, Douglas Meyerson, and Jill Barzilay; Annelise Heinz, author of Mahjong: A Chinese Game and the Making of Modern American Culture; local historian Michael Perlman; and Linda Fisher, founder of Mahjongg at Bryant Park.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Reform Temple of Forest Hills is also supporting the project and\u00a0serving as\u00a0its fiscal conduit.\u00a0\u201cThe Chinese tile game of Mah\u00a0Jongg\u00a0has become an essential part of Jewish life and socializing,\u201d\u00a0said RTFH Rabbi Mark Kaiserman.\u00a0\u201cDiscovering that it has American roots right here in Forest Hills is exciting and deserves great celebration. Dorothy Meyerson is a Jewish icon that deserves to be recognized, celebrated, and appreciated in our community alongside other local superstars such as The Ramones, Spider-Man, and Helen Keller.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Supporter Michael Perlman of the Rego-Forest Preservation Council, said,\u00a0\u201cIt is amazing how residents\u2019\u00a0historic pride, community spirit, and the power of creativity, can turn a banal wall into a stunning educational resource and unifying destination, which signifies how public art is a gift for the masses. I am grateful for this eye-opening community initiative launched by Barry Joseph, a creative\u00a0visionary\u00a0and a humanitarian dynamo. Forest Hills, a breeding ground for historic architecture, culture, and the arts, is where hidden gems such as a legendary game\u2019s launching pad, are being rediscovered.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The campaign\u2019s organizers hope the memorial will introduce Meyerson\u2019s extraordinary legacy to future generations while recognizing the Chinese origins of the game and the Jewish women who helped develop its distinctively American form.\u00a0<\/p>\n
How to Participate\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mah\u00a0jongg\u00a0players anywhere in the United States can\u00a0participate\u00a0by purchasing their 2027 National Mah\u00a0Jongg\u00a0League cards through the\u00a0\u201cBuy a Card for Dorothy\u201d\u00a0campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Standard card: $16
\nLarge-print card: $18
\nContribution toward the memorial: $7 per card
\nCampaign order deadline: January 15, 2027
\nExpected card delivery: April 2027, directly from the National MahJonggLeague\u00a0<\/p>\n
To learn more about the memorial campaign or order cards:\u00a0tinyurl.com\/ThankYouDorothy\u00a0<\/p>\n
About the Campaign\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBuy a Card for Dorothy\u201d\u00a0is a community-led campaign organized by Forest Hills author Barry Joseph to honor Dorothy S. Meyerson, a co-founder of the National Mah\u00a0Jongg\u00a0League and a pioneering figure in the development of American\u00a0Mah Jongg. The campaign\u00a0seeks\u00a0to\u00a0establish\u00a0a permanent public memorial in Forest Hills\u00a0including a proposed mural and honorary street co-naming, while increasing public awareness of Meyerson\u2019s contributions to American culture. The Reform Temple of Forest Hills is serving as a supporter and fiscal conduit for the project.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Dorothy S.\u00a0Meyerson, co-founder of the National Mah\u00a0Jongg\u00a0League\u00a0and a pioneering figure in the development of American Mah Jongg.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every year, American\u00a0mah\u00a0jongg\u00a0players\u00a0purchase\u00a0a new card from the National Mah\u00a0Jongg\u00a0League, listing the winning hands\u00a0they\u2019ll\u00a0use for the next 12 months.\u00a0For…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":386609,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-386608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=386608"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386608\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/386609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=386608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=386608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=386608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}