Going Forward
With the cornerstones of our foundation laid, we find ourselves in the beginning stages of moving forward.
The exhibit garnered great interest and attention;
prompting a VPR segment
on Yom HaShoah/Holocaust Remembrance, featuring
Jewish Community of Greater Stowe's (JCOGS) Rabbi David Fainsilber and survivor Erika Hecht.
It was visited by local middle-school classes, as well as the Olam Chesed (JCOGS' children's education classes). After sharing our stories with Stowe High School, we are now scheduling speaking engagements with Vermont schools and organizations and special interest groups.
Contact us here to schedule your visit.
Our plan is to expand upon and grow our archive of shared stories. We want to bring these stories of survival to life, to personalize the Holocaust and make it real in the eyes and ears of children, so that they might better understand. Our wish is that they will learn that there are consequences to attitudes and actions, and that they have it within themselves to choose the right path. We promote compassion, respect, justice and understanding.
With the creation of impactful visual and experiential content, by speaking directly with students, we assist educators in heightening students' understanding of racism, religious intolerance, bullying and prejudice. Using lessons learned from the Holocaust, and relating history to their own lives, students take on greater understanding of their roles and responsibilities in creating a better world.
Everything BIG starts small.
Our longer, far-reaching goal is to recreate the initial exhibit, making it mobile or finding it a permanent home. We will be seeking grants and financial support from foundations and others. Along with the stories - both in word and image - we will be collecting artifacts. The initial exhibit - "From Generation to Generation ....We are Here!" - included a suitcase with a false bottom which hid money used to bribe Auschwitz guards, and a precious accordion that was buried by a survivor and later retrieved.
In our initial stages - we invite all those whose paths have led them to Vermont, and whose family histories have been touched by the Holocaust to contribute their stories. We want to honor lives lost, and celebrate our being here today because of the miraculous accounts of survival.
We will memorialize and include those stories here, incorporating them as a part of our educational content. We ask for a contribution to help support us as we move forward towards meeting our goals.
These stories will become the foundation for bringing the lessons of the Holocaust to life.
Within them there are invaluable lessons to be learned.