News from the 19th Floor – At the JFR – July 2021
News from the 19th Floor
JFR 2021 FILM SERIES STARTS MONDAY, JULY 12
The JFR will be holding another film series this summer. In August 2020, we screened five JFR documentaries on our Facebook site.
The films will premiere on Facebook on Monday evenings at 8pm ET starting July 12 and running through August 9. There is no fee to participate. Please visit the page at: https://www.facebook.com/JewishFoundationForTheRighteous/. We would appreciate it if you could please share this with your networks and encourage them to join us virtually as well.
The schedule and documentaries to be screened are listed below:
July 12 – “A Story of Moral Courage” (Poland)
July 19 – “The Quiet Heroes” (Poland)
July 26 – “Hidden in Plain Sight” (Poland)
August 2 – “The Widow and Her Angels” (Lithuania)
August 9 – “A Survivor’s Journey: The Life of Roman Kent”
A tribute to JFR Board President, Roman Kent, who passed away May 21, 2021
2021 SUMMER INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
The 2021 Summer Institute for Teachers (SIT) was terrific! I would like to thank our 2021 Alfred Lerner Fellows, there are 25, and our scholars for making this year’s SIT the success that it was. Having canceled last year’s program, it was good to reconnect with our scholars and with our Lerner Fellows. We are looking forward to working with everyone in the 2021-2022 academic year.
Alfred Lerner Fellow Badge
At the request of a Lerner Fellow, we developed a badge for use in Alfred Lerner Fellow email signatures. We wanted to share the badge with you.
RESCUER AWARDS WILL BE SENT IN JULY
The JFR will be sending awards to each rescuer the end of July. The JFR sends funds three times during the year – March, July, and November. Funds are sent after the JFR receives proof-of-life documentation from each rescuer receiving financial assistance from the JFR. Proof-of-life documents are due into the JFR office July 1st. Funds are not sent until these forms, which includes a notarized affidavit stating that the person is alive, are received.
THANK YOU TO WESTERN UNION
The JFR has worked with Western Union for more than 28 years. They have been a wonderful partner and we are so appreciative of their help and support. We thank Western Union for their assistance in helping the JFR send its funds safely and efficiently to the rescuers.
JFR POSTER SET ON RESCUE ON DISPLAY IN CLASSROOMS
As the school year ended, a number of Lerner Fellows sent photos of their classrooms with the JFR Poster Set on Rescue on display. Here are photos from the classroom of Sue Kenney, Lerner Fellow 2021.
Sue wrote: “I just wanted to send you a photo or two of what my classroom looks like with the JFR posters. They are a permanent addition to my history-themed room! Students love them, and find them very interesting to read… I think they are a perfect way to bring attention to the righteous.” Sue teaches grades 10, 11, and 12 at Immaculate Heart Academy in Township of Washington, NJ.
We Mourn the Passing of Larry Grimes, JFR Lerner Fellow
Larry Grimes, JFR Lerner Fellow 2010, passed away in Florida on May 26, 2021. Larry, a good friend of the JFR, was an excellent educator! He received the JFR Goldman Award for outstanding Holocaust teacher in 2010 (JFR’s Holocaust teacher of the year). Larry traveled with the JFR to Europe in 2010 and 2017. May his memory be a blessing.
FELLOWS IN FOCUS
We hope you have been checking out our featured educators from across the country. Several months ago, the JFR began featuring Alfred Lerner Fellows in a new series called “Fellows in Focus.” Each Wednesday we highlight an outstanding educator! Please check out the JFR’s Facebook page on Wednesday to learn about a terrific teacher.
Teachers who attend the JFR’s Summer Institute for Teachers are known as Alfred Lerner Fellows.
In July we are featuring:
Scott Auspelmyer from Columbia, South Carolina – July 7, 2021
Jessical Badio from Birmingham, Alabama – July 14, 2021
Janice Kroposky from Eatontown, New Jersey – July 21, 2021
Leigh Ann Totty, from McMurray, PA – July 28, 2021
Click here to see June’s Fellows in Focus.
6TH GRADE STUDENT WORK
As promised in our June e-Newsletter, we would like to continue sharing the poetry work of Tricia Skelton’s students. Tricia Skelton, 2017 Alfred Lerner Fellow and recipient of the 2019 Robert I. Goldman Award (JFR’s Holocaust teacher of the year), teaches 6th grade English language arts and history at the Opelika Middle School in Opelika, Alabama. Click here to see her student’s work.
WE WELCOME TWO INTERNS TO THE JFR
This summer we welcome two interns to the JFR. Ogechi Nwobu, a sophomore at UNC, Chapel Hill and Lucinda (Lucy) Edwards, a junior at West Orange High School, joined our staff in June. Ogechi and Lucy will be with us for the summer. Ogechi is an economics major and finished her freshman year with a 3.8 GPA. Lucy is exploring colleges this coming year.
