An Evening of Education and Inspiration ... and success!

Victoria Clowater (MRH 2011), Erin Legare (MRH 06), myself,
Mayor Brad Woodside, Holocaust survivor Dr. Israel Unger,
and UNB professor on German history Dr. Lisa Todd.

Thank you everyone who was able to attend my event, held at the Legion, this past Thursday: "An Evening of Education and Inspiration".

While I was a bit disappointed in the numbers, I was thrilled with the way things went. I know that it being summer had a role in the numbers. I tried my best to advertise but was away from home the week prior and I didn't get as many posters around Fredericton as I had hoped. Alas, ~32 is better than none.

We did, however, raise a decent amount of money to be donated to the Canadian Centre for Diversity for future MRH trips. This was really important to me as there were so many donors this year that made it possible for all 59 of us to travel together and form such a special bond, I felt like I had to do a part in this, too.

The presentations went really well - we split up the evening with poems and testimonies for an emotional aspect, and shared the song of the Warsaw Ghetto that Pinchas wrote / sang for us at Treblinka. Victoria spoke about her reactions to the trip, as well as the major points that she shall always remember - including the memorial for the gay victims of the Holocaust. Erin spoke about the emotional response to the March; she hasn't done any presentations like this in the 5 years since her trip, so it was really exciting to have her with us, sharing her knowledge and experiences. I spoke about Philip Riteman, the role of those we marched for, and the importance of "passing the torch", as Faigie told us she does each year on the March, and something we did on Thursday, to our audience.

Our guest speakers were also fantastic - Dr. Lisa Todd provided a wonderful background of the Holocaust and the atrocities we learned about while overseas, while Mayor Woodside spoke of the importance of Holocaust education, how moving it is to see these places, and made special note how proud he is of myself, Victoria, and Erin for hosting and holding this evening, and for devoting the remainder of our lives to standing up against prejudice and discrimination. Finally, Israel Unger, a Holocaust survivor, spoke about his experiences. He was 7, if my memory serves me, when the war ended.

I am pleased with how things went, and the responses have been wonderful. A friend of my mom's described it best: "we have lived such sheltered and uncomplicated lives in comparison.."

For my mom's post on this event, click here.

And thank you to everyone who came out on Thursday, and to everyone who continues to follow my blog. You have allowed me to pass the torch.

On the 25 of August, I'll be leaving for Toronto for several days for the March reunion - getting together with the majority of this year's participants and leaders to discuss things since the trip, and put plans into action for further education. Stay tuned for more on that ...