Live virtual panel and candle lighting from the Warsaw Ghetto
“If the world is ever
to be made better, it will be made better by people who have the
strength to visit Auschwitz and leave it there and take the memory of
those experiences and somehow go back and make a difference.” –Marc
Pollick
Marc Pollick developed “Journey of Conscience” to travel with
students, teachers, and Holocaust Survivors to Auschwitz, Majdanek,
Terezin, and other concentration camps in the 1980s. The groups traveled
through Prague, Warsaw, Vienna, Budapest, Amsterdam, and the State of
Israel. His goal was to enable people to become part of a journey to be
remembered with awe. The trip offered rare insights into the horror and
tragedy of the Holocaust and how some managed to survive.
Join Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education Center of Florida on April 8th as they commemorate Yom HaShoah with a discussion
on the impact of these important trips. Mr. Pollick will moderate a
panel of people who have done this trip at different times and with
different groups.
Yet, the power of the experience is the same.
You will hear from panelists Leah Hornik, Brett & Shira Spector,
and David Ravanshenas about how the deep impact of their journeys shaped
their lives. Brett & Shira met while volunteering for March of the
Living. Leah took a gap year immediately following high school. David
was so moved, he continues to take groups every year. They will share
their experiences, emotions, and important moments to help us understand
how we can impact change today.
Jonny Daniels will join us live from the Warsaw Ghetto.
Jonny felt a life-long passion to give back and founded an
organization called From the Depths. Jonny will share the story of a
Lyubuv Volchek, a “Righteous Gentile” who at 11 years old saved a young
Jewish girl who escaped into the forest. Jonny will hold a candle
lighting ceremony and you are welcome to light a candle of your own in
memory of the 6 million Jews and many others who perished during the
Holocaust.
The event will conclude with the Mourners Kaddish by Rabbi Rick Sherwin.
Panelists
Marc Pollick, Moderator
Marc has an extensive career in academic Holocaust Studies, working
with 1986 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Elie Wiesel. He was Founding
Executive Director of the Zachor Institute for Holocaust Studies and
founded The Elie Wiesel Institute for Humanitarian Studies. Marc is a
University Scholar of Boston University. In 1977, he was employed as a
lecturer at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem and has taught Holocaust courses at
the high school and university levels.
In 1997, Marc founded The Giving Back Fund, a nonprofit that
encourages and facilitates charitable giving by pro athletes,
celebrities, existing nonprofits and all who truly desire to give back.
He is an internationally recognized speaker, writer, and consultant on
philanthropy and charitable giving, who has guided the philanthropic
efforts of an impressive clientele.
Leah Hornik, Panelist
Leah Hornik is a current student at Rollins College. She embarked on a
gap year after graduating high school, where she moved to Israel for
nine months. She studied at Hebrew University and volunteered with Magen
David Adom, the Israeli ambulances. She had the opportunity to travel
to Poland and learn about the atrocities that occurred there first hand.
Additionally, Leah is a member of the Bonner Leaders program at
Rollins, where she volunteers at the Holocaust Memorial Resource and
Education Center. She is currently majoring in Religious Studies with a
Minor in Political Science.
Brett & Shira Spector, Panelists
Originally from Miami, Shira has spent the last 10 years in Orlando
with her husband Brett and their two sons, Mitchell and Andrew. While
the move to Orlando was a professional one, she has now found a
community that she and her family can call home. Shira is currently the
Chief Data & Analytics Officer for Partners Federal Credit Union.
When she is not busy in her professional life, she enjoys cooking,
traveling, curling up with a good book, hanging out with her boys, or
jumping on her Peloton.
Brett Spector is a Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships with
Iron Mountain and has been with them for the last six years. Currently,
he sits on the boards of directors at the Rosen JCC in SW Orlando and
Congregation Ohev Shalom in Maitland. Outside of work he enjoys spending
time with his family, going on vacation, and both him and his wife
Shira love riding and running on their Peletons.
David Ravanshenas, Panelist
David grew up in Los Angeles and attended the University of Southern California for both undergraduate and graduate degrees. He works in Real Estate Development focusing primarily on offices and apartments. He spends his free time with family, playing sports, and donating his time to philanthropic causes. Taking young adults to March of the Living has been a recent passion project.
Jonny Daniels of From the Depths, Live from Warsaw Ghetto
“My foundation, From The Depths, took it on ourselves as millennials,
as young people involved in Holocaust memorial, to do what we can to
assist and give help to the Righteous Among the Nations.” The
organization will also send packages to Muslim Righteous Among the
Nations in Albania – the only country to have been under Nazi occupation
and which had more Jews after World War II than before.
“We’re going from Righteous to Righteous every single day, with food,
with medicine if they need, with whatever they need, to look after
them, to make sure that they don’t have to leave their homes and they
can stay safe. We are trying our hardest to protect those who protected
us just 75 years ago.”
Registration is required. A zoom link will be sent the day before the event. |
