Submission #22096 by Olam Tikvah Men's Club - Fairfax, VA (1147)
I have read the 2021 Torch Awards Program Guidelines.
From Hate to Hope
Community Outreach
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"From Hate to Hope" was a Men's Club brunch program that featured as a guest speaker, Olam Tikvah congregant Marnie Fienberg, a co-founder of the 2 for Seder initiative. Marnie's mother-in-law, Joyce Fienberg was a victim of the Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh. 2 for Seder encourages individual actions to fight back against anti-Semitism.
Fifteen months after the horrible tragedy of the Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh, the Olam Tikvah Men's Club welcomed fellow congregant Marnie Fienberg to be a guest speaker at our winter brunch. Marnie walked the congregation, and numerous community friends, through the stages of her immense grief and sorrow, and how it generated a call to action against anti-Semitism. This program featured a two-hour discussion and question and answer period, with Marnie going into detail about how her 2 for Seder initiative came into being, and how she wanted to honor her late mother-in-law's life by creating an international effort to encourage Jews to invite two non-Jews to attend their seders. Joyce Fienberg was a long-time educator who always kept an open door and Marnie firmly believes that this approach is essential in bringing people of various backgrounds together, especially as it times into the meaning of Passover. Regrettably, the COVID-19 pandemic made the initiative pivot to virtual seders in the months after the brunch, but the mission remained the same. The Olam Tikvah Men's Club supported the 2 for Seder initiative by raising money for the organization through its brunch, which assisted in the development of its educational material. Numerous club members participated in the seder initiative in 2020 in virtual form.
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Original Program
Gold