'MARCH OF THE LIVING' LAUNCHES MASSACHUSETTS CHAPTER

BOSTON, MASS. (Issued September 2014) -- The ‘March of the Living,’ an international education program that brings Jewish teens in 11th and 12th grade from all over the world to Poland and Israel, has launched a new Massachusetts chapter (www.www.molnewengland.com).

Making the announcement is community activist and chapter Chairman Irv Kempner of Sharon, Mass., who says the Bay State chapter has three primary goals: to recruit Massachusetts teens for the 2016 March of the Living to Eastern Europe and Israel; to raise funds to provide financial assistance to teens who want to make the pilgrimage in future years; and to teach participants the lessons of the Holocaust and inspire them as future leaders who vow ‘Never Again.’

Long active in the Brotherhood of Temple Israel of Sharon and other communal activities, Kempner is a retired Vice President of Sales at The Gillette Company.

Kempner says the new MOTL Massachusetts chapter has already begun recruiting teens and fundraising for the 2016 program. In order to include as many teens as possible, it has launched an endowment fund to provide financial assistance for Bay State teens who want to go. Thanks to a generous matching grant offer from the Kempner Family Foundation, each donation of $1,000 will be matched, up to a total of $15,000. Space is limited.

Kempner says, “Our goal is to significantly increase the number of teen participants from Massachusetts. This new endowment fund will provide scholarships. “The New England delegation, which Massachusetts is joining, participates in March of the Living every other year. In April 2014, with help from an anonymous donor, three Massachusetts students joined the delegation. With the launch of an official Massachusetts chapter, the committee hopes to raise awareness and recruit many more students.

Jana Brenman, Director of the MOTL New England Region, states that “MOTL is the single most important experience that our teens can have to keep them engaged Jewishly as they head off to college. The experience connects them with their past, gives them skills and awareness to combat any injustices, and forges a strong and unbreakable bond with Israel.” These students return to their communities and schools sharing their experiences, ready to be active leaders in the Jewish community.

Since its inception in 1988, the March of the Living (MOTL) has taken 250,000 teens on this life-changing experience. The trip departs after Passover and lasts 14 days, returning after Israel’s Independence Day. The program consists of one week in Poland, visiting and learning about the Holocaust and the once vibrant Jewish communities, and one week in Israel, strengthening the bond to Israel. There are two marches which every delegation attends: The first is a powerful and somber march on Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom Hashoah) when teens from around the world march together from Auschwitz to Birkenau. The second march takes place on Israel Independence Day (Yom Ha’atzma-ut,) in Israel, when the group celebrates during a climatic march to the Wailing Wall (the Kotel). Kempner, son of Holocaust survivors, says the program dramatically teaches 17 – 18 year-old participants the lessons of the Holocaust and inspires them to become community activists and leaders. Last April, 14,000 teens from 45 countries participated. For a video of that event, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJci5G5SbsI

The Massachusetts participants will join the New England Regional delegation, coordinated by the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. Jana Brenman, Director of Teen Engagement at the Alliance, will lead the 2016 trip.

In addition to the youth trip, Friends of March of the Living which was founded in Miami, has brought 3,000 adult participants on annual pilgrimages with its chief mission the perpetuation of the teens’ MOTL program through financial support. The 2014 Friends of MOTL group had 40 participants including seven from Massachusetts. (see www.friendsofmarchoftheliving.org)

One teen participant summed up her experience: “At Auschwitz I expected an extremely sad day. However, though there remained an air of solemnity, I felt pride and even joy as I walked through the Nazi death camps. As Jews, all 14,000 of us were there, marching on the same earth where we were intended to have been obliterated 70 years ago. And in that moment, we were no longer victims, for we allowed ourselves to feel victorious.” After the 2014 March, Jana Brenman said, “I can think of no better way to keep kids engaged than through this singular program.”

The Massachusetts MOTL Steering Committee includes 2014 mission participants: Irv Kempner, Chair; Holocaust survivor Sidney Handler; Sara Ades Goodwin, Mass. Friends of MOTL Development Director; Jana Brenman, Director, MOTL New England Region, and Director of Teen Engagement at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island; Shani Winton, Recruitment Chair; Aaron Kischel, Fundraising; and Stanley Hurwitz, Public Relations and Marketing Consultant.

To donate to the Friends of the March of the Living Endowment Fund for Massachusetts teens, tax-deductible donations may be sent to: CJP - Kempner Family Foundation, c/o Combined Jewish Philanthropies, 126 High Street, Boston, Mass. 02110. To ensure proper credit, on the memo line, write ‘March of the Living.’ For more information about donations and/or participation in future Friends of MOTL (adult trip), contact Irv Kempner: IrvKempner@gmail.com., or Sara Ades Goodwin: saraadesgoodwin@gmail.com . For more information regarding the teen trip please contact Shani Winton: shaniwinton1@gmail.com.

PHOTO CAPTION: During 2014 March of the Living visit to Poland – (left to right): Sid Handler of Newton, MA, Holocaust survivor; Irv Kempner of Sharon, MA, Chair, Massachusetts Chapter, Friends of MOTL; and Mel Mann of Miami, Interim Executive Director, Friends of MOTL.

ATTENTION, EDITOR:

Photos, interviews and more info available upon request.

- By Stanley Hurwitz 508-269-0570 / stanhurwitz@gmail.com