The Florida Holocaust Museum’s 2016 Giving Challenge Story
In 2016, through all Giving Challenge donations a total of $41,082 was raised for The Florida Holocaust Museum!
Donations made through The Giving Challenge were used to fund The FHM’s Educational and Outreach programs, such as the Anne Frank Humanitarian Award, Teaching Trunks, Law Enforcement and Society, Speak Up, Speak Now!® and Summer Institute for Teachers programs!
The Anne Frank Humanitarian Award program honors the outstanding humanitarian efforts by high school juniors in public and private schools in Pinellas, Pasco, Hillsborough, Sarasota, and Manatee Counties. Principals and guidance counselors recommend students for this prestigious award who have made a conscious decision to better the lives of other individuals or groups both inside and outside of school activities. Last year, ninety-three students received the award in recognition of actions the students took to better the lives of others.
Teachers use our dynamic trunk curriculum to teach the lessons of the Holocaust. These large Teaching Trunks, available free of charge, are designed to accommodate the needs of one class or a team of teachers. The materials have been carefully selected to make sure they are appropriate for students at each grade level. To date, one million students have learned the importance of standing up against bigotry and hate through these trunks. Last year alone, our trunks traveled to twenty-one states, reaching approximately 50,000 students.
Speak Up, Speak Now!® began as a summer program teaching students about the importance of speaking up in the face of injustice, through the arts and group activities. In this program, students meet with Holocaust Survivors, law enforcement officers, and community activists. This program has recently expanded into the Pinellas, Hillsborough, and Sarasota County school systems and will expose even more students to the concepts of upstander behavior, the rights and responsibilities of living in a democracy, and speaking out against injustice.
By participating in the Law Enforcement and Society: Lessons of the Holocaust program, police officers examine the role their profession played in the Holocaust. This program challenges them to reflect upon their professional and personal responsibilities in a democracy today. Since the program’s inception, The Florida Holocaust Museum has trained over 1,500 officers from the Tampa Police Department and the St. Petersburg Police Department. Additionally, training for the Polk State Center for Public Safety, Polk County Fire Rescue, and National Homeland Security all took place last year.
Educational Workshops and Institutes for Teachers share our unique resources with educators throughout the state of Florida who do not have easy access to the Museum. The Florida Holocaust Museum worked with 1,178 teachers last year, touching the lives of tens of thousands of students through the education of their teachers.
***We are excited to announce that The Florida Holocaust Museum will once again be participating in the Giving Challenge!
The Giving Challenge website goes LIVE at Noon on May 1 for accepting donations and The Patterson Foundation will provide a 1:1 MATCH for all donations up to $100 per person!
This website will remain live for 24 hours, through May 2 at 11:59 a.m. and all giving will be done online at www.GivingPartnerChallenge.org. Matching will only be qualified from giving on this website.
The 2018 Giving Challenge is presented by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County with giving strengthened by The Patterson Foundation.