The Florida Holocaust Museum Raises $1.6 Million at Annual “To Life” Gala

St. Petersburg, FL (February 10, 2026) – The Florida Holocaust Museum hosted its annual “To Life” Gala on Saturday, Feb. 7 at The Vinoy resort in Downtown St. Petersburg, raising $1.6 million while looking back on a vital year that included reopening to the public in September 2025 after more than a year of renovations and improvements. At more than 500 attendees, it is The Museum’s largest event of the year.

President and CEO Eric Stillman opened the evening by previewing the exciting additions still to come at The Museum, including The Wiesel Experience, an interactive display of the world’s largest collection of Elie and Marion Wiesel artifacts that will occupy The Museum’s entire third floor, as well as an immersive theater that will house the Dimensions in Testimony platform for virtual conversations with survivors.

“When you walk through our doors, you are walking through history, through the voices that experienced it, artifacts that bear witness, and stories that remind us of what happens when hatred goes unchecked,” said Stillman. “We are continuing to advance our mission and expand our reach, setting new goals focused on building a Museum even more capable of preserving these stories and inspiring the generations to come.”

Gala co-chair Rachel Wein presented the Legacy Award to Holocaust survivors from around the Tampa Bay area, honoring them alongside her late grandmother Helen Kahan, an Auschwitz survivor who was interviewed for The Museum’s Dimensions in Testimony project.

“My grandmother was a survivor, but she did not survive in silence,” said Wein. “She chose life, she rebuilt, she raised a family, and she told her story because she believed memory is not passive; it is protective.”

Sandy Loebenberg-Mermelstein, daughter of Museum cofounder Walter Loebenberg, granted the Loebenberg Humanitarian Award to the nation of Sweden, represented by Ambassador Urban Ahlin, in honor of its actions to save thousands of Jews during the Holocaust.

“There are tens of thousands of descendants alive today because of the Swedish sailors, diplomats, civil servants, families, and volunteers whose choices saved lives and shaped history,” said Loebenberg-Mermelstein. “Tonight, we are here to honor their humanity. Their courage to act when action was dangerous, the courage to help when help was costly, and the courage to choose compassion when hatred was prevailing.”

Board Chair Stacy Conroy emphasized the importance of The Museum amid an atmosphere of heightened antisemitism.

“For me, the mission of this museum is personal because I am raising Jewish children in a world where antisemitism is no longer abstract,” she said. “I first became involved with this museum

because I wanted to teach my children the importance of being an upstander, but I now teach them with a different urgency born of real fear. Fear that teaching alone is not enough, that good intentions are not enough, that memory without action is not enough.”

The FHM thanks all of its sponsors and supporters for making the night possible. Those who wish to still be a part of To Life can contribute here: https://13935a.blackbaudhosting.com/13935a/To-Life-2026