Can a performance counter hate?
09/12/2023
Now that the summer has come and gone and schools are back in session,The Mitzvah Project is busy scheduling its Holocaust-themed, theatrical/educational program at high schools and colleges in the Bay Area and around the country.
For years, I spent several hours every day reaching out to educators across the country, by email and by phone.
I still do a lot of direct outreach. But something different has been happening this year.
More and more, teachers, principals and superintendents are reaching out to me.
What's changing?
The state of the world? Without a doubt.
And... more educators are hearing about The Mitzvah Project and our impact in the schools.
Just a few months ago, we were confident that we could reach a record, 6,000 students by December 31.
Now, we fully expect to blow past that number on our way to 7,000 students — or more!
Read on to find out what’s making this possible and how we’ll get to 7,000.
But… before you scroll down the page, I need to ask for your help.
From day one, The Mitzvah Project’s commitment has been to offer our Holocaust/social justice program *at no cost* to all public high schools.
That commitment remains steadfast and unwavering, but can only continue with your support -- support that literally makes every single public school presentation possible.
Like our upcoming presentations to over 3,000 students at
Sandalwood High School in Jacksonville, Florida.
Chapel Hill High School in Chapel Hill, NC
Taunton High in Taunton, MA
Berkeley High School in Berkeley, California
***
Please take a moment right now to support our work by making a tax-deductible contribution.
Thank you -- and please read on!
How we’ll reach 7,000 students!
In the last week of August, I received an email from a high school principal in the Hayward Unified School District, here in the Bay Area. It was one of several emails I’ve received from educators recently, many of whom are concerned about hate-motivated incidents in their schools and communities.
“I heard about The Mitzvah Project. How can we bring your program to my school?”
What this (and other) educator(s) have been hearing about — and are asking us for — is to have their students experience The Mitzvah Project’s message of inclusion, empathy and tolerance and to bring a transformative experience to their students to counter to the proliferating racist, antisemitic and hate-driven incidents, disinformation and propaganda targeting high school students, schools and communities around the country.
After experiencing The Mitzvah Project, one Wisconsin educator said:
The Mitzvah Project… goes into the heart and complexity of current issues of prejudice, bullying, racial tension, genocide and war presented within the historical context of The Holocaust.
That comment, however, sheds a light on a profound concern among many educators, namely that the majority of states do NOT mandate any form of Holocaust education.
… and, in the states where Holocaust education is taught, it is both limited and passive so that many teachers and principals are seeking new and effective ways to educate and engage students.
***
Enter…
CLICK HERE to read all three teaching artist bios.
There are many more high school presentations we expect to schedule shortly including in:
Hayward, CA
Walnut Creek, CA
Long Beach, CA
Sacramento, CA
Hillsborough, CA
Durham, NC
Chicago, IL
Once high school and college presentations are booked, check this page for updated information.
PLEASE NOTE: If you are a high school or college educator or administrator and would like to learn how you can bring The Mitzvah Project to your school, please click here.
THANK YOU!
Roger Grunwald, Founder, The Mitzvah Project
