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One year anniversary of Irena's passing - 5/12/2009
One year ago this week, Irena Sendler passed away. Her legacy continues around the world
and her courage and valor set an example for people everywhere. Many flowers were placed
on her grave site this week and a small ceremony was held with friends and survivors.
Last week the Audrey Hepburn Foundation posthumously awarded Irena Sendler with its 2009 Humanitarian Award for saving Jewish children from the Nazi Holocaust. |
Concert in Israel to honor Irena - 5/6/2009
Tonight in Israel, a concert is being presented to honor Irena Sendler. Elzbieta Ficowska (saved by Irena at 5 months of age) will be present
and will meet Shimon Perez (Israeli President and former Prime Minister).
See this web listing for more information:
/Users/lmcenter2/Desktop/Sendler event - Haaretz Guide 02.01.09 .jpg
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World Premiere - 4/15/2009
The World Premiere of the Hallmark Hall of Fame CBS movie, The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler, was held at the Liberty Theater in Fort Scott, Kansas last evening. The standing room only crowd enjoyed VIP's, a beautiful reception and a powerful, emotional experience.
In the words of child survivor, Renata Zajdman, "Irena would have been proud of the way Hallmark Hall of Fame portrayed the story."
Comments:
*"a beautiful evening, from the theater, to the crowd and the incredible movie"
(from Kansas City)
**it's unbelievable, we are sharing Irena's story in such a way, thanks to Hallmark."
(cast member)
***"Fort Scott is overwhelmed with this evening, this is a powerful statement for education"
(city official)
****"I'm learning, the world is learning, Irena Sendler is a great teacher"
(local elementary teacher)
*****"having Renata and the cast, plus the Hallmark family, made for a once in a lifetime evening"
(from Uniontown)
******"a memory I'll never forget, thanks to every one in this community ,Hallmark and Irena Sendler"
(visitor from PA) |
Hallmark World Premiere - 4/14/2009
HALLMARK HALL OF FAME - CBS MOVIE -
BREAKING NEWS!!!!!! BREAKING NEWS!!!!!! The WORLD PREMIERE of The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler will be held in Fort Scott, Kansas on April 15. The advanced screening of the film will occur at the Liberty Theatre, where light refreshments will be served prior to the viewing. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m., with the movie to start at 7 p.m. The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler is a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie, and it will appear on CBS on April 19. The film will star Anna Paquin as Irena, Academy Award® winner and nominee Marcia Gay Harden, Nathaniel Parker and Goran Visnjic. Harden plays Sendler’s mother, Janina, and Parker portrays Dr. Majkowski, the head of Warsaw’s Department of Health who helped Sendler obtain important resources for her mission. Visnjic plays Stefan, a former university friend of Sendler who was Jewish and with whom she fell in love when she started her clandestine work in the Warsaw ghetto. We are excited to be having the world premiere in Fort Scott. Join the Life in a Jar folks for an evening you'll never forget!!! If you are interested in attending, we will be taking RSVP's. Call and let us know you'd like to come! Vicki I. Pritchett President/CEO Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce 620.223.3566 fschamber@fortscott.com ***Additionally, a
2PM preview matinee has been added, Wednesday afternoon at the
Liberty Theater in Fort Scott.
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Florida presentations - 11/12/2008
Life in a Jar presented in Florida last week-end. Sandra Lilienthal and Stephanie Greenberg directed a powerful venue. We thank all of those who helped make this visit possible, the Custage family, the Karlen family, Rabbi Lilienthal, Sandra and Stephanie's daughters, Hillel Day School and Donna Klein Middle School of Boca Raton, and many, many more. Departing was like saying good-bye to family.
Notes from Florida:
"Thank you for your presentation today. I was particularly moved by how the project affected each of you personally. What you are doing is very important!"
"You are all amazing. Your level of giving of yourselves is above and beyond what most human beings are capable of doing. You are a true inspiration, role models for an entire world."
"We are missing you all already. Your presence here had a profound impact on us, personally, and on our whole community. There really are no words to describe the respect, admiration and affection that I feel for each and every one of you. Thank you for the gift that you brought to us and that you continue to share with the world!" |
Chicago and the Polish Consulate - 11/4/2008
Megan Felt (student founder) and Kinga Krzeminska (Irena's translator) presented at the Chicago Public Library last week.
Life in a Jar was recognized at a special reception at the Polish Consulate in Chicago. The following honored LIAJ:
The Polish Consulate and Consul General
The Kosciuszko Foundation - honoring "Life in a Jar for honoring the courage and compassion of Irena Sendler"
The Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center
The Chicago Public Library
The Polish Roman Catholic Union
and more....
We send a big thank you to Janette Kopacz of the Chicago Public Library for hosting us and to Jurek and Iza Jablonski for housing
the cast members.
Renata Zajdman (child survivor) tells us that the State of Israel is issuing postage stamps to honor Irena.
A man from Lampertheim (Hessen, Germany) writes to say that a new road had been designated and named after Irena Sendler.
Michael Triason writes the following from Warsaw:
"I write to you from the graveside of Irena, which is covered with dozens of candles flickering in the early evening darkness of this special holyday weekend in Poland. Here in the huge world famous Powanski cemetery are buried some of Poland's greatest minds, leaders and artists. Irena's grave is awash in lights and stands out from the tens of thousands around her."
Kinga Krzeminska spoke about Irena to a class at the University of Chicago last week.
Life in a Jar presents in Alabama and Florida this week. Several students will go to Alabama and then meet the
cast in Florida this Friday. |
Elzbieta Ficowska shares Irena's story - 11/3/2008
Irena's most famous rescued child continues to share Irena's story around the world. Elzbieta has sacrificed much over the years to share this great legacy.
She was a very close friend of Irena and helped care for her. Other child survivors who are active in sharing Irena's story are Michael Glowinski and Renata Zajdman. All three of these wonderful people are friends of Life in a Jar. |
Hallmark's The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler - 11/1/2008
Hallmark Hall of Fame has finished filming The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler, a movie on the war experiences of Irena Sendler. Golden Globe winner, Anna Paquin, plays the role of Irena Sendler. Irena's story came to light almost a decade ago, when the Life in a Jar project students traveled to Poland and the world's press took notice. The Life in a Jar play and web site continues to tell her story. The Hallmark program will air on CBS this April 19th. |
Internet Sites on Irena - 10/25/2008
The Irena Sendler Project warns of misinformation about Irena on Internet web sites. The students in the project have done over 100 primary interviews, including ten visits with Irena. They have collected 4,000 pages of research, much of the research being primary. With that said, some web sites, most notable, snopes.com, have incorrect information. Snopes lists Irena as 'Iliana,' as being German, and that she was a plumbing and sewer specialist. Attempts to correct this information have been ignored. Other sites have corrected information. Irena told us on a visit that she went over our site with a translator and the students need to be applauded for their work. |
Vermont and misc. - 10/24/2008
The Vermont Life in a Jar presentations were beautiful. Thanks to Jack Mayer, his wife Chip, and our many, many hosts, for the gracious time.
The cast presented eight times in four days and continued to reach out in a powerful manner.
Governor Jim Douglas of Vermont declared Friday, October 17th, Irena Sendler Day in Vermont. This proclamation was the idea of Mt. Abraham High School students Kia Warren, Miranda Lucia and their teacher, Emily Beattie.
Hundreds of students and teachers attended the Life in a Jar presentations.
We were honored to have child survivor (saved by Irena's network), Renata Zajdman, plus her daughter and friend at the Montpelier presentation. Irena's translator and friend, Kinga Krzeminska, was at each presentation. A Madison, Wisconsin radio program this Monday, will interview Kinga and Megan Felt.
We send a wonderful thank you to Hartford, Vermont High School and their teacher, Robert Potter. 50 students and several teachers traveled 2 hours by bus to attend the presentation in Middlebury and presented the Life in a Jar cast with a certificate of recognition.
The Middlebury College Hillel and Shabbat service was a special time and we appreciated the opportunity to visit and share about Irena and the project.
** Comments from Vermont: "I'm hearing such appreciation from people who saw you guys this weekend - high school kids I see and people on the street. You guys hit a Vermont home run."
*** "I feel so fortunate to have met all those involved with Life in a Jar and to have learned about Irena. My husband founded a Middle School in Ripton, VT (up the mtn from Middlebury) -- all of his 26 students attended the play last week, most with their parents. He will use this story in his teaching this year."
*** "Wow, what a great performance at Middlebury on Irena Sendler Day (Oct 17, 2008). Our Hartford students and chaperones truly enjoyed the performance and the chance to meet and greet the cast. Thank you so very much for all that you do to keep the memories alive and for encouraging others to make a difference."
For the last decade, the cast of the Irena Sendler Project has sacrificed with time, energy and even funding to present the play aroundthe world. Many assume they sight see and enjoy a small vacation on these trips, but Vermont is an example of longs days and short nights. The students were up at 2AM on Thursday to drive to the airport and arrived home at midnight over the weekend. The castdid enjoy several hours of sightseeing on Saturday (thanks Jack, Chip and Jeannie). By the way, Vermont is a beautiful, beautiful state. The fall foliage was stunning.
Megan Felt was honored this past Tuesday night as one of the top professionals in the area. She continues to be recognized for outstanding work.
We salute the work of artist Wladyslaw Brzosko, a surviving eyewitness to the Warsaw Ghetto, at the Johnson Art Gallery in Middlebury, Vermont. |
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