|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
National Yiddish Book Center gets Spielberg grant$80,000 challenge grant will launch new program FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Nancy Sherman, executive vice president, 413-245-4900 ext 104 AMHERST, MA – July 29, 2008 – The National Yiddish Book Center, a nonprofit organization celebrating Yiddish language, literature, and culture, has been awarded a $80,000 Challenge Grant from the Righteous Persons Foundation in Santa Monica, CA, a foundation established by Steven Spielberg in 1994. The award is a one-to-one matching grant, requiring the Book Center to raise $80,000 over the next two years. The total of $160,000 will fund the Jewish Cultural Fellows Program of the National Yiddish Book Center, a program that brings Yiddish and Jewish culture to college campuses across the country. The Jewish Cultural Fellows Program is a unique program for college students who take part in the Book Center’s Steiner Summer Internship Program for College Students. Interns study Yiddish language and culture at the Book Center in Amherst, MA, for seven weeks and pursue independent projects while engaging in the Center’s work. The Jewish Cultural Leadership Fellows are charged with bringing activities related to Yiddish culture to their college campuses in the upcoming academic year. The Fellows serve as Yiddish “ambassadors,” bringing Yiddish-based programming back to their peers when they return to their schools. They receive logistical support, training in community and campus organizing, and stipends to produce and promote up to four programs over the course of the academic year. These programs may include guest speakers, theatrical performances, reading groups, Yiddish films, or concerts. “We are thrilled to have the support and guidance of the Righteous Persons Foundation for this important educational initiative,” says Aaron Lansky, founder and president of the Book Center. “We’ve received tremendous support from the Foundation in the past, and we are gratified by its generosity.” The National Yiddish Book Center is a 30,000-member organization dedicated to rescuing and distributing Yiddish and other Jewish books and opening their contents to the world. Its headquarters in Amherst, MA, houses the Jack and Ruthe B. Cowl Center for Jewish Culture, the Steven Spielberg Digital Yiddish Library, and a range of other cultural and educational resources. The new School for Jewish Culture, housed in a major building addition, will open in 2009. For more information about the National Yiddish Book Center, visit www.yiddishbookcenter.org. – END – |
| The National Yiddish Book Center Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Building • 1021 West Street • Amherst MA 01002 • Phone 413-256-4900 • Fax 413-256-4700 • Contact |
