The Olga Lengyel Institute (TOLI) is pleased to share our Spring 2019 Newsletter .  TOLI provides professional development seminars for educators in the US and abroad that link the lessons of the Holocaust and other genocides to current world events, thereby working with teachers to promote a human rights and social justice agenda in their classrooms. For further information, please visit www.TOLInstitute.org .
The Olga Lengyel Institute for Holocaust Studies and Human Rights
Quarterly Newsletter | Spring 2019

OVER 500 TEACHERS ENROLLED FOR TOLI SEMINARS IN US AND EUROPE
Over 500 teachers in the US and Europe have enrolled in TOLI training seminars, focusing on Holocaust education and human rights.

Nearly 230 teachers have signed up for TOLI summer seminars in the US, which begin next month. The training seminars will take place in 10 cities around the US, including the flagship seminar in New York in June. 

In Europe, 280 educators will take part in seminars hosted in eight countries, with new additions in Vilnius, Lithuania and Kiev, Ukraine.

Also this summer, TOLI’s National Leadership Training seminar, funded in-part by the Claims Conference and MDRT, will take place in New York, a program that will provide the next generation of Holocaust educators for TOLI seminars. 

For a schedule of the TOLI seminars and more information click here .

TOLI TEACHER SPOTLIGHT
Stephanie Griffin of Rhode Island and Angela Hartman of Hutto, Texas. Angela participated in the annual New York seminar, Stephanie took part in the Amherst, MA program last year. Both talk about how the TOLI training has impacted their lives and those of their students.
Angela Hartman is bringing the lessons of the Holocaust to students in an unusual way: as the librarian at Hutto High School, Hutto Middle School, and Farley Middle Schools, she doesn’t have the typical classroom setting in which to teach. Because of this, she decided to get creative, working events with survivors and encouraging faculty to teach their students about the Holocaust.

“This is not the first time that the US has said you cannot come here, and look what happened,” she remarks. Her school is over 40% Hispanic, and while not all of those students are refugees, some are. “It’s a good lesson: this happened before, it’s happening again. Who are we to say anybody is illegal? Nobody is illegal.”

Teacher Stephanie Griffin is using the confidence and feeling of empowerment she gained at the TOLI satellite seminar in Amherst, MA to bring real change into the classroom. Stephanie works as a resource guide for special education students at Davisville Middle School in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. As the only teacher of color in the building, she knows how it feels to be the one person who’s different. Because of this, Stephanie has made inclusion one of her biggest concerns—she makes sure that her special education students are included in the same classrooms as everyone else, even when she faces push back for it.

“I never have felt more involved politically than… when teachers got together about an idea and were able to effect change in our laws and the policies of our government,” she says of the work she continues to do. “And TOLI did a lot to boost my confidence as a leader.”

TOLI IN THE NEWS
The Jewish Week of New York published an article last month, during Holocaust Remembrance week, about TOLI, interviewing Senior Program Director Sondra Perl and teachers who spoke about their TOLI experiences.
Shoah Teacher Training Growing Amid Toxic Politics

Two weeks before Yom HaShoah, which occurs next Thursday, a high school teacher in rural Michigan gave a presentation about the Holocaust at a genocide conference at Michigan State University. While a colleague was developing a Holocaust Remembrance Day program for next week, he explained, he was planning a Shoah education program he will co-direct this summer
CONNECT WITH TOLI
ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Inspired by our Webinar series with Yad Vashem and Echoes & Reflections, leading up to this past Holocaust Remembrance Day, we featured the unique experiences of women in the Holocaust throughout the month of April. Women who fought, who sheltered, who led, who brought comfort and spirit.

Born out of the Jewish youth movement, the couriers were the women who made armed resistance possible in the ghetto. The ghettos were so isolated from each other, people didn't have access to information and had a hard time believing the rumors surfacing about what was happening to Jews across Europe. These women were the ones who brought people in the ghetto together with information, arms, and inspiration. These women were a lifeline for the Jewish people.
Supporting TOLI Is As Easy As Posting On Facebook!
Fundraising for nonprofits is easy on Facebook! Whether it's Giving Tuesday, your birthday, or you just feel like supporting a great organization - starting a fundraiser is as easy as posting to your page! Here's how you do it:

To create a fundraiser for a charitable organization click here, or follow these steps:
  • Click Fundraisers in the left menu of your News Feed.
  • Click Raise Money.
  • Select Nonprofit/Charity. (The Olga Lengyel Institute for Holocaust Studies and Human Rights)
  • Select a charitable organization, choose a cover photo, and fill in the fundraiser details.
  • Click Create.

We hope that you continue to inspire your classrooms and communities and take some time to fundraise for TOLI to support our wonderful mission.
MINI-GRANTS 2019
Listening Conversations for the Repair of the World (Tikun Olam)
Dr. Rebecca Berru Davis, inspired by the 2017 TOLI Summer Seminar “Worlds Apart, But Not Strangers, Holocaust Education and Indian Education for All,” at Montana State University Billings (MSUB), received a mini-grant to deepen the understanding of the role religion plays in shaping our principles and activating our response, in her classroom. Three conversations were held with guest speakers from various religious traditions to create dialogue around three significant themes: 1) Sacred Texts as Guiding Principles for Healing a World; 2) Religion as Justice and Activism; and 3) Caring for Creation and Each Other. Holding open conversations such as these modeled ways to engage in listening and dialogue while thoughtfully considering the ways in which religious principles and spiritual practices direct us toward compassion, activism, and healing a broken world in light of the current realities we face. 
INSPIRING STUDENTS
Check out this article by Kristen Kinzler, a student of one of our TOLI Teachers, Zack Hull of North Allegheny Intermediate High School in Pittsburgh, PA! This is our impact.

"When we study the Holocaust in our schools and history books, we often use the phrase, “Never Again.” We say we will never let ourselves be consumed with so much hate or be blinded by our differences. We vow to do better and to be better. Well, here’s the thing: if we don’t start paying attention, we can throw all those promises out the window. It can happen again. In fact, we’re terrifyingly close to repeating our atrocious history."

NEVER AGAIN BEGINS IN THE CLASSROOM
Please support TOLI programs, enabling thousands of teachers in the US and Europe to educate their students about the Holocaust and against hate and intolerance.
Did You Know You Can Donate to TOLI Through Donor Advised Funds?
A donor-advised fund (DAF) is a type of giving program that allows you to combine the most favorable tax benefits with the flexibility to support your favorite charities. DAF Direct enables you to recommend grants to The Olga Lengyel Institute for Holocaust Studies and Human Rights (TOLI).
THANK YOU TO OUR FUNDERS

We are very grateful for the funding awarded to our upcoming 2019 Wisconsin satellite seminar "A Multi-Generational Approach to Holocaust and Social Justice Education." Thank you Bader Philanthropies for your ongoing support!
MDRT, The Premier Association of Financial Professionals®, is a global, independent association of more than 66,000 of the world's leading life insurance and financial services professionals from more than 500 companies in 72 nations and territories, whose grant programs provide hope and opportunity for countless children, individuals, and families in need around the globe. 
We are so very grateful for the support awarded to our upcoming 2019 Amherst, MA satellite seminar Examining Our Shared Humanity: Holocaust Education and Social Responsibility. Thank you Mass Humanities for supporting Holocaust and human rights education, impacting generations to come!
In appreciation to the Jewish Material Claims Against Germany for supporting this educational training project.
TOLI is a beneficiary organization of the Jewish Federation of New Mexico. Thank you to the Jewish Federation of New Mexico for your support of our Albuquerque, New Mexico satellite seminar.
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