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Press Contact:
Rozalie Jerome, Founder and President, Holocaust Remembrance Association | State Director, March of Remembrance Texas | Founder, Holocaust Garden of Hope
RozalieJ@hra18.org
(832) 287-5057
| | HRA18 Earns Judges’ Choice Award at Kingwood Fourth of July Parade, Builds Momentum Toward August Visit from March of Life Founder Jobst Bittner | | |
(HOUSTON, TX) - July 10, 2026 - The Holocaust Remembrance Association (HRA18) marked America’s 250th anniversary by joining the Kingwood Fourth of July Parade, where its community-built float received the Judges’ Choice Award from the Kingwood Civic Club and Kingwood Rotary Club.
The recognition followed days of collaboration by HRA18 team members, volunteers, friends, and neighbors who came together to prepare the float and share a message rooted in freedom, courage, remembrance, and the responsibility to stand against hatred.
For HRA18, the award represents more than recognition of a parade entry. It expands awareness of work that has become increasingly urgent as antisemitism rises around the world: preserving Holocaust memory, confronting hatred through education, building bridges between communities, and raising a new generation of Upstanders who choose courage over silence.
| | HRA18 were honored to participate in the Kingwood 4th of July Parade, and thrilled to receive the Judges’ Choice Award from the Kingwood Civic Club and Kingwood Rotary Club. | | HRA18 team members, volunteers, friends, and neighbors who came together to prepare the float and share a message rooted in freedom, courage, remembrance, and the responsibility to stand against hatred. | | The HRA18 team worked side by side with an incredible group of volunteers to decorate and prepare the parade float. | | |
That message will continue in Kingwood on Friday, August 7, when HRA18 welcomes Jobst Bittner, founder of the international March of Life movement, for a special community gathering at Kings Harbor Green near the Holocaust Garden of Hope.
Bittner’s visit brings a powerful international dimension to HRA18’s local work. Through March of Life, German families, including descendants of Nazi perpetrators, have confronted painful family histories, broken generations of silence, pursued reconciliation with Holocaust survivors and their descendants, and publicly stood against antisemitism. The movement has inspired marches and gatherings in hundreds of cities around the world.
| | Jobst Bittner is the founder of the globally active TOS Ministries, which encompass social work and community development in twelve nations. He is also the initiator and president of the “March of Life” movement, which has already spread to more than 400 cities in 25 nations. | | Dr. J. Doug Stringer is the Founder and President of Somebody Cares America and Somebody Cares International, a global network of chapters, centers, affiliate and partner churches and organizations. | | Dr. Andrew Heard is a pastor, revivalist, and writer. Andrew is on staff at Christian Tabernacle in Houston, Texas, and also serves as the pastor of the young adults ministry Revol. He is also the founder of Burning Hearts ministry. | | |
The August gathering will bring together Christians and community members for worship, prayer, remembrance, and a public stand with Israel and the Jewish people. Participants will pray for the peace of Jerusalem, for America to stand for righteousness, and against the growing hatred that increasingly seeks to make Israel and the Jewish people scapegoats.
The progression from the Kingwood Fourth of July Parade to Bittner’s August visit reflects a central theme of HRA18’s work: freedom is not preserved by silence. The courage celebrated in America’s founding must remain a living responsibility, especially when hatred, antisemitism, and indifference threaten human dignity.
The parade award has given HRA18 a new opportunity to introduce more families across the Kingwood community to that work. Bittner’s visit will build on that momentum by connecting local engagement with a global movement of remembrance, reconciliation, and moral courage.
Every generation faces a choice between silence and courage. HRA18 is inviting the community to choose courage, and become today’s Upstanders.
| | Members of the media are invited to attend and cover this timely gathering. At a moment when antisemitism is rising across communities worldwide, thoughtful media coverage can help bring greater awareness to the issue, amplify voices of courage and reconciliation, and demonstrate a shared commitment to the work of HRA18 and communities striving to confront hatred, strengthen understanding, and inspire people to stand together against antisemitism. | Located in Kingwood’s Kings Harbor, the Holocaust Garden of Hope is a growing outdoor memorial and educational space dedicated to Holocaust remembrance, reconciliation, education, and inspiring moral courage through remembrance. | For information about the Holocaust Remembrance Association, and core initiatives such as the Holocaust Garden of Hope and the Upstander Stone Project, as well as annual events like the HRA18 Conference, Beauty for Ashes Luncheon, the March of Remembrance, and the Upstanders Arise Gala, visit HRA18.org, and contact Rozalie Jerome by email at RozalieJ@hra18.org or by phone at (832) 287-5057. | |
About the Holocaust Remembrance Association
The Holocaust Remembrance Association (HRA18) is a Texas-based organization dedicated to sensitizing hearts to the issues of the Holocaust and modern antisemitism through education, healing, and reconciliation. Formed by Jewish descendants of Holocaust survivors and their Christian allies, HRA18 seeks to end antisemitism and hatred of the Jewish people by growing a community of Upstanders who drive real change toward a more just and compassionate world for current and future generations.
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| | We are raising upstanders to end antisemitism and hatred of Jewish people by sensitizing hearts to the issues of the Holocaust. | | FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA | | | | |
