Shalom friend, This Gift in Action shares some of the scope behind the work of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa. When you make a gift to the Annual Campaign you are supporting critical programs that reach even beyond the Jewish community.

In November 2021, the Shoah Committee of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa partnered with the Canadian Society for Yad VaShem to bring their special mobile gallery exhibit of Stars Without a Heaven: Children of the Holocaust to Canada. The exhibit addressed the experiences of children and recorded the legacy of the one and a half million youth who were murdered in the Shoah. The program launched on November 8 with a virtual event. Then during the rest of the month, the exhibit toured Ottawa as a pop-up walking gallery. Sites included the Greenberg Families Library, Woodroffe High School, Sir Robert Borden High School, Hillcrest High School and Notre Dame High School. In addition to visiting the gallery, students and teachers had access to an online portal of educational resources.

More than 500 students, from Grades 9-11 experienced the walking gallery.

More than 100 people from Ottawa participated in the virtual launch.

The feedback was powerful. Students were asked to name one new thing they learned. Here are some of the responses:

“I didn't know before that children only survived if hiding, and it was incredible to see drawings that the children created, to see life as they did.”  “I didn’t know that it was all across Europe.” “I learned that children would try and make toys out of anything that they could find. They would still want to play and try to find happiness.” “They would tell kids they were going to school but they would actually kill them.” “I saw that antisemitism still very much exists and can be very dangerous.” “I was unaware of the lasting impacts of children being separated from their families and religion/culture/community for so long.”

Yasher Koach to the Federation's Shoah Committee and my Federation colleagues for bringing this powerful exhibit to our city and for helping educate people so that we may all learn from the legacy of the Holocaust. A special thank you to you, our donor - it is because of your generosity that Federation can undertake such important and meaningful work. Thank you for supporting such important work. Warm regards, Yudit Simmons