Joan Schiff Beren Israel Travel Award |
Dear Friends,
Joan Schiff Beren was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1929 and lived the majority of her adult life in Wichita, Kansas until her death in 2016. She was a graduate of Wellesley College and, demonstrating her lifelong commitment to learning, received a master’s degree from Wichita State University at the age of 54. She was the matriarch of four children and 14 grandchildren, all of whom are proud Jews and committed to the future of the Jewish people.
Our grandmother lived her life with a love of family, community, and the Jewish people as her highest priorities. Among the many fond memories we share of our late grandmother, some of the most vivid and impactful occurred in Israel. Be it spending the summer with our grandmother in a rented Jerusalem apartment or being present at meaningful lifecycle events such as Teddy’s Bar Mitzvah, our shared experiences in Israel remain profoundly significant to us. While our grandmother was the most committed and loving grandmother one could be blessed to have, it was clear to us that she was deeply motivated not just to inspire her family, but to strengthen her community’s lifelong commitment to Israel.
Our grandmother knew that a strong Jewish diaspora cannot exist without a strong love for Israel and her actions exemplified "Kol Yisrael arevim zeh la-zeh" / "all Jews (or all the people of Israel) are responsible for one another." During her life, among many demonstrations of this principle, she organized and endowed a trip to Israel for a group from her Wichita Jewish community who had never previously traveled to the country. For our grandmother, she felt an imperative to help any Jew who wanted to visit Israel be able to do so.
In this spirit, we present the Joan Schiff Beren Israel Travel Award. Each year, in partnership with UJA-Federation of New York, we will select two women who have not previously traveled to Israel. Award winners will be provided an all-expense paid trip to Israel on JFNA's Annual Heart to Heart Mission. Cultivating the love for Israel among those who have previously been unable to travel to our collective homeland is our small contribution to this important legacy. Award requirements and application follow.
We look forward to hearing from you, and helping us honor the memory of our beloved grandmother.
Warm regards,
Will, Teddy & Ellie Bressman
Joan Schiff Beren was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1929 and lived the majority of her adult life in Wichita, Kansas until her death in 2016. She was a graduate of Wellesley College and, demonstrating her lifelong commitment to learning, received a master’s degree from Wichita State University at the age of 54. She was the matriarch of four children and 14 grandchildren, all of whom are proud Jews and committed to the future of the Jewish people.
Our grandmother lived her life with a love of family, community, and the Jewish people as her highest priorities. Among the many fond memories we share of our late grandmother, some of the most vivid and impactful occurred in Israel. Be it spending the summer with our grandmother in a rented Jerusalem apartment or being present at meaningful lifecycle events such as Teddy’s Bar Mitzvah, our shared experiences in Israel remain profoundly significant to us. While our grandmother was the most committed and loving grandmother one could be blessed to have, it was clear to us that she was deeply motivated not just to inspire her family, but to strengthen her community’s lifelong commitment to Israel.
Our grandmother knew that a strong Jewish diaspora cannot exist without a strong love for Israel and her actions exemplified "Kol Yisrael arevim zeh la-zeh" / "all Jews (or all the people of Israel) are responsible for one another." During her life, among many demonstrations of this principle, she organized and endowed a trip to Israel for a group from her Wichita Jewish community who had never previously traveled to the country. For our grandmother, she felt an imperative to help any Jew who wanted to visit Israel be able to do so.
In this spirit, we present the Joan Schiff Beren Israel Travel Award. Each year, in partnership with UJA-Federation of New York, we will select two women who have not previously traveled to Israel. Award winners will be provided an all-expense paid trip to Israel on JFNA's Annual Heart to Heart Mission. Cultivating the love for Israel among those who have previously been unable to travel to our collective homeland is our small contribution to this important legacy. Award requirements and application follow.
We look forward to hearing from you, and helping us honor the memory of our beloved grandmother.
Warm regards,
Will, Teddy & Ellie Bressman
Eligibility requirements:
Candidate must have not previously traveled to Israel
Candidate must be over the age of 45
Candidate must agree to attend the Heart to Heart Mission if chosen as a winner
Candidate must have not previously traveled to Israel
Candidate must be over the age of 45
Candidate must agree to attend the Heart to Heart Mission if chosen as a winner
Application Deadline: November 15, 2019