CONNECTIONS hits the high notes for WJR
Earlier this month WJR's long-established CONNECTIONS committee hosted their 17th Annual Musical Evening. This popular event was held at the home of Wendy and Michael Max with 80 guests entertained by their sons Robert (on cello) and Edward (narrating) together with cellist Gemma Rosefield and pianist Zoe Solomon.
The evening of classical musical entertainment raised over £15,000 for CONNECTIONS' student scholarship programme, which has, to date, supported almost 300 students through their university education in countries of the Former Yugoslavia.
CONNECTIONS was established in 1990 by a group of women dedicated to playing a part in the challenging rebirth of Jewish life in Eastern Europe. Many Serbians of university age have never known anything in their lives but conflict and volatility. A major part of CONNECTIONS' work is raising funds to pay for the education of Jewish students in Serbia who otherwise could not afford to learn. With high unemployment, having a good education is one of the only ways they can get a decent job and support their families. To date, CONNECTIONS has raised over £450,000 for young people in Serbia, giving them the opportunity to make a better life for themselves and their families.
Linda Rosenblatt, founding member of CONNECTIONS said:
"Since we have been working with the Jewish community in Serbia we have seen a remarkable change. There is now a sense of a real community and through our programme the young people are getting involved and taking on leadership roles. But life remains difficult in Serbia, with massive unemployment and few prospects for even the most capable people. There is still a lot of work to be done, and CONNECTIONS always needs more support, but we are delighted that we can play some small part in the rebirth of this wonderful community by giving young people hope and opportunity."
Lady Jakobovits, a founding member of CONNECTIONS, introduced the evening which this year was dedicated to the memory of her dear friend - and mother of WJR Vice Chairman Linda Rosenblatt - Edith Schmidt-Bodner who sadly passed away in May.
