CONNECTIONS committee hosts Linda Kelsey book signing
KEY FACTS
Evening sold out in days and was attended by 65 ‘fifty-somethings
The event raised a remarkable £4000 for the CONNECTIONS committee student scholarship programme
Over 280 students have been given assistance and 60 are currently on the scholarship programme.
On 30th January, World Jewish Relief’s (WJR) CONNECTIONS Committee hosted an exclusive signing of Linda Kelsey’s recently released book, ‘Fifty is not a Four- Letter Word’.
The evening sold out in days and was attended by 65 ‘fifty-somethings’ –– raising a remarkable £4000 for the CONNECTIONS committee student scholarship programme, which offers Jewish students in the former Yugoslavia financial support towards a university education; an opportunity they would not otherwise have.
Linda Kelsey signed and sold copies of her book, and generously donated all of the proceeds to CONNECTIONS. ‘Fifty is not a Four- Letter Word’ is an uplifting book that chronicles the life of Hope who, approaching her half century, finds her life drastically changing – she loses her job, her husband and her mother in the space of 6 months. Taking her life into her own hands, Hope shows that fifty is certainly not ‘over the hill’ and the novel is full of wit, humour and pathos.
The CONNECTIONS committee was established in 1990 by a group of women dedicated to playing a part in the challenging rebirth of Jewish life in Eastern Europe. They have mainly channelled their energies towards the support of Jewish students in Former Yugoslavia who otherwise could not have continued their studies following the civil war in the region in the 1990s. To date, over 280 students have been given assistance and 60 are currently on the scholarship programme.
Commenting on the evening, Linda Rosenblatt, Vice Chairman of World Jewish Relief and member of the CONNECTIONS committee, commented;
“We are delighted that Linda Kelsey so generously attended the evening to sign her new book and are grateful to her and to all those who attended for their generous support. The money raised will make a huge difference to the lives of deserving Jewish students, helping them to achieve a first-class education and thereby giving them a better chance for the future.”
-ENDS-
About Linda Kelsey:
Linda Kelsey is a former editor of Cosmopolitan and SHE, and was twice awarded Editor of the Year. Described as ‘Sex in the City of the 70s and 80s’, Cosmo influenced a whole generation of women. Linda is now a freelance journalist and novelist and her work appears regularly in a variety of magazines and newspapers ranging from Good Housekeeping and YOU Magazine to the Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph, the Guardian and Jewish Chronicle. Her second novel “the Secret lives of Sisters” will be available in August 2008.
About WJR’s CONNECTIONS committee:
80% of the Jewish population of Serbia was wiped out in the Holocaust and the remaining community either left the country or stayed and endured the strains of Communism, the Balkan Wars and major economic and political instability. There are currently around 4,000 Jews in Serbia.
As a direct result of CONNECTIONS work, these young Jews are enthusiastic about their religion, and are beginning to build a vibrant community and show they are publicly proud to be Jewish – something that has not been done in a long time. But it isn't easy for anyone 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.
