Important Summer Update from HMCTE

Dear Friends of the Museum,

We hope this message finds you and your loved ones safe and healthy. As usual, HMCTE is spending the summer months preparing for the rest of the year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year is quite different. What remains the same is our commitment to quality programming and the safety of all our patrons. As such, we have several updates to share with you regarding this fall.

First, our long-awaited event with Father Patrick Desbois will be moved to an online venue to protect the health and safety of all. We are working closely with Father Desbois to ensure a meaningful event on November 15th. To everyone who has purchased tickets and sponsored this Distinguished Lecture, we are grateful to you and will honor your contributions for the digital event. Please mark your calendars and watch your inboxes for more details as we finalize plans!

Second, we are saddened to announce that there will be no HMCTE Annual Benefit in 2020. Due to the pandemic, we are unable to safely host our year's biggest gathering, a celebration of our supporters and their contributions to the Museum. Our Honorees, Marsha & Gary Forman, Lyn & Hank Meyers, and Uri Sasson will be honored at our next Annual Benefit - which we hope will take place on May 23, 2021. Behind the scenes, these Pillars of the Museum are continuing their incredible work, ensuring that the final stages of construction of our new permanent home proceed as quickly as possible.

Finally, as you can imagine, these shifts in programming and the cancellation of our most significant fundraiser have left the Museum with new challenges. Now, as we face a year of great uncertainty our focus is on adaptation. We humbly ask for your support to help ensure the continued operations of the Museum.

Since we shuttered our doors in mid-March, operations have continued- albeit in new ways. Our staff and volunteers have been delivering meals to Holocaust survivors to ensure they have caring and safe contact with others. We moved our Yom HaShoah commemorations and educational programs online to YouTube. Even our Distinguished Lectures - now delivered via Zoom - have reached more people than ever. And though our doors remain temporarily closed, construction continues on our new permanent home for the Museum, so we'll be ready to welcome you as soon as safely possible.

For more than thirty years, we have been providing services for all who wish to learn about the past, so we can build a better future together. Please join us in pledging your support to help us continue serving our community through education, commemoration, and the completion of our Museum at Rockland Community College. Though we won't be able to physically gather this year, we would be deeply appreciative if you would consider a donation to the Museum similar to the generous support you kindly gave at last year's Benefit Brunch.

Yours in Gratitude,
Andrea Winograd, Executive Director

Donate now through PayPal or download our pledge form and mail to: Holocaust Museum & Center for Tolerance and Education, 145 College Rd, Suffern, NY 10901