The Violins of Hope have left the Valley of the Sun, but not our hearts and minds. It was an incredible six weeks of events that included exhibits, educational programming and concerts.
We at Arizona Jewish Life were honored to be involved and want to thank the hard work of Rachel Hoffer, Julee Landau Shahon and Alison Johnston who helped to make this vision become a reality. Also, a big thank you to supporters including the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix.
And last, but not least, thanks to Abbie Fink of HMA Public Relations that helped us connect with the Storch family and learn the amazing story about their family’s violin (read more here) and kept our calendar updated with all of the Violins of Hope events.
The numbers (provided by Federation) from the events are staggering:
44,000: Number of people who attended a Violins of Hope event
24,000: Number of students who attended an educational program
8,175: Number of people who visited the Violins of Hope exhibition at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
1,800: Number of people who visited the Amnon Weinstein, the Man behind the Music photography exhibition at Cutler-Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center
225: Number of teachers who attended professional development workshops
104: Number of volunteers who helped at events
100+: Number of corporate, foundation and individual donors who supported Violins of Hope
50: Number of schools who participated in educational programs and field trips
40: Number of collaborating partners
36: Number of adult events, including book talks
Hopefully this will just be the beginning of bringing more events to the Valley that can help to further educate and share the history of the Jewish people with everyone in the community.
