ShadowLight 2020 Annual Report

Letter from Jordana Lebowitz, Founder and Executive Director

This past year has been a whirlwind for us all. Despite the immense challenges, we have learned to adapt, re-envision and create a tremendous impact. Our team has grown exponentially, drawing university students, young professionals and experts in every field into our movement and our journey of engaging our peers in Holocaust education and ensuring its future in perpetuity.

We have created important partnerships such as with the well-established Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, and have been booked on campuses throughout Canada and the U.S. We were blessed to have been able to launch our impactful mobile cattle car exhibit at the Toronto Railway Museum entitled, “The Cattle Car: Stepping In and Out of Darkness”. Community members throughout the GTA travelled to participate in our exhibit dates at Earl Bales Park, the Toronto Railway Museum and Wychwood Barns Park. Our network expanded worldwide once we moved to virtual programming, showcasing the values and messages of the survivors and the students themselves.

“We are proving each and every day, the power of one – the power of one young person; the power of one idea; the power of one action taken. ”

We are also proving the power of many- through the assistance of hundreds of community members, our team of young leaders were able to create a world-class mobile Holocaust museum and impact thousands. And this is only the beginning. As we build our vision for the coming year, we would like to share with you, our dear community, our successes and reflections on 2020.

May you and your families be well and continue making your mark on the world.

With deepest appreciation,

Jordana Lebowitz

Founder & Executive Director, ShadowLight

Special Thanks

We would like to start our annual report by extending a special thank you to our extraordinarily talented and experienced team of individuals and donors, without whom none of this vision would have come to being.

The team below brought the Cattle Car: Stepping In and Out of Darkness to life:

Executive Leadership Team

Jordana Lebowitz, Executive Director

Sagi Kahane-Rapport, Creative Director

Hailey Appel, Director of Marketing

Malorie Appel, Director of Education

Naomi Goldenfajn-Abrahams, Program Director

Samantha Richmond, Director of Learning and Development

Danielle Lebowitz, Director of Research

Gabi Malek, Director of Production

Jen Brodie, Director of Special Projects

David Kopp, Exhibit Designer

Frankie Aviv, Grant Manager

Donors

Cary Green, In Memory of Ronda Beth Green

Abraham and Esther Hersh Foundation Inc.

Ganz Family Foundation

Kitty and Paul Tepperman, In Memory of Josie and Joseph Peretz

Arnie and Penny Cader

Alexander E. Grossman Foundation

Canadian Forum of Russian-Speaking Jewry

Greg Nisan, In Memory of Celia Nisan

Jonathon and Orly Kahane- Rapport

Yehuda Kahane

Arlene and Bob Rae, PC CC OOnt QC

Leah Eisenberg

Alla Nowowiejski

Ben Bain

Kevin Saffer

Michael Anthony

Andrew Krystal

Jordan Weinberg

Arin Klug

Daniel Goldgut

Sonia Gulia

Agnes Meinhard

Baila Lubek and Rosalie Selick

Lynn Urovitz

Advisory Team

Eli Rubenstein

Michael Berenbaum

Sheri Epstein

Dina and Sidney Lebowitz

Ronnie Appleby

Elysa Greisman

Greg Nisan

Jonny Diamond

Kitty and Paul Tepperman

Kathy Kacer

Eynat Katz

Mark Gryfe

Cary and Jenn Green

Aimee Israel

Marni Appel

Ray Hutchison

Jimi Mallen

Camilla Markman

Max Lightstone

Jordana Binstock

Adrian Altobelli

Ricardo Andrés Castillo Zambrano

Isaac Mailach

Shane Nachi Robbins

Launch Committee

Lauren Marcus

Veronika Ressina

Stefanie Zaremba

Hannah Marcus

Stephanie Grad

Edan Cohen

Noa Elfassy

Holocaust Survivors

Hedy Bohm

Nate Leipciger

Judy Cohen

Andy Reti

Sol Nayman

Organizations

Krystal Nation Inc.

Ontario Carpenters Union

The Toronto Railway Museum

Show Sage LLC

Greenwin Inc.

Vistek

Radke Film Group

Bounce Entertainment

MK Picture Car Services

Alluvium Productions

Robins Appleby LLP

DKBenjamin Creative

MNP LLP

HeydSaffer

Hillel Ontario

William F. White International Inc.

COVID-19 Didn’t Stop Us

Giving Back to Our Community

Seeking ways to support our community of Holocaust survivors in these troubling times, Jordana felt the need to take action. In May, she took inspiration and made a positive impact on our community.

On Friday, May 8th, 2020 Jordana, alongside a few members of the ShadowLight team, volunteered their time to visit 25 survivors across Toronto (from a safe distance, of course), bringing them flowers and home-made challahs. During this time of isolation and uncertainty it was very easy for us to get caught up feeling sorry for ourselves but, as our volunteers can confirm, there’s nothing like acts of kindness to bring us back down to earth. The survivors were nothing but grateful and overjoyed to see youthful faces at their doors. Their continued strength reminds us all of the power we have to support each other, during these especially tough times, and always.

And our team did not stop there. In the weeks that followed, members of the ShadowLight Executive Team and Launch Committee came together to thank survivors for everything they continue to do for our community. ShadowLight shared a special video thanking our GTA survivors for their continued resilience, especially during these difficult times.

The Cattle Car: Stepping In and Out of Darkness

The Cattle Car: Stepping In and Out of Darkness Dedication Ceremony

On Wednesday, September 30, 2020, the volunteers, donors and advisors who made the education possible, came out to Earl Bales Park in Toronto, Ontario to be the first ones to experience the Cattle Car: Stepping In and Out of Darkness exhibit. Our dear survivor, Nate, featured in the exhibit, joined us alongside his family and expressed how moved and proud he was. This made it all worthwhile for our team, who are committed to ensuring the survivors’ legacies live on in perpetuity. Kathy Kacer graced us by moderating the event and famed Holocaust historian, Michael Berenbaum, delivered the keynote address. Jordana Lebowitz, Executive Director and Sagi Kahane- Rapport, Creative Director, spoke as well.

The event was streamed virtually and tours were offered in small socially distant groups to those who directly contributed to the creation of ShadowLight and the cattle car. Finally, the plaques dedicated to the major donors and their loved ones were unveiled, without whom, none of this would have been possible. The plaques are especially mounted to the exterior wall of the cattle car. It was an honour to hear from our donor Cary Green about his deep commitment to this project and the moving feelings it created in him.

It was special to share the unveiling with our closest supporters.

The Cattle Car: Stepping In and Out of Darkness Official Launch

On Sunday, October 18, 2020, members of the community came together as ShadowLight officially launched The Cattle Car: Stepping In and Out of Darkness – an immersive, 360-degree historical exhibit inside a replica cattle car.

Members of the community joined virtually on Zoom and in person for small group tours as the project, which has been almost 3 years in the making, celebrated its official launch. Throughout the day, over 100 visitors had the chance to step inside the exhibit and be transported to the past through stories of survivors Hedy Bohm and Nate Leipsinger.

The virtual launch, which took place over Zoom and streamed live on Facebook to over 200 viewers, was hosted by former CTV news anchor Naomi Parness. Parness hosted viewers as they heard from Mayor John Tory; ShadowLight advisor and daughter of Holocaust survivors, Kitty Tepperman; survivor and narrator of the exhibit, Hedy Bohm; Canadian Representative to the United Nations, the Honourable Bob Rae; exhibit Creative Director Sagi Kahane-Rapport; and ShadowLight founder and Executive Director Jordana Lebowitz.

*Toronto Mayor John Tory inside of The Cattle Car.*

The Cattle Car Educational Program

The Cattle Car Educational Program was completed this year and is ready to be used by schools across Canada and beyond. In creating this program, teachers, principals, professors and other professionals in their field of education collaborated to ensure it was both age and developmentally appropriate for students, given the subject matter. This program provides context about what the cattle car is and what it represents and provides students with an introduction to the Holocaust by covering social justice issues such as tolerance, dehumanization, acceptance, and anti-semitism. The program itself is implemented by the classroom teacher prior to their students viewing the exhibit, and afterwards as well to stimulate discussion and reflection. It includes informational videos, survivor testimonies, inquiry-based activities involving artifacts, and discussion prompts to guide conversation.

A week before the Cattle Car is taken to a school, teachers receive a digital package consisting of all the materials to implement the pre- and post- educational program with their students. This package includes lesson plans for a corresponding Google Slides presentation, a reading list of Holocaust literature appropriate for students, additional assignments and activities, and a resource list of virtual Holocaust education tools. In addition, we provide schools with a letter that can be sent home to parents to inform them of the in-school field trip, and a document which connects The Cattle Car’s Educational Program to fourteen courses in the Ontario curriculum ranging from Grades Six to Twelve.

Our First School Visit

Our first school visit, at Bialik Hebrew Day School, occurred virtually due to COVID-19 precautions and the onset of the Second Wave. It took place from November 17th- 24th. Every class in their middle school from both campuses participated in the program. Bialik teacher’s taught their students the pre-curriculum materials before Jordana joined the classes virtually for a virtual reality tour of the cattle car and an interactive discussion about bullying, in honour of BIalik’s anti-bullying week. The students were highly engaged and incredibly attentive and analytical. It is important to thread universal themes that we can learn from Holocaust history into the experiences of young people and stress every students power in making a difference. We are excited to join countless Day Schools, Public Schools and Universities in the coming year.

Partnering with the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre

On November 5, 2020 the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) announced that they would be partnering with ShadowLight to advance Holocaust education in Canada and the shared goal to empower students to stand against hate and make a positive difference in the world.

The two-year partnership will include FSWC supporting program development for ShadowLight’s immersive and innovative cattle car exhibit to help reach audiences that include students on college and university campuses as well as working together to develop motivational leadership training for those spaces.

“We are excited to begin this new partnership to further advance Holocaust and genocide education and reach more young people through this transformational exhibit that helps hit home the important lessons of the Holocaust,” said Michael Levitt, FSWC president and CEO. “With antisemitism on the rise and the Jewish community remaining the most-targeted group when it comes to hate crimes in Canada, it is clear that Holocaust education is a necessity in the fight against and prevention of antisemitism and hate in communities across the country. We are really looking forward to working with Jordana Lebowitz and her fabulous team.”

ShadowLight leaders are thrilled to collaborate with such a foundational organization in our community. As two organizations dedicated to ensuring the messages of the Holocaust are absorbed by generations to come, together, at this defining point in history we will continue to innovate Holocaust education. ShadowLight firmly believes that the next generation of young people needs the next generation of Holocaust education and there is no one we would rather work with to achieve this crucial task than the FSWC.

Financials

Revenue Streams

31,555

2,000

1,535

550

144

18

3,483

11,256 USD

$53,780 (including US conversion)

Expenses

Filming

Repairs and maintenance

Office

Travel

Marketing and promotion

Bank charges and interest

Amortization

US Expenses

TOTAL

Donated Services

Estimated Value

5,400

2,400

100,000

6,000

450

600

5,000

$119,850

In-Kind Good or Service

Bookkeeping and tax filing

Legal assistance

Media design and production

Transportation, event equipment,

and labour

Educational advising

Fundraising advising

Other