Mark Gesner, The Maureen and Douglas Cohn Executive Director
Tampa JCCs & Federation
To gain a larger and more diverse audience for our Yom HaShoah event, we combined our traditional commemoration of Holocaust Remembrance Day with a dynamic Shine A Light program for youth. The result is that we now have a far more engaging program that involves our area’s council of rabbis, 18 sponsors and partners, over 80 youth art submissions, 15 area judges, and a culminating event attracting over 300 attendees, many of whom are learning about the Holocaust and Judaism for the first time. The beauty of the program is that we now not only have a terrific showcase event, but also a process of creation, selection, and ongoing exhibits that extend the program’s impact for months.
