Jewish Women's Archive Announces "Jewish Women Making Community" Fellowships

BROOKLINE, MA, June 5, 2003—Gail Reimer, Executive Director of the Jewish Women's Archive (JWA) announced today six winners of the JWA fellowship program, "Jewish Women Making Community," for the study of the role Jewish women have played in building communities in America. This program is one of JWA's initiatives to celebrate the 350th anniversary of Jewish settlement in North America.

"The research projects will shed important light on the ways in which local women have made their communities into vital and meaningful homes for both Jews and non-Jews," said Reimer. "We were astounded at the depth and breadth of the many proposals we received. It was extremely difficult for our Academic Advisory Council to make a decision," she continued.

The papers of the fellows will be published as an edited volume focused upon Jewish women's work in building community across North America. JWA will convene a conference where the fellows, along with contemporary Jewish women activists, will look at the American Jewish past and present in light of the long tradition of American Jewish women's activism.

The grant recipients and their fields of research are:

• Dr. Jeanne Abrams, Associate Professor, Penrose Library, University of Denver, Director, Rocky Mountain Jewish Historical Society and Beck Archives "Moving Beyond Lady Bountiful: How Jewish Women Shaped Philanthropy in Early Denver"
• Aleisa Fishman, Ph.D. candidate, American University, Washington, DC "Jewish Women Making Community in Suburbia: Nassau County, NY 1946-1960"
• Dr. Adele Hast, Scholar in Residence, The Newberry Library, Chicago, IL "A Study of Chicago Woman's Aid"
• Mary Ann Irwin, writer/instructor, Diablo Valley College, Chabot College, and San Francisco State University (SFSU) "Jealous of Their Powers: The Emanu-El Sisterhood for Personal Service and the Jewish Center Movement in San Francisco"
• Barb Schober, Ph.D. candidate, University of British Columbia "A Study of the Vancouver, British Columbia Section of the National Council of Jewish Women"
• Hollace Ava Weiner, writer, MA. candidate, University of Texas at Arlington "The Jewish Junior League: The 101-Year Rise and Demise of the Fort Worth, Texas, Section of the NCJW, 1901-2002"

About the 350th anniversary

In September 1654 twenty-three people, including women, men and children, landed in New Amsterdam to form the first Jewish settlement in North America. Individual Jews, all men, had lived and worked on this continent previously, but 1654 marked the first time that the presence of women and children made it possible to begin a community that could have both a rich present and a future. The official commemoration for the event will begin in September 2004 and run through June of 2005. JWA will serve as a coordinator and catalyst for programs focused on women and their contributions. An honorary committee still in formation includes Jewish women in Congress, authors and artists.

Along with the research and fellowship program to delve into community histories, the Jewish Women's Archive will offer several special programs. They will include a speaker's bureau, curricular materials for teens, film and book discussion guides and a technical assistance manual for conducting oral histories. In addition, JWA's online presence at jwa.org will enable organizations throughout the country to communicate with one another and share their ideas for 350th anniversary programming.

About JWA
The Jewish Women's Archive (JWA) is a national, nonprofit organization that employs a combination of approaches to its work, from online exhibits to community-based oral history projects to public programs and events. Founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1995, JWA was one of the first organizations in the Jewish community to stake a claim in the new frontier of the web, and continues to innovate in its use of the virtual world for academic, cultural, archival and educational purposes. JWA's award-winning website, jwa.org, has the most extensive collection of material on American Jewish women on the web. JWA has become a leading advocate for and center of education in Jewish women's history, ensuring that we remember the women who came before us, honor the women among us, and inspire those who will follow us.