The Accidents and Inspiration Benefit
For the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
On Saturday, December 1st, 2007 I hosted a fundraiser for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. While Chicago’s first winter storm kept about a third of the guests from attending, family, friends and CJW clients came together to help me commemorate my 50th birthday by celebrating memory. 100% of each ticket purchased was given to Stephanie Smerling, a Museum staff member in attendance. Gifts delivered at the event totaled just under $4,000. Gifts are still coming in, for which I am very grateful. All contributions designated as part of Cheryl Weissman’s Accidents and Inspiration Campaign will be used in support of the museum’s education, remembrance and conscience program areas.
It’s unusual, I suppose, for a consultant to hold a fundraising event and seek support from clients. While you can find the circumstances that led to my decision to raise funds for the Museum on our blog, it distills down to this message which I included in one of the presentations that ran throughout the evening:
Our work is about memory: We help organizations create,
maintain and use data as institutional memory.
Elie Wiesel said, “Forgetting means the end of civilization, the
end of culture, the end of generosity, the end of compassion, the
end of humanity.”
Nonprofits work to protect and preserve culture, compassion,
humanity. Nonprofits rely on generosity.
We cannot forget.
Elie Wiesel went on to say, "And therefore I celebrate memory, and I try to strengthen it. And I believe—I still do, in spite of everything—that memory is a shield. If we remember what people can do to each other, then we can help those who tomorrow may be threatened by the same enemy."
Mr. Wiesel's words struck a deep chord in me. I have spent nearly half my life working for and with nonprofits: organizations who work ceaselessly to protect civilization, culture, compassion and humanity; organizations who depend on the lack of indifference and the generosity of others.
This organization embodies Elie Wiesel's work, which is dedicated to protecting the work of the nonprofits with whom we work.
If you would like to participate in this campaign during this season of giving, please send your check, made out to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, to Cheryl Weissman, CJW Consulting & Services, Inc., 8331 Central Avenue, Morton Grove, Illinois 60053. If you would like to make a credit card gift, please contact me at 800/977-6377 with your card information – I will be happy to process the charge for you.
If you are interested in sharing the event experience, please click on any or all of the links on this page to view the presentations that were shown throughout the evening.
Click here to view the US Holocaust Memorial Museum presentation
Click here to view the CJW Clients presentation
Click here to view the CJW Friends/Family presentation |