Ethan Scharf, 18, a Blue Valley North senior this fall, was one of approximately 75 Szarvas Fellows selected to represent North America at Szarvas Camp in Hungary this summer.

As American ambassadors, the Fellows are given the opportunity to meet, celebrate, explore and share experiences with their Jewish student peers from around the world.

Ethan learned about the camp from his aunt, Miriam Scharf, current board chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, and thought it sounded interesting.

“Because it’s a camp in Hungary for kids after the communist regime, they really don’t know much about Judaism because religion was so repressed at that time; they made this [camp] so they could learn about Judaism in a comfortable environment,” Ethan said. “Americans come in and get to connect with people from all around the world.”

Ethan was recommended as a Fellow to Szarvas Camp by Dr. Daniel and Miriam Scharf and Patricia Werthan Uhlmann. He also was required to write several essays of a few paragraphs each.

“They give you guidelines — things about yourself and your Jewish identity,” he said. “They wanted us to learn about our Jewish heritage so they had a family tree for your parents going back two or three generations.”

Szarvas Camp is sponsored by the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. It is located on the banks of the Körös River in the resort town of Szarvas, pronounced “Sar-vash,” which is Hungarian for deer.

The camp was founded in 1990 to serve campers from Eastern and Central European countries. Today, around 1,500 Jewish campers from more than 20 countries attend Szarvas Camp, and since 1990, more than 25,000 young people have attended the camp. They range in age from 7 to 18.

Rabbi Seth Braunstein, director of Szarvas Fellowships, said there’s a reason the camp is in Hungary, as opposed to some other European country.

“Hungary is where the largest Jewish community in Eastern and Central Europe is (80,000 to 100,000 people),” he said.

As campers themselves, the Fellows were overseen by American counselors who were college graduates with master’s degrees. The Fellows underwent an intensive two-week period of in-depth study into their Jewish identity.

“We had programs where we met with groups from other countries and discussed what it’s like to be Jewish in that country,” Ethan said. “We had a lot of programs plugging into questioning what it means to be Jewish, like is it the set rules from the Torah, the Halachot, or is it good deeds like the Golden Rule — treat others like you want to be treated.”

Ethan said there were students at Szarvas from Hungary, Moldova, many Russian-speaking countries and Germany.

“There also were Jews from India to learn about Jewish camps so they could take that [knowledge] back to their country,” he said. “It was really interesting meeting kids from all over the world. And then just the bonding experience with kids from the American group, just being together for two weeks, every second.”

Ethan formed what he hopes will be some long-lasting friendships.

“Most of them lived in New York or New Jersey; there was one from Houston, one from South Carolina, one from Portland.” He said he would stay in touch with them and try to visit them some time.

While the two weeks went by quickly, Ethan said some of the programs were long, with lots of questioning, which made certain days go by slowly. But it wasn’t all study; the Fellows went on some day trips as well. They toured Budapest the first weekend they arrived; and visited a mall in Szeged, about an hour and a half from Szarvas, and the Dohany Street synagogue, the largest synagogue in Europe and the second largest in the world.

“It was almost like a church, the way it was built, but it was very pretty,” Ethan said. “Then when we went to Szeged, we saw another synagogue that was by the same architect, but it was very different. It had a lot more meaning; there were Jewish symbols everywhere. You could look around for hours finding things.”

Not only did Ethan learn about Jews from other countries, he learned a lot about himself and his own Jewishness.

“I think Judaism is a great religion and it’s more than just the religion itself, it’s how we are with others,” he said. “We’re very accepting. In Judaism we don’t actively go out and try to convert people. In fact, we turn them away three times before we will even accept them for conversion.

“And the way we’ve survived for so long. We were there during Tisha b’Av so we had a fast. But because there were lots of kids who didn’t really know anything about Judaism, they didn’t make you fast, it was your choice. That was another great thing about the camp; there was a lot of freedom to choose what you wanted to do.”

Rabbi Braunstein said he believes the impact of this program is long lasting.

“The program is very unique in that it is really one of the only international Jewish programs that allows a pluralistic group of North American high school students to seriously be engaged in the global Jewish conversation,” the rabbi noted. “Each Fellow gains a deeper understanding of the global Jewish community and the successes and challenges of those communities. Throughout the program itself, we continuously engage in deep conversations about Jewish identity, Jewish peoplehood and pluralism.”

Most of the Fellows were from a Modern Orthodox environment, which is a form of Orthodoxy where they dress in modern clothing and have more of a connection to the secular world, Ethan said. “They’re not quite as strict, but they still have the separation of gender, the mechitzah.” There were also Conservative and Reform Jews.

“We really learned a lot about the different denominations and a little bit about the denominations in Hungary. Like they have the ultra-Orthodox there, but they also have this sect called Neolog, which is almost like Orthodox and Conservative,” Ethan explained. “They still have a mechitzah, but it’s in such a way where women can leave at certain times to participate more and certain ideas are different. … They still have the same customs as Orthodoxy, but it’s more like Conservative ideas.

“It was just interesting learning about that and what it was like to be Jewish in other countries because there is some growing anti-Semitism in Hungary. It’s hard to be Jewish there.”

One image that struck Ethan was seeing all the sunflowers in Hungary’s countryside. “It was like Kansas with a communist-type backdrop.”

Ethan said he had such a great experience, he would gladly return if he could, but American campers are only allowed to go one time.

“It was amazing. I wish it was longer.”

Ethan is the son of Janice Scharf and Garry Scharf and lives in Overland Park. He is a member of Kehilath Israel Synagogue.

For more information on the Szarvas Fellowships, visit the website at www.szarvas.org or contact Rabbi Braunstein at .

DON’T MISS CONVICTION’S DEBUT AT KOSHER BBQ FEST — I had a great time at last year’s Kansas City Kosher BBQ Competition & Festival and I’m looking forward to attending the second edition of this event on Sunday on the grounds of The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah. One of the band’s providing the entertainment is Conviction, a group of local Jewish Kansas Citians who play music on the side. They play tunes by such greats as the Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton. Drummer Larry Bell is a Kansas City native, who owns BostonBookeeping Service. Harmonica and bass guitar player Steve Greenberg is another Kansas City native who was recently mentioned in The Chronicle as the Maccabbiah gold-medal winner in the pole vault back in 1977. Greenberg is in the credit card processing business. The lead guitarist is Dr. Steve Rosenberg, who practices physical and rehabilitation medicine. The keyboard/ukulele player and singer is Dr. Reva Friedman, a tenured professor of education at the University of Kansas. Last but not least is Vic Bergman, guitarist and lead singer, who is a trial lawyer at Shamberg Johnson & Bergman. Check them out on Sunday at 2 p.m. I hear they are good!

Another Kansas City native daughter has chosen to serve the Jewish people by becoming a rabbi. Last month Leah Greenwald Jordan, the daughter of Congregation Beth Torah members Beth and Jerry Jordan, was ordained by the Leo Baeck College in London. Leo Baeck College reaches out to support the growth of today’s Jewish communities across Europe and beyond. It trains rabbis and educators to develop progressive Jewish congregations throughout the U.K. for the 21st century.

Rabbi Jordan explained that by American standards, LBC is a bit unusual in that it’s technically the only non-Orthodox rabbinical school in Britain. She noted it trains rabbis for the British Reform movement, the Masorti movement (the international term for Conservative Judaism), as well as many Liberal rabbis.

“The Liberal Movement being another leftwing but slightly different movement like Reform Judaism. So Leo Baeck is small ‘p’ progressive Jewish, I often say,” Rabbi Jordan said.

Rabbi Jordan discovered she had a passion for Jewish learning while studying with Cantor Paul Silbersher and Ida Mour for her Bat Mitzvah at The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah.

“They were both very amazing in very different ways,” she said.

She explained her family always made it clear how important it was to live Jewishly, but when she was studying for her Bat Mitzvah she realized the average Jew, including herself then, doesn’t really know a lot about our heritage, Jewish history or the texts.

“I was also really turned on about doing what Ida and Cantor Silbersher did, which was teaching and passing this information on to other people,” she continued.

“It became quite clear to me that I was definitely more interested than a lot of other people and that it was kind of unusual. At that point I started thinking about wanting to become a rabbi,” Rabbi Jordan said.

Rabbi Jordan was selected to the Bronfman Youth Fellowship program following her junior year in high school where she got her first taste of intensive Jewish study. Bronfman Fellows spend five weeks in Israel studying Judaism and traveling the country. After graduating from Shawnee Mission East, she attended the University of Kansas Honors Program and earned a degree in English.

She was accepted to rabbinical school immediately after graduation and went to Jerusalem in 2008 for the Hebrew Union College’s first year program. This is where she met her fiancé and newly ordained fellow Rabbi Benji Stanley. He was a student at Leo Baeck and at that time those students — in this case he was the only one — studied with the HUC students in Jerusalem for a year.

Rabbi Jordan, 27, attended HUC-Los Angeles for her second year of rabbinical school, then took a year off and attended Yeshivat Hadar, an institute for prayer, personal growth and learning in New York City. Rabbi Stanley studied with her that year in New York as well.

She decided to complete her studies at Leo Baeck in London.

“I’ve always enjoyed studying and living abroad, having spent a year in Jerusalem and a semester in Paris as an undergrad,” she said. “But honestly I ended up at Leo Baeck mainly because my fiancé is a Londoner, and we wanted to be near one of our two families — and there’s no rabbinical school in K.C.,” she said.

During her studies Rabbi Jordan interned for a summer at Congregation Beth Torah, working closely with Rabbi Mark Levin. Rabbi Levin’s personal relationship with the Jordan family goes back a long way. He officiated at the wedding of Beth and Jerry Jordan, as well as preparing Jerry for conversion before their marriage and baby naming of Leah. So Rabbi Levin traveled to London to participate in the ordination ceremony and said it was a pure delight.

“To have the privilege to formally bring Leah into the world’s greatest profession was an honor and a great joy. The ordination was the continuation of a tradition of passing the responsibility to learn and teach Torah to a new generation, maintaining the chain of tradition as it has been passed for over two millennia,” Rabbi Levin said.

Rabbi Jordan spent a little time in July and August here at home with her family. Upon her return to London, where she will be based, Rabbi Jordan will begin serving as the new full-time student and young adult chaplain for Liberal Judaism in the United Kingdom.

“That basically means acting as rabbi for ages 18 through 35-ish and being what I’d call an ‘itinerant Hillel college rabbi,’ traveling around to the Jewish communities on university campuses in Britain,” she said. She estimates there are about 290,000 Jews in the U.K. and two thirds of them live in London.

The student organizations she will serve are called Jewish Societies and the majority of colleges in the country have a JSoc, as they are called. Some are very small with maybe six participants while others are quite large. She will travel to different universities every couple of weeks, planning programs and events for the students.

“The main challenge will be planning programs and events from afar,” she said.

She will also do a little pastoral work for Liberal Judaism.

“They occasionally get calls from unaffiliated Jews who need someone to officiate at a funeral or need some counseling or who are looking for a rabbi who isn’t’ affiliated with a synagogue,” she said. She may travel to a small community in East England once a month and serve as its part-time rabbi.

Rabbi Jordan is eager to begin working and said she hasn’t lost that excitement she first had as a young pre-teen just beginning to study Judaism.

“I’m really excited that I’m going to be doing student chaplaincy,” she said. “I like the thought of being with students and talking with them and being able to answer their questions. I’m really excited to get other people excited about Judaism.”

But like many people who begin a new career, she’s a little apprehensive as well.

“I’m basically going to be the person to come to if you’re having trouble. I’m scared about that, about having that kind of responsibility. But I also think that will be a good thing to be able to do.”

Rabbi Jordan’s fiancé will be the working at West London Synagogue, one of the oldest synagogue’s in London. As the congregation’s fourth and newest rabbi, his specialty will be adult education. The two rabbis are planning an October wedding at Congregation Beth Torah.

Ari Schonbrun was one of only four people out of the 662 employees of his workplace to survive 9/11. Cantor Fitzgerald, a Wall Street firm, occupied the top five floors of Tower One. Schonbrun was on the 78th floor when the first plane hit.

He will tell his story as the featured speaker at the KC Kollel’s annual honoree dinner at the Overland Park Convention Center on Tuesday, Aug. 20. While still employed with Cantor Fitzgerald (in October it will be 20 years), Schonbrun speaks to groups around the country and has written a book about that day called “Miracles and Fate on 78.”

Schonbrun said he does not suffer from survivor’s guilt; he believes God was watching over him and there are reasons he survived while others did not.

“I am very, very happy that I survived,” he said. “I still to this day wonder why it was me, but I think I’ve come to the reality that it was for several reasons. One, just after two years later we had another child, after the doctor told my wife she would not be able to have any more children. So I firmly believe that that soul needed to come down, and that’s why I survived.

“I also believe I survived because I am not afraid to stand up in front of an audience and tell my story. … You don’t have a lot of people who can stand up and address an audience. I think that was a gift God had given me and it was almost like [God was saying] ‘I’m plucking you out of a burning building, I’m giving you a second chance and I want to know what you’re going to do with it.’ And I did.”

Sept. 11 changed Schonbrun’s entire way of life. In addition to his speaking engagements, he puts his family first, volunteers and gives back to the community. Prior to 9/11, his job was No. 1.

“I try to tell people that people in general need to change because we are so wrapped up in our own selves and we’re very egocentric, we don’t really care about the rest of the world to a degree because we’re all busy with our own lives and a lot of times we don’t take God into our personal lives. He’s there and He’s waiting for us to take Him into our lives,” the 56-year-old Orthodox Jew said.

“That is absolutely the message I want people to understand. We live in some dangerous times. The world is not a safe place, and what are we doing about it? The conflicts that are going on in the world today have been going on for thousands of years and I don’t see an end to it. It’s going to continue unless we do something different.

“God is the only one who can put the whole thing back together again, who can make everything right,” he continued. “But we need to approach Him and say, ‘Hey God guess what, we’re looking at You now. We know we can’t do this, we need Your help.’ And that’s across all religions. I don’t preach to a specific religion, I talk to all religions. I don’t care if you’re a Jew, a Muslim, a Christian, it doesn’t matter. We all believe in God and if you don’t, you need to.”

Schonbrun said he did not undergo any psychological counseling following 9/11, even though people kept telling him he should. He believes part of the reason is that it was only a couple of months after 9/11 that he began talking publicly about it when he was invited to speak at a Yeshiva’s annual Malava Malka. It was cathartic.

“That was the first time I spoke about my story to an audience and after that, through word of mouth, people kept calling me and asking me to come and speak,” he said. “I think that helped me a tremendous amount because it really ultimately ingrained in me the actual, the real miracles of the day that happened to me.

“You don’t really understand it initially, and I certainly didn’t understand it. As I started telling the story, I thought, you know what, that really was a miracle, a series of miracles,” he went on to explain. “And I think that really, really helped me to cope with it. Obviously we don’t understand why it happened, and we’ll never understand, … but it did and we have to cope with it. And that’s where I’m at. I cope with it.”

Sometimes when Schonbrun is talking in front of an audience, there are moments when it becomes very difficult for him; it all comes flashing back. But it has been 11 years and with time things get better, he said.

The hardest day for him is the anniversary of 9/11 because on that day Cantor Fitzgerald has a charity day where all commissions generated go to charity and raises about $12 million.

“For me it is a very, very difficult day. For most of the people here who weren’t around on 9/11, it’s an upbeat day. We get celebrities who come and it’s like a big party. But for me, I generally don’t come to work that day because it’s not a party,” he explained. “It’s a wonderful thing they do and I’m glad they do it because we do raise a lot of money for the Cantor Relief Fund and for up to 50 different charities. If they would hold it on another day, it would be great, but I understand why they do it on that day and I usually tend to be by myself.”

Schonbrun lives in Cedarhurst, Long Island, with his wife Joyce and their five children, ranging in age from 27 to 9. He also has a grandson who is 13 months old, with another one on the way around Rosh Hashanah.

“I want people to know I’m really excited about coming out to Kansas City; I’m excited to be addressing the audience,” he said. “I think from just the little I know about the community Kollel, it is such an important institution and I’m so glad that I have the opportunity to help them.”

In 1939, a German ship set out on a promising voyage that was supposed to end with Jewish refugees entering America and escaping intolerance. The voyage did not end that way.

The St. Louis, named after the French king, first docked off the coast of Havana where it was to wait until the émigrés could enter America. However, the 930 Jewish passengers on the ship were denied entry into Cuba. The St. Louis then traveled to Florida where once again it was refused entry. With no other choice, the St. Louis turned around and headed back to Europe.

The voyage of the St. Louis has become a symbol of America’s indifference to the persecution and atrocities perpetrated on the Jewish people in Europe before the United States’ entry into World War II. Through news reports, a book and a Hollywood film, the St. Louis has achieved status as a cultural milestone and is an important reminder of Jewish struggles during that time. But Scott Miller, director of curatorial affairs at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum wanted to look past the symbolism of the event and find the real people that lived through this so called “Voyage of the Damned.” So he began his research 10 years ago.

“It’s such a well-known story, what happened during the voyage,” Miller said. “What most people don’t know is what happened to the people after that. This project was born out of an effort to find out what were the fates of the people on board.”

The research eventually became part of a book, “Refuge Denied: The St. Louis Passengers and the Holocaust,” which Miller co-authored. He will be in Kansas City Thursday, Aug. 22, to discuss the book and the Museum’s project to uncover the fate of every refugee aboard the St. Louis. The free presentation, which begins at 6 p.m. and is open to the public, will take place at the Plaza Branch of the Kansas City Public Library.

The event is being chaired by Sam Devinki, Debbie Sosland-Edelman and Karen Pack. Honorary co-chairs are Leawood Mayor Peggy Dunn, former Missouri Congressman Ike Skelton and Karen Herman, former president of the board of the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education. RSVP by Aug. 19 at www.ushmm.org/events/kansascity or contact Jed Silberg in the Museum’s Midwest Regional Office at 847-433-8099 or at .

“When people hear about the St. Louis they have an image in their minds,” Miller said. “However there were real people who suffered through this. We thought their story needed to be told.”

Devinki, who is the son of Holocaust survivors and along with his family has been a dedicated supporter of the USHMM since its inception, worked hard to bring this program to Kansas City because he thinks it’s very important for people to understand the lessons of the Holocaust.

“If people are knowledgeable they know what to look for and when to stand up and say this is not right,” Devinki said.

He said one of the museum’s two goals is to teach the lessons of the Holocaust so that the younger generation knows what can happen if you don’t stand up against hatred, bigotry and anti-Semitism. He believes this program will help do that.

“That’s why this program is important. It’s a primary example of what indifference can do. Basically many people on that ship were murdered by the Nazis because the United States wouldn’t give them refuge. People need to understand what happened there so that when the situation happens again we don’t ignore it the way it was ignored in 1939,” Devinki said.

A detective story

Miller’s own journey to discover the fates of those aboard the St. Louis began when a man walked into the Holocaust Memorial Museum and said he had been a child on the ship. He wanted to know what had happened to some of the other passengers. Miller and the Museum agreed to help.

“We started looking through records and logs but that got us only so far. We then had to change how we looked for people,” Miller said. “It became like a detective story, talking to people and tracking down family members, going to hospitals and cemeteries.”

Miller and his partner in this project, Sarah Ogilvie, traveled from New York across Europe. It took almost 10 years but Miller is happy to report he discovered the fate of all 930 refugees. And he discovered there were some misconceptions about what happened to the passengers.

Originally it was thought that almost half of the refugees returned to Germany and were put into concentration camps. Miller found the true number to be much lower. Miller believes 254 of the refugees died in concentration camps, while hundreds of others found asylum in Great Britain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

“The majority of the passengers survived the war,” Miller said. “We were happy to let people know that and let them be known as people and not just numbers.”

Because of the years of research and information that was gathered, the Holocaust Memorial Museum now has the largest collection of artifacts associated with the St. Louis. Miller has been working with the museum since 1989, four years before the museum opened to the public, and this has been one of the biggest, and in his mind most important, projects with which he has been associated.

“I never dreamed this would become so big,” Miller said. “Touring and talking about the book has led me to some interesting places,” he said, noting that this process enabled him to meet with the deputy secretary of state.

However Miller says the most rewarding people he gets to meet and talk to about the book are those who lived it.

“We have had a number of reunions. Most of them were kids when they were on the St. Louis,” Miller said. “The survivors have been very grateful. We have brought together a lot of old friends.”

More and more senior adults are living longer and independently in their own homes. Both Jewish Family Services and Catholic Charities want to make sure that life remains good for these people, so they have come together to sponsor the Active Adult Expo: Healthy Mind, Body & Spirit on Thursday, Aug. 15, at the Jewish Community Campus. The Expo will take place from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the Jewish Community Campus. It is free and open to the entire community.

The Active Adult Expo will include information, activities and inspiration for those who attend. (For more information see box.)

Dawn Herbet, JFS director of older adult initiatives, said organizers decided to put on the expo as a way to help change people’s perceptions about getting older.

“Aging is an amazing time in people’s lives. Today people are remaining vibrant and active and independent and I think with the influx of the thousands and thousands of people who are turning 65 on a daily basis, we needed to really change the paradigm of what aging means in our society,” Herbet said.

“We’re hoping that the Active Adult Expo provides a morning of fun, information and thought-provoking ideas to the active older adults in our community,” she continued.

Monica Burgin, associate director of senior care services for Catholic Charities, said both social services agencies have begun seeing the needs shift to the younger older adults who want to stay active, want to be involved in the community and continue to be able to give back to it.

“We feel this is a great opportunity to not only provide volunteer opportunities, but to see the different services that are offered and even just get an idea of how important wellness or exercise services are to them as well as education on some of the issues that might be coming up. We feel it is very important to start getting the word out about how to stay active and remain in their own home,” Burgin said.

Herbet thinks sponsoring this expo is just a small drop in the ocean in making people understand that there are services, programs and options for older adults who want to remain active, independent, vibrant and happy.

“It’s a wonderful time in peoples’ lives. The more I work in this field, the more I meet such wonderful women and men who are aging and having fun and loving life. I’m hoping that this expo just gives older adults some options and thoughts about what they can do to make their lives happy and loving it as they get older,” Herbet said.

Herbet said organizers have purposely not tagged an age range of appropriate attendees.

“It depends on how you perceive yourself,” Herbet said. “This expo is for anybody who thinks of themselves as in a place where they are aging and they want to be able to learn about how it is to age well,” she said.

In addition, Herbet said the expo can be for family members of people who are aging. She said there will be information on a variety of topics including financial planning and caregiving.

JFS and Catholic Charities have been working together on projects for about five years now. Burgin said both organizations have the same mission and goal when it comes to senior adults — that it takes an entire community, not just one organization, to provide everything seniors need to remain active and independent.

“People need to realize it takes a lot of different organizations to come together to provide services,” Burgin said.

JFS’ Herbet said this program fits both organizations’ missions to serve their communities.

“When we originally started working on JET Express almost five years ago I worked very closely with Senior Express, which is Catholic Charities’ volunteer driver program and it was a wonderful ecumenical joining. So it just made sense for JFS to go back to them again for this program,” Herbet said.

Similar to JFS in that it does not serve only the Jewish community, Catholic Charities’ services are not limited to Catholics. In fact Burgin said 75 percent of Catholic Charities clients are not Catholic.

“Our services are open to anyone in the community regardless of their race or religious background,” Burgin said.

Burgin thinks this expo is a good partnership for the two organizations as they provide different services.

“We just always felt that together we could provide this opportunity for people to not only learn about our organizations and what we do for older adults, but the different agencies and services we provide. It’s important to get this information out to older adults so if they want to remain in their homes they know the opportunities and services that are out there in the community.”

Linda Solomon is an award-winning photojournalist who has met some of the most famous people in the world. But some of the people that have made the biggest impression on her have been the homeless children she has met who live in shelters.

Last week she was here launching her Pictures of Hope project, which she has been doing since 2006, at Sheffield Place. Since 1991 Sheffield Place has served a growing population of homeless mothers and their children in the Kansas City area. She will return once again in November when the project concludes.

Through Pictures of Hope, Solomon visits 12 shelters each year. At Sheffield Place, as she does with every shelter she visits, Solomon gave the children, who are between the ages of 6 and 12, a photography lesson. She then surprised them with cameras and gave them their first photo assignment: capture their “hopes and dreams.” The children will celebrate their “Pictures of Hope” at a Meet the Young Artist Reception at 4 p.m. Nov. 14 at Cable Dahmer Chevrolet. Chevrolet is the national sponsor for Pictures of Hope.

A celebrated photojournalist who is a member of the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame, Solomon finds time in her busy schedule to mentor these homeless children because she believes there is a huge need to show them that their dreams matter.

“It’s the most gratifying experience I’ve had in my career. I have met absolutely wonderful children and they express true values when you ask them to reveal what they are dreaming for in their lives,” Solomon said.

Unlike what you might think, most of these children do not dream about material things.

“The No. 1 hope I have seen all across the country is to go to college. This is so often taken for granted by children, but children living in shelters never take a college education for granted. So the things they express are so heartfelt and so meaningful and express true life lessons for all of us. I’ve learned so much from the children,” she said.

The dream of going to college is, of course, for themselves. Almost all their other dreams, Solomon pointed out, are for others.

“They are so unselfish. You never see iPads or iPods. When you read their lists they hope for their moms to be happy. They hope for their sisters to go to college. They hope for a home of their own. That’s the only material thing I ever see when I ask the children to write down what they are hoping and dreaming for.

“I’m always so touched and moved by what they hope for because they are so truly caring for everyone else in their family and they always hope for their families to be happy,” she said.

Another hope that originally surprised Solomon was the desire to have a friend. She said because they move around from place to place — from a car to a shelter to a hotel and sometimes even back to a shelter — they often aren’t at a place long enough to form friendships.

“I have seen that so often where a child will express, ‘I hope for a friend.’ How beautiful is that? Just to be able to appreciate a wonderful friend and to hope and dream to have one,” Solomon said.

Friendships is one of the reasons Solomon brought this program to Kansas City. Her college roommate Arlene Gersh Rubenstein lives here as does close friend Charlie Helzberg, who assisted her with plans for the local project. Sheffield Place was recommended by a fellow member of the International Women’s Forum.

Every child that participates in the project will have one of his or her pictures made into a Pictures of Hope holiday card. The set of cards will be distributed and sold by Sheffield Place. The shelter will keep 100 percent of the sales proceeds to help fund programs.

Solomon will return to Kansas City in November for the reception, where the cards will be unveiled for the first time. The reception is open to the public. Cable Dahmer will also give a set of cards to every person who purchases a car at the dealership during the holiday season and makes a donation to Sheffield Place.

The Pictures of Hope project has been featured by several national news outlets including CBS Evening News, ABC World News, NBC Nightly News and the Today show.

Professionally her work has been featured in Time, Newsweek and The New York Times. One of her favorite assignments is photographing the Oscars. She is regularly one of only 115 photojournalist invited from all over the world to cover the star-studded event and has been doing so for 29 years.

Solomon has also been the author or photographer for a number of books. She often collaborates on projects with her sister, Today show contributor Jill Rappaport. One of her favorites is “Mazel Tov” where celebrities shared their Bar and Bat Mitzvah memories.

“I was the photographer on that book. It was really fun to work on that. We had everybody from Howie Mandel to Larry King to Kirk Douglas, Marlee Matlin, Henry Winkler. We used their Bar and Bat Mitzvah photos and then I tried to match them with current photos,” she said.

She said she and her sister are proud of their Jewish heritage and “love to give back” to the community.

“That is certainly a wonderful characteristic of our Jewish faith,” she said. “It’s so special to meet such giving, caring people. I do this all over the country but the people of Kansas City have been so wonderful and so welcoming and so helpful to me.”

Her work with homeless children is all about dispelling misconceptions.

“Most of the families I have met are homeless due to economic hardship,” she said. “Mentoring these children is so important because many of their skills are lacking because they’ve moved so frequently. If any of your readers would ever want to volunteer and mentor these children it’s so needed … That’s why through photography children reveal things they’ve never shared before. I’ve seen some heartbreaking things.”

Twenty-eight classes will be offered throughout the day at this year’s community-wide “Day of Discovery — Explore the Joy of Jewish Learning in Kansas City.” The program will be held on Sunday, Aug. 25, from 8:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Jewish Community Campus.

“This event is a wonderful opportunity for the community to come together to learn, study and discover some of our community’s finest Jewish educators, rabbis and cantors who will lead sessions on a wide range of topics,” commented Annette Fish, Rabbinical Association administrator/program director. “We have an outstanding group of presenters from a variety of fields of knowledge and orientations and we are grateful to all of our presenters for giving of their time to be part of this program.”

The program begins with registration and a continental breakfast from 8:45 to 9:30 a.m. Study sessions start at 9:30 a.m. and lunch will be served from 12:15 to 1:10 p.m. A dessert reception with door prizes will conclude the day.

Planning for the Day of Discovery began seven months ago and includes a task force with professional and lay representatives from each congregation and sponsoring agency.

“It is a delight to work with this remarkable group of dedicated and committed individuals who work tirelessly over the summer to make this event possible,” Fish said. “Several task force members have been part of the planning of this event since we began offering the program five years ago.”

Online registration along with a listing of classes and information related to the day can be found at www.kcrabbis.org. Space is limited in many of the sessions and participants are asked to register in advance.

Class and lunch payments should be made by check or cash and must be received by Aug. 19; after Aug. 19, registration fees increase and classes are open on a space-available basis. Registration brochures are available at the Jewish Community Campus, area congregations and Village Shalom.

At the end of each session, participants are asked to complete an evaluation that provides valuable feedback about the day and assists the task force in planning future Day of Discovery programs. A sampling of comments received last year includes:

“All the presenters I listened to were excellent, well-prepared and informative. I know I learned a great deal.”

“Each session was impressive. My first year attending — looking forward to future events.”

“Each class was outstanding.”

“Presenters kept the audience engaged and I learned new ideas and food for thought.”

“I loved today and learned so much about Judaism and the community.”

“Each presenter that led the class had participation and expressed their views.”

“Thought provoking and each presenter shared knowledge and presented viewpoints for discussion.”

“I learned that Day of Discovery is so great — I’ll always attend.”

“Each one of my courses taught me something I didn’t know, and were very interesting.”

“I learned a lot — thanks.”

“Presenters were informative and introduced a variety of sources on the topics.”

“So many good things to choose from.”

“Pretty darn good — I can’t think of it being much better. They get better every year.”

“I learned interesting things in all three of my sessions; all were excellent presenters.”

“The length of the day was just right.”

“Good job by all concerned.”

“The quality of the sessions was excellent. My only complaint is that there were too many choices that I wanted to attend in each session.”

The cost to participate in “Day of Discovery” is $12 per person, which includes classes, a continental breakfast and dessert reception. There is an additional charge of $8 per person for a kosher box lunch from Rachel’s Cafe. Free childcare is available for children 6 months to 3 years. Fees increase after Aug. 19.

The program is co-sponsored by The Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas City, Jewish Community Center’s Department of Jewish Life and Learning, CAJE/Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, Village Shalom and area congregations. Generous funding has been provided by the Community Legacy Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City.

For additional information, contact Annette Fish, at or 913-327-4622.

An estimated 50,000-plus people from the metro and across the Midwest are expected to converge on Kansas City this weekend for the 4th Annual U.S. Bank Great Midwest Balloon Festival. Held Friday and Saturday, Aug. 9 and 10, on the grounds of the Great Mall of Great Plains in Olathe, the festival will feature 50 balloons, including fabulous special shape and corporate balloons from across the country.

“My husband and I attended the nation’s largest balloon festival several years ago in New Mexico and had such a terrific time that we decided Kansas City needed its own festival,” said festival co-founder Robbie Small. “Each year we get bigger and better and frankly, with Kansas City’s reputation for being a friendly, affordable destination, we are attracting more and more families and balloon enthusiasts from all across the country.”

In addition to nightly balloon glows, tethered balloon rides, special shape balloon glows (think a giant shark in honor of Shark Week!), early morning balloon fly-in competitions, carnival rides, crafters, food vendors and food trucks, the festival will also feature:

•  Charity Challenge Balloon Race —Twenty-one local charities will be participating in the first-ever race on Friday night with one charity walking away with a whopping $10,000 First Prize.

• Nightly concerts — Friday night the popular Celtic pop band, The Elders, will heat up the main stage and Saturday night; the Kansas City area’s premier new country act the Scott Peery Band will close the festival out to the best of Country’s Top 40 hits and their own rockin’ original music.

•  Culinary Challenge — Four of Kansas City’s most gifted and engaging culinary masters including KC favorites Jasper Mirabile (Jasper’s Restaurant) and Lisa Farmer (Fox 4’s Cooking with Lisa) will be competing for bragging rights of “BEST IN SHOW” during an educational and entertaining culinary competition from 1-5 p.m. on Saturday.

•  Kite Demonstrations — The KC Kite Club will show off their aerial artistry from 2:45-5:45 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.

View the entire schedule of events at www.midwestballoonfest.org/Activities.aspx.

Festival hours are Friday, Aug. 9, 4 to 11 p.m. and Saturday, Aug. 10, 1 to 11 p.m. Advance tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children (ages 6-12). Children 5 and under are free. Tickets are available at area HyVee locations, on-line at www.midwestballoonfest.org and from 21 area charities that may be found at www.midwestballoonfest.org/CharityChallenge.aspx. Adult tickets are $15 at the gate.

The Great Mall of the Great Plains is located at approximately I-35 and 151st Street in Olathe. All balloon activities are subject to weather permitting. Parking is free.

Presenting sponsors include Boulevard Brewing Co., Central States Beverage, Deffenbaugh Industries, The Great Mall of the Great Plains and Ferrellgas.

ATHLETES EXCEL AT MACCABIAH — The 19th Maccabiah Games ended last week and two of our young regional athletes did well at the competition. Congregation Ohev Sholom member Zack Tanenbaum placed third and brought home bronze medals in both the freestyle and Greco-Roman competitions.

Jacob Biller, a 17-year-old student who will be a senior at Manhattan High School this year and a member of Temple Beth Sholom in Topeka, was one of 16 baseball players on Team USA. Team USA baseball had two challengers in Team Canada and Team Israel. Team USA defeated Canada twice in the preliminaries (12-0, 14-0), and split with Israel, winning 15-1 and losing 5-3. Canada earned the right to play USA in the Gold Medal game by winning an 11-inning game over Team Israel in their second meeting. Team USA won the gold medal by defeating Canada 9-0.

Jacob was the starting second baseman in four of the five games and was voted team captain. He did not get to play in the gold medal game because he was hospitalized after game four due to an infection.

Jacob said he loved the Maccabiah and it was “an all around amazing trip.”

Hailing from an area where the Jewish population is very small, Jacob enjoyed being around a lot of Jewish people and meeting other Jewish kids. He is a senior this year and hopes to play baseball in college. He said he’s talked to a couple of schools already about that possibility.

VOTE FOR PRIVACY PILLOWS — Bob Cutler has created the world’s first standard-sized bed pillow that features an undetectable secret compartment to safely hold your valuables and private items. The hidden entry point features a patented safety seal that keeps items in the pillow regardless of movement. The product is one of dozens featured in 18 categories on Walmart.com that individuals and businesses hope the discount retailer will sell on its website. The products with the most votes, individuals can place one vote each day through Sept. 2, will advance to the second round of competition. Following the current audition round, the products selected as finalists will participate in a web series during the autumn. Another round of voting will select winners, which may then get the opportunity to be sold through Walmart.com. The grand champions(s) may also receive valuable marketing support. See Cutler’s video about the Privacy Pillow and vote for the product at https://getontheshelf.walmart.com/product/13d4/The-Privacy-Pillow.

BONE MARROW MATCH — Last winter a Gift of Life drive was held prior to the Maccabeats concert at the Jewish Community Center. We were informed last week that a donor recruited at that drive has been identified as a match for a 63-year-old woman suffering from Acute Myelogenous Leukemia. The email went on to say, “We are truly grateful for all you have done to help grow the Gift of Life Registry, and we thank you for being a part of our family of dedicated volunteers.”