Metamorphosis
Transforming our actions, our community, our world ... one butterfly at a time.
SUMMER • 2014
NEWSLETTER of the BUTTERFLY PROJECT at the LEVINE JCC E
xceeding past accomplishments seems to be a way of life for the Butterfly Project! Having educated close to 5,000 participants during this past 2013-14 school year, we have
increased participation by 59% over last year and close to 400% over the 2011-12 school year. As of this
summer, we already have more than 2,000 participants scheduled for the upcoming year – a great start!
As a 7th grade teacher at Charlotte Secondary School wrote, “I am awed by the impact of this project…”
You, our valued Butterfly Project supporters, should take great pride in the difference you are making!
Over the past year we have received substantial community exposure, with articles in The Charlotte
Observer, The Charlotte Jewish News, and an excellent program segment on UNCTV. We have
collaborated in a number of community events as well, including the community’s Yom HaShoah
observance, the Charlotte Jewish Film Festival’s panel discussion following the showing of 50 Children:
The Rescue Mission of Mr. and Mrs. Kraus, the Levine-Sklut Judaic Library and Resource Center’s
program with Holocaust survivor and speaker, Eva Kor, as well as the panel that followed the LJCC
performing arts department’s performance of Beyond Butterflies.
Our many successes are all achieved with the time and talents of our wonderful volunteers. Each
workshop is staffed with a workshop coordinator and 5-6 volunteers. The volunteers can select their
available workshop dates and their roles in the workshop – everything from guiding students in
painting the ceramic butterflies, to facilitating small group discussions, or presenting material to the
groups. They are trained in their roles, and receive great satisfaction from their work (see insert box).
We are always looking for additional volunteers, so if you or someone you know might be interested,
we would love you to give us a try!
Lastly, we continue to make progress in designing improvements to the Margaret and Lou Schwartz
Butterfly Garden. This will include covering the next wing of the Children’s Holocaust Memorial
Sculpture with ceramic butterflies, and creating a landscaped seating area. We will be sure to keep
you, our valued supporters, informed as we move forward. We continue to appreciate your ongoing
enthusiasm for the project, and credit your support with our impact on tomorrow’s generation.
With much gratitude,
Julie Rizzo
Director of Development & Social Action
Judy August
Committee Co-Chair Looking Ahead...
Butterfly Project Community Event
Sunday, November 2 • 1:30-3:30pm
Sam Lerner Center for Cultural Arts
LJCC members: Free; Non-members: $5
We invite our middle school through adult community to
participate in a Butterfly Project workshop to experience
what thousands of students from the greater Charlotte
community have experienced. This workshop is in the same
format as presented to students: hearing from a Holocaust
survivor, engaging in discussion about stereotyping,
prejudices and discrimination and what can happen when
those go unchecked, visiting the Margaret & Lou Schwartz
Butterfly Garden and painting a ceramic butterfly in honor of a specific child who perished in the Holocaust. Register by calling (704) 366-5007, or in person at
the Levine JCC customer service desk.
Quotes from Our Volunteers!
“I can’t think of a better use of my time. The Butterfly
Project allows me to schedule my involvement around
my other life commitments. I derive immense satisfaction
from instilling in students a sensibility and responsibility
about how important it is not to be silent … to address
bullying and prejudice wherever they see it.”
– Aleen Epstein
“When I first moved to Charlotte 6 years ago,
I thought this would be such an interesting project in
which to participate. I used to teach second graders,
and am now happy to help provide an opportunity
for each participant to paint a butterfly in honor
of a child lost to the Holocaust.”
– Judy Marco
“The Butterfly Project has a powerful message
that we teach in a very hands-on way. I love seeing
how that message is received by the participants,
and feel very strongly in the importance of never
forgetting the Holocaust. I believe that our work
provides a meaningful way to honor those who died.”
– Suzy Catenazzo
Jill Newman
Committee Co-Chair
In the Spotlight
• Camp SOAR
(Special Olympics
Athletic Retreat), held
each year at the LJCC
for one week, is open
to Special Olympics
athletes and potential
athletes in Mecklenburg
County, fulfilling a need for a summer day camp
available to individuals with intellectual disabilities.
Camp SOAR is not just about sports, but provides
necessary experiences of acceptance, and participation
in summer camp social activities enjoyed by people
among the general population who attend traditional
summer camps. Building on the theme of acceptance,
325 Camp SOAR participants attended Butterfly Project
workshops this summer. It was an incredible day both
for the campers and the volunteers who assisted. We
thank Camp SOAR for providing us the opportunity to
present the workshop to its campers!
• Students from Sugar Creek
Elementary School, in Ft. Mill, SC,
have attended the Butterfly Project
workshop for the past three years. They have been so inspired by the
workshop that they satisfied the
criteria for accreditation by the Anti-Defamation League as a “No Place for Hate” school and
created their own wall of
butterflies. The wall contains a
plaque explaining the Butterfly
Project, describing their visit
and stating their commitment
to be a “No Place for Hate”
school.
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If you are interested in volunteering for the Butterfly
Project, please contact [email protected]
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“Be the change you
wish to see reflected
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Reflections
–Mahatma Gandhi
Committee
Members
Judy August (Co-chair)
Cathy Bogus
Suly Chenkin
Elaine Chernotsky
Don Effren
Sheryl Effren
Mindy Kirshbaum
Alison Lerner
Malka Me-Zahav
Jill Newman (Co-chair)
Gwen Orland
Benjamin Schwartz
Sharon Taubman
Barbara Ziegler
Levine JCC
Staff
Anna Gunsher, Division Director,
Family Life Services
Julie Rizzo, Director of Development
& Social Action
Acknowledgements
The Butterfly Project would like to thank the following donors for their generosity:
Patron
Patricia and William Gorelick
The Leon Levine Foundation
Larry Schwartz & Family
Richard Osborne
Stacey and Bobby Selkin & Family
Richard and Jonathan Zulman & Families
Monarch
Chrysalis
Gail and John Baron & Family
Marilyn and Jerry Bergman
Lillian and Irving Bienstock
Lee and Alan Blumenthal
Ellen Bottner
Tracy and Larry Brown & Family
Suly and Richard Chenkin
Elaine and Harry Chernotsky
Clariant Corporation
Lynn and Paul Edelstein
Aleen and David Epstein
Butterfly
Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund
Morry Alter Productions
Wilma and Gerson Asrael & Family First Randolph Investments, LLC
Lisa and Steve Frick & Family
Don and Bobbi Bernstein
Michelle Garber
David Cohen
Gold Foundation, Inc.
Amy and Alfred Dawson
Tammy and Ken Golder & Family
Edit on Hudson
Adrienne and Harvey Gossett
The Foundation of Shalom Park
Fay and Danny Green
Full Scale Productions
Shari and Stuart Goldstein& Family Linda Greenfield and Ira Dunst
Roz Greenspon
Bari and Jeff Gorelick
Beverly and Michael Grey & Family Stanley P. Greenspon
Deidre and William Grubb
Barbara and Jerry Levin & Family
Harriet Hirschmann
Lucas Concrete
Judy and Stan August & Family
Foundation for the Carolinas
The Gordon Family
Carol and Shelton Gorelick & Family
Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte
Helene and Alvin Levine & Family
Julie and Howard Levine
Rose and Abe Luski & Family
Sonia and Isaac Luski & Family
Lori and Eric Sklut
Jonathan Howard
Barbara Jerud Lorch
Kelly and John Keeling
Elise and Jaime Kosofsky & Family
Zucker and Laxer Family
Holly and Hal Levinson
Drs. Jay and Kathryn Levy
Karen and Gary Maniloff & Family
Ellen and Tim Martin
Pam and Scott Menaker
Jodi and Gary Michel & Family
NCBT
Jill and Ed Newman & Family
Judith and Michael Norman
The Orland Family
Betty Jerud Ostrow
Marcelle and Alan Oxman
Sherman Pardue and Company
Dale and Larry Polsky
The Marc & Mattye Silverman Foundation
Aviva and Jeffrey Stein
Bernard Stein & Family
Marilyn and Harry Swimmer
Temple Israel Sisterhood
UBS Financial Services
Liz and Brad Winer
Mary and Simon Wojnowich
The Children of Simon Wojnowich
Anne and Robert Yudell
Dana Kapustin, Butterfly Project
Coordinator
l Good.
Help Out. Do Good. Fee
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For more information or to make a donation, please visit our website:
www.charlottejcc.org/thebutterflyproject