In the winter of 1945, on the day of her liberation from six years of Nazi rule, Gerda Weissmann clung to life at the end of a 350-mile death march. She weighed 68 pounds, her hair had turned white, and she had not had a bath in three years. She survived with courage, grace and dignity.

Gerda Weissmann Klein, renowned motivational speaker and Holocaust survivor, teaches each one of us about tolerance, understanding and making a difference. Gerda Klein’s spirit helped her survive six years under Nazi rule; through her story, and her unique perspective, she continues to help each one of us to understand the dangers of hate and extremism.

Students involved in STAND UP. SPEAK OUT. LEND A HAND will hear from Gerda during a special interactive videoconference event and then embark upon their own service learning projects. Each participating school will be tasked with designing and implementing a service learning project that combats social issues in their community.

In order to maintain an on-going dialogue over the course of the project, each class will create a wiki page and posting bi-weekly updates on their projects. Once a month, schools will be assigned a partner class who will review and comment on their wiki page (and vice versa).  Students will then reconvene via videoconference to share their service learning projects with the Klein Foundation during a celebratory "Project Collaboration Videoconference" in March. We will break schools into smaller groups for project sharing to encourage dialogue among students!

It's a three-month service learning challenge. Are your students ready to STAND UP, SPEAK OUT, and LEND A HAND against extremism and hunger?

Special Program Note: Because The Klein Foundation will be closing their doors in June 2011, this is the last time MAGPI and the Foundation will offer this remarkable program. Don’t miss this final opportunity for your students to participate in this amazing program.

Program Outline:

You are the Messengers to a Time I Will Not See:
A Conversation with Gerda Weissmann Klein Videoconference
November 16, 2010 * 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. EST

During this interactive videoconference event, students will hear from renowned human rights activist, writer, Academy Award winner and Holocaust survivor, Gerda Weissmann Klein. Gerda will share her life story and then take students’ questions. All students must submit questions ahead of time and MAGPI will select 10 questions to be asked. At the end of the videoconference, students will be challenged to go out and make a difference in their own communities. Students should be familiar with Gerda’s book, All But My Life, and/or should have viewed the documentary about her life, One Survivor Remembers, prior to participating in this videoconference.

Supporting Your Students in their Service Learning Projects
Teacher Workshop Videoconference
January 26, 2011 * 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. EST

Join education specialists from the Klein Foundation staff to hear tips for supporting your students’ service learning project. We’ll also go over the project timeline, required dates and how to create your class wiki page.

Student Service Learning Projects
December – March

Your students have three months to complete a service learning project. What kind of project should your students design? Any - - just as long as they are working to help combat social issues in their own community. You may want to start by asking students an essential question: What can we do to help? If you need ideas, you may want to check out the Hunger Service Learning curriculum developed by the Klein Foundation, or information about hosting a Sleep Out. You’ll also be creating a class wiki page, posting bi-weekly updates (including photos!) and commenting on other schools projects.

Service Project Celebration
Student Sharing Videoconference Event
March 9, 2010 * 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. EST
(9:00 a.m. - 9:50 a.m., 10:00 – 10:50 a.m. ET, 11:00 – 11:50 a.m. ET, 12:00 – 12:15 p.m., ET or 1:00 – 1:50 p.m. ET)

During this celebration, students will share their service learning projects and interact with other schools that completed service learning projects. We will assign schools to a 50 minute interactive timeslot where they will hear from representatives from the Klein Foundation and other special guests. When not interacting, schools can watch other schools’ presentations via a live webstream.

Materials You Will Receive Upon Registering for the Program:

The Klein Foundation is kindly supplying each registered school with:

• The inTime Magazine’s Stand Up. Speak Out. Lend a Hand! Teaching Kit.

• The Teaching Tolerance Kit created by the Klein Foundation and the Southern Poverty Law Center. This is a comprehensive educational kit based upon the Oscar-winning documentary, One Survivor Remembers.

• A DVD of One Survivor Remembers, the Oscar-winning documentary about Gerda Weissmann Klein’s life.

National Educational Standards:

In line with leading research, the objectives of this three-month program are to increase:

• levels of tolerance and appreciation of human differences among students,
• student understanding of the dangers of hate and extremism,
• student empathy for the plight of Jews during the Holocaust and
• student commitment to civic engagement and activism through the creation of service learning projects in their communities. 

Participation in this program satisfies the following content standards, as outlined by the International Society for Technology in Education:

• Students use telecommunications to collaborate, publish, and interact with peers, experts, and other audiences.

• Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity.