FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Holocaust Museum & Janet G. and Harvey D. Cohen Education Center

975 Imperial Golf Course Blvd., Suite 108

Naples, FL 34110

Contact: Erin Blankenship, Incoming President and CEO

Phone: 239-263-9200

Email: Erin@hmcec.org

SUNCOAST CREDIT UNION FOUNDATION PROVIDES $10,000 TO THE HOLOCAUST MUSEUM & COHEN EDUCATION CENTER

(NAPLES, FL) The Holocaust Museum & Janet G. and Harvey D. Cohen Education Center announces a charitable gift of $10,000 from the Suncoast Credit Union Foundation. The funds will be used in support of the Museum’s “Student and Teacher Education on the Lessons of the Holocaust” program. The program includes on-campus Holocaust Education programs, Museum Field Trips, PopUp Museum displays, the unique traveling Boxcar Exhibit, and Educator Workshops. This year, the Museum has doubled its impact, reaching more than 30,000 students and teachers in seven Southwest Florida counties through our programs.

Retiring Museum President and CEO Susan Suarez noted “The mission of the Suncoast Credit Union Foundation is to promote the education, health and emotional well-being of children in Florida. We greatly appreciate the Foundation’s continued support of our own Education mission. Because of its long-standing close ties to the Florida education community, the Foundation’s philanthropic impact has been felt far and wide, including here at our Museum and by other local non-profit organizations supporting children.”

Suncoast Credit Union, Florida’s largest credit union, founded the Suncoast Union Credit Foundation to promote the education, health and emotional well-being of children in the community. Each time a Suncoast member uses their debit or credit card, the credit union donates two cents to the Foundation to fund local initiatives. Since its inception in 1990, the Foundation has raised and donated over $53 million.

"At Suncoast Credit Union, we believe that education is key to building a more informed and compassionate world,” said Bob Hyde, Vice President of Community Impact, Suncoast Credit Union. "The Holocaust Museum’s work ensures that the lessons of history are not only remembered but actively used to inspire critical thinking, empathy, and social responsibility. We are proud to support this initiative, which empowers students and educators to become advocates for a brighter future." 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                About The Holocaust Museum & Janet G. and Harvey D. Cohen Education Center 

The Holocaust Museum & Janet G. and Harvey D. Cohen Education Center is a history museum founded by community leaders in 2001. Its mission is “teach the lessons of the Holocaust to inspire action against hatred and to promote mutual respect.” The Museum was inspired by “Out of the Ashes,” a local middle school’s Holocaust history project. A recent 3,600 square foot expansion added new galleries, exhibits, displays, larger classroom and meeting space, and information on other genocides and Human Rights issues. Several existing exhibits were also renovated, and new interactive displays and video features were installed in the now 10,000 square foot Museum.

The Museum’s permanent collections contain over 1,000 unique artifacts, documents, photographs and other materials donated by local SWFL residents who are Holocaust Survivors, Camp Liberators, World War II Veterans, and others. The personal stories behind each one help bring history to life for the students, teachers and Museum visitors who view them. In the new Auschwitz Gallery, visitors can also hear excerpts of the moving Survivor and Liberator testimonies recorded for the Museum’s Oral Visual History Project. These important testimonies preserve the eyewitness accounts of the Holocaust and World War II for future generations.

The Museum offers students and teachers a variety of age-appropriate Holocaust Education programming. These include on-campus classroom presentations, PopUp Museum displays, and Museum Field Trips. Schools across Southwest Florida have also hosted the Museum’s unique traveling Boxcar Exhibit, on loan to the Museum from Jack and F.E. Nortman and The Boxcar Foundation. Online Holocaust Education resources for both students and teachers are also available at www.hmcec.org.

Annual Educator Workshops at the Museum assist teachers in meeting the State Mandate on teaching Holocaust Education. Workshops include updates on the latest information in Holocaust Education, guest speakers and interactive sessions with Museum Educators. Classroom-ready materials are provided to all Workshop participants as well.

For more information about the Museum and its Education programs, contact Incoming President and CEO Erin Blankenship or visit our website - www.hmcec.org.

About Suncoast Credit Union

Suncoast Credit Union is the largest credit union in the state of Florida, the 8th largest in the United States based on membership, and the 10th largest in the United States based on its $18.4 billion in assets. Chartered in 1934 as Hillsborough County Teachers Credit Union, Suncoast Credit Union currently operates 81 full-service branches and serves more than 1.2 million members across Florida. As a community credit union, anyone who lives, works, attends school, or worships in Suncoast Credit Union’s service area is eligible for membership. In 2021, Suncoast Credit Union’s field of membership was expanded to include public K-12 teachers, college educators, and educational support staff from all of Florida’s 67 counties. Suncoast is passionate about community support. Since its founding in 1990, the Suncoast Credit Union Foundation has raised and donated more than $53 million to organizations and initiatives that support the health, education, and emotional well-being of children in the communities that the credit union serves. For more information, visit suncoast.com or follow us on social media: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

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