Shalom magazine - The Atlantic Jewish Council

arouNd our regioN: saiNt JoHN
continued from page 39
Although we anticipated only a modest
success with a new venture, it has been
very popular. We have had to increase
the number of times it is offered during
the day from one to three and trained
additional. They see the area where our
early immigrants arrived, the homes where
many our prominent and ordinary Jewish
citizens lived and where many Jewish
merchants and professionals operated
stores and offices along and near Union,
Charlotte and King Streets. We also show
the corner where the late great Hollywood
actor, Walter Pidgeon’s father had his
grocery store and the homes of some other
prominent Saint John residents. The stop
at the Museum is the mid-point of the tour
and gives the visitors (and the guides) a
brief rest.
In between tours, the everyday operation
of the Museum continues. We have been
fortunate in receiving numerous project
grants from the municipal, provincial and
federal governments and private donors
which will allow us to improve our archives,
our educational
activities, and
our exhibits.
The provincial
and federal
governments have
also been generous
in providing
funding for the
employment
of five students
for the summer
months to assist
with all facets of
the Museum’s
operation.
We hope that
you will find the
time over the
remainder of the
summer and fall
seasons to visit
Saint John, to
see the Jewish
Museum and enjoy the
city’s hospitality.
Page 0 Tishre 5771 - Vol 35 No. 2
Bruce Washburn, president, Congregation Shaarei Zedek and
Max Eisen, Holocaust survivor
A Champion for Children
Published Saturday August 7th, 2010 and reprinted with the permission of The
Telegraph Journal, Saint John, NB
Erminie rminie Cohen has played
many accomplished roles in
her 84 years, including that
of a senator. But for nine years,
her resources have been devoted to
a cause that is both personal and
public - finding permanent families
for children.
For her work in pioneering and
championing the N.B. Adoption
Foundation, Erminie Cohen has been
honoured by the North American
Council on Adoptable Children in
Hartford, Conn., which has awarded
her one of 10 activist awards. She is
the only Canadian to have made the
organization’s shortlist for 2010. The
honour is richly deserved.
Under her direction as founding
chairwoman and board member, the
foundation has found adoptive families
for about 800 children since 2002.
Before the foundation was created, 25
children a year were adopted in the
province, on average. Thanks to the
public education and outreach the
foundation has performed, that figure
has risen to approximately 100 children
a year - a remarkable success.
Erminie Cohen is the first to stress that
this success is a collective triumph - not
“a solo performance,” but “a symphony
of efforts.” And the foundation’s work is
not done; as long as there are children
seeking “forever families,” there will
be a need to promote understanding of
adoption.
There aren’t many people who
can say they have brought new
hope and happiness to hundreds of
families. Erminie Cohen can, and her
accomplishments put her in the same
league as Margaret Norrie McCain, who
has championed better understanding of
early childhood development, and Dr.
Marilyn Trenholme Counsell, who has
campaigned for early childhood literacy.
New Brunswick needs more advocates
of this calibre - community builders
who realize the true test of any society
is how well it cares for its children.