The Charlotte
Vol. 32, No. 7 Av-Elul 5770 August 2010
An Affiliate of the Jewish Federation of Greater Chariotte
The Echo Foundation to Host Elie Wiesel and Honor Sandra and Leon
Levine at Charlotte Premiere of “In the Footsteps of Elie Wiesel”
Tickets on Sale Now for
Documentary Film Premiere
Featuring On-Stage Dialogue
with Wiesel and Echo Student
Ambassadors
The Echo Foundation will pre
miere the 56-minute documentary
film, “In the Footsteps of Elie
Wiesel,” at an event from 6-9 PM
at the Knight Theater on Tuesday,
Septtember 21. The event, A Night
to Remember, will include an on
stage dialogue with Holocaust sur
vivor and Nobel Peace Prize lau
reate Elie Wiesel and Echo
Student Ambassadors featured in
the film; the presentation of the
2010 Echo Award Against
Indifference to philanthropists
Sandra and Leon Levine; and a
post-film Patrons’ Reception.
Patron tickets for A Night to
Remember ($250 per person, or
Patron packages and corporate
sponsorships ranging from
$3,000) are available by calling
704-347-3844. General admission
seating ($65 per person) will go
on sale in late summer.
“In the Footsteps of Elie
Wiesel” chronicles the journey of
twelve Charlotte-Mecklenburg
high school students who trace the
life experiences of Wiesel as part
of The Echo Foundation’s 2007
Footsteps Global Initiative.
Charlotte-based Indievision
produced the film in association
with Emulsion Arts. Led by
Executive Producer Bert C. Hesse,
Indievision’s recent films were
presented at the 2006 Berlin and
Cannes film markets. Emulsion
Arts is an award-winning film
production company. “In the
Footsteps of Elie Wiesel” features
an introduction by Richard Gere,
music and lyrics by New York
Fifth Avenue Synagogue Cantor
Joseph Malovany, and an original
score by Fred Story, a nationally
recognized composer.
“The film - a moving portrayal
of young people on a quest to
impact humanity through their
understanding of history - is a
powerful vehicle to promote jus
tice and inspire hope,” said
Stephanie Ansaldo, president of
The Echo Foundation and the
film’s director.
The twelve Student
Ambassadors were Charlotte high
school students at the time of film
ing.
About The Echo Award Against
Indifference
The Echo Award Against
Indifference was established to
honor a member of the
Mecklenburg County community
who works “... with an eye
towards peace, a heart filled with
compassion and a voice against
indifference, in order to remind
our community of its highest
ideals.”
About Sandra and Leon Levine
Sandra and Leon Levine epito
mize compassion, personal
responsibility and ethical leader
ship. Most recently, the Levines
spearheaded efforts to minimize
the impact of the national finan
cial downturn in Charlotte through
personal support and advocacy for
increasing resources to those most
adversely affected. “Sandra and
Leon’s vision for the quality of
life in Charlotte and the vitality of
our community inspires us all to
do more,” said Ansaldo.
They are the living example of
Echo’s ideals, consistently
demonstrating an extraordinary
commitment to the community.
They have a longstanding reputa
tion for leadership in the Charlotte
region. With a powerful combina
tion of business acumen, compas
sion and responsibility, the
Levines have been a driving force
behind the development of med
ical, religious, educational and
arts infrastructures across the
community.
Among the many institutions
that bear their name are the Levine
Children’s Hospital, Levine JCC,
UNC Charlotte, Levine Museum
Sandra and Leon Levine will receive
this year’s Echo Award Against
Indifference at a community event on
September 21
of the New South, Levine Center
for the Arts, Queens University,
and Central Piedmont Community
College. In the wake of the finan
cial downturn, the Levines helped
launch the Critical Need Response
Fund, a crucial source of support
for those in need in the Charlotte
community.
About Elie Wiesel
Elie Wiesel was bom in 1928 in
Sighet, Transylvania, now part of
Romania. At age 15, he and his
family were deported by the Nazis
to Auschwitz. His mother and
younger sister perished, his two
older sisters survived. Wiesel and
his father were later transported to
Buchenwald, where his father died
shortly before the camp was liber
ated in April 1945. He wrote about
his experience in the death camps
in his internationally acclaimed
memoir, “La Nuit” or “Night,”
which has since been translated
into more than 30 languages.
Wiesel is the Andrew W.
Mellon Professor in the
Humanities at Boston University,
where he is a member of the facul
ty in the Department of Religion
as well as the Department of
Philosophy. He is Chairman of
The Elie Wiesel Foundation for
Humanity, an organization he and
his wife created to fight indiffer
ence, intolerance and injustice. He
is the author of more than 40
books of fiction and non-fiction,
and the recipient of numerous
awards including the Presidential
Medal of Freedom, the U.S.
Congressional Gold Medal and
¥
Elie Wiesel will visit
Charlotte as the Echo
Foundation’s special guest
in September
the Medal of Liberty Award, and
the rank of Grand-Croix in the
French Legion of Honor In 1986,
Elie Wiesel won the Nobel Prize
for Peace. More biographical
information: http://inthefootstep-
sofeliewiesel.org/bios.html
About The Echo Foundation
The Echo Foundation was
founded in 1997 to carry on the
message Nobel Peace Prize win
ner Elie Wiesel brought to
Charlotte that year - a call to
action for human dignity, justice
and moral courage. The Echo
Foundation brings to Charlotte
speakers and programs that illus
trate how one person can make a
difference for humanity through
its Voices Against Indifference
Initiative.
For more information about
The Echo Foundation, visit
www.echofoundation.org. ^
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Super Hero Sunday Great Gift Card Giveaway
Give $100 - Get $1,000!
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Attention Super
Heroes! Your help is
needed now more than
ever! We are closing our
2010 Annual Campaign
and are $75,000 away
from last year’s cam
paign total.
If we are unable to raise addi
tional dollars, the Federation will
be forced to cut back allocations
to our agencies, affecting mem
bers of our community who count
on us every day for services pro
vided through the Jewish
Federation Annual Campaign.
To make sure that we do
everything within our power
for the betterment of our
community, the Federation
is holding Super Hero
Sunday, sponsored by Bank
of North Carolina, on
Sunday, August 22.
We are asking all members of
our community to dig deep into
their pockets for a one-time dona
tion to the campaign.
JFGC Executive Board mem
bers have generously donated gift
cards to help us reach our goal.
Those who answer the call on
Sunday, August 22 by donating
$100 will have an opportunity to
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FEDE^RATIONS NORTH^^ONA
OF Charlotte
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