H EADLINES
HIAS PA Clients Celebrate Thanksgiving Virtually
L OCA L
SOPHIE PANZER | JE STAFF
HIAS PENNSYLVANIA didn’t
want its newly arrived immigrant
and refugee clients to miss out
on their fi rst Th anksgiving in
the United States, even if large,
in-person gatherings are out of the
question. Th e staff and board organized
Th ankful Together, a virtual
celebration featuring meal
drop-off s, prerecorded perfor-
mances and Zoom breakout
rooms organized by language,
on Nov. 22.

The celebration started
when volunteers began deliv-
ering home-cooked meals to
the homes of 20 immigrant
and refugee families. Later that
day, guests gathered on Zoom
to hear addresses from HIAS
PA staff and watch prerecorded
performances by Philadelphia
arts organizations.

Th e event was hosted by
Executive Director Cathryn
Miller-Wilson and Charlie
Heil, adult education lead
instructor. “Whether or not you are
Jewish, or an immigrant, we
have all been strangers once and,
therefore, know deep in our souls
the importance of welcoming,”
LEGAL DIRECTORY
LOUIS B. HIMMELSTEIN
& ASSOCIATES, P.C.

ATTORNEYS AT LAW
PERSONAL INJURY ONLY
Free initial consultation.

Free home & hospital visits.

Slip and Fall cases
Nursing Home abuse
No fee till recovery
215-790-9996 1420 Walnut Street, Ste 1000
Philadelphia, PA 19102
ELDER LAW
AND ESTATE PLANNING
Wills Trusts
Powers of Attorney
Living Wills
Probate Estates
Protect assets from
nursing home
LARRY SCOTT AUERBACH, ESQ.

CERTIFIED ELDER LAW ATTORNEY
CPA-PFS, J.D., LL.M.,MBA
1000 Easton Road
Abington, PA 19001
For consultation call
215-517-5566 or
1-877-987-8788 Toll Free
Website: www.Lsauerbach.com
Miller-Wilson said.

Board President Carol
Gantman said the organization’s
refugee Th anksgiving tradition
traces back many years.

“It was thought that it would
be great for all new arrivals from
the previous year to be able to
celebrate with us at HIAS PA
their fi rst authentic Th anksgiving
in America,” she said.

In past years, HIAS PA
partnered with community
organizations and synagogues to
fi nd space and supplies, coordi-
nated about 100 people to set
up and cook, and arranged for
kid-friendly activities like face
painting and storytelling, as well
as performing arts acts for adult
guests. Immigrant and refugee
families were encouraged to
bring dishes from their countries
of origin to serve alongside
turkey and pumpkin pie.

HIAS PA clients who arrived
in the United States aft er the
previous year’s Th anksgiving
but before the upcoming one
were invited to attend, regard-
less of what stage they are at in
the immigration process.

Gantman noted that HIAS
PA staff and board chose the
name “Th ankful Together”
to acknowledge that many
schools do not teach the
history of marginalized people
in the United States, partic-
ularly the history of Native
Americans who are portrayed
in the Th anksgiving story.

Philadelphia Cit y
Councilmember Helen Gym
sent Th anksgiving greetings
HEALTHCARE DIRECTORY
What We Off er:
Respite Care ★ Hospice Care ★ Dementia Care ★ Alzheimer’s Care
Assistance with Daily Living, Personal Care Needs & Holistic Services
Servicing: Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and all of Philadelphia
610-257-7097 ★ healingenergycares.com
6 NOVEMBER 26, 2020
JEWISH EXPONENT
The Lullaby Project presents a music video during Thankful Together with
Cathryn Miller-Wilson and Charlie Heil.

Photo by Sophie Panzer
for this year’s celebration in a
recorded message thanking
immigrants for their contribu-
tions to the city. Gym is vice chair
of Local Progress, a network that
advocates for immigrant protec-
tions like sanctuary cities and
the Development, Relief, and
Education for Alien Minors Act.

“Having attended HIAS
Pennsylvania’s Thanksgiving
events in years past, it’s always
been my greatest honor to
welcome immigrant families to
our communal table,” Gym said.

“Immigrant families make our
city so incredibly strong. More
than a quarter of all Philadelphia
residents are immigrants, or
have at least one immigrant
parent. And our city truly could
not be what it is without you.”
Participants from Th e Lullaby
Project, an organization that
pairs new parents with music
artists to create personal lulla-
bies for their children, presented
their ballads in music videos.

Culture Shock, the dance
troupe at the University of
the Sciences in Philadelphia,
submitted a dance routine, as
did K-pop cover dance group
L8NITE and culture nonprofi ts
Asian Arts Initiative and
Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture.

Th e Carver Choir of Carver
Engineering and Science high
school submitted a performance
of “Th is Little Light of Mine,”
with each singer’s part recorded
separately in their homes. House
singer Lady Alma submitted an
onstage performance of her song
“Keep it Moving” and the band
Worldtown Soundsystem sent a
kaleidoscopic underwater music
video for its song “Freedom.”
Artist House choreogra-
pher and dancer Asya Zlatina
submitted a solo performance
to Fayerlech by the Jewish
folk group Veselei Igraii. She
used to listen to their album
“Bazetsn di kale” with her
grandmother. Th e song was her
fi rst exposure to Yiddish, and
she was working on choreo-
graphing a group performance
for it before the pandemic hit.

She turned it into a solo perfor-
mance to accommodate social
distancing this fall.

Zlatina’s family left the
Soviet Union and immigrated to
the United States when she was
a child. She said Th anksgiving
is a big deal for her family
and one of the holidays they
gather for every year. She grew
up loving “Molly’s Pilgrim,” a
children’s book about a young
Jewish girl who creates a
Th anksgiving project honoring
her immigrant heritage.

“Th at book was always very
meaningful to me as someone
who comes from an Eastern
See HIAS, Page 16
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM