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Survivors in South Jersey
Enjoy a Birthday Party
L SASHA ROGELBERG | STAFF WRITER
ouis Goldman is 85, but he
attended his first birthday party
just last week.

The Holocaust survivor living in
Vineland, New Jersey, was joined by
more than 10 other survivors for a
birthday celebration as part of the
Hope and Healing program created
by the Jewish Family and Children’s
Service of Southern New Jersey.

“I had a chance to meet with my
fellow survivors and talk about the old
times, how it was good to be alive ... I
enjoyed it,” Goldman said.

The Hope and Healing program,
which convenes about 15 Holocaust
survivors monthly to partake in yoga,
art therapy and other activities, orga-
nized the celebration in tandem with
8 Rosh Hashanah — a new year and
an opportunity to celebrate birth and
rebirth. The program is also an opportunity
to add joy and connection to the lives
of survivors.

“During some of the conversations
I’ve had with the clients, I found out
that some of them never had a birth-
day party,” said Hope and Healing
Coordinator Ronda Mathers. “A lot
of them lost their families during the
Holocaust, so they didn’t have family to
celebrate with afterwards or they didn’t
feel like celebrating afterwards.”
The birthday party, held at
Congregation Beth Israel, was attended
by about 35 guests, mostly family and
friends of the survivors, and featured
survivors singing and playing harmon-
ica, as well as cupcakes and personal-
SEPTEMBER 22, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
Holocaust survivors attend a birthday celebration through Jewish Family and
Children’s Service of Southern New Jersey’s Hope and Healing program.