Isabella S. Fiske and Ann S. Arnold announced the launch of The Mark Schonwetter Holocaust Education Foundation, whose mission is to expand and support Holocaust Education for students in schools around the country and to provide funds necessary for educators to implement curriculum into their lesson plans.The objective is to teach students the lessons to be learned from the past and how they relate to today. Funds can be used to purchase educational materials, help subsidize field trips, speaker costs or host assemblies and programs.
Mark Schonwetter survived the Holocaust as a young Jewish boy in Poland, along with his mother and sister, by hiding in the forests and the homes of righteous Polish families. Mark came to America in 1961 with five dollars to his name. Unable to speak English, he nonetheless obtained work at a jewelry factory, where he swept floors. He learned English and began to rise through the ranks and became the factory manager within five years. Five years later he had the means and opportunity to buy Lieberfarb, which he turned into a successful wedding ring and bridal jewelry company. He ran Lieberfarb for over forty years. Both of his daughters, Ann Arnold and Isabella Fiske worked closely with him for many years. Currently, Ann is the CSO of BIG, a firm that designs solutions for the myriad of merchandising and inventory management challenges facing retail jewelers and manufacturers. Isabella is the owner of ISF Jewels, a personal shopper and designer of jewelry based in Livingston, NJ. Since Mark retired, he has shared his story with adults of all ages, and students all over the Northeast. Through this journey, they have discovered one of the biggest obstacles that schools face with Holocaust Education is budget restraints. As a result, the family established the foundation to raise funds to help aid schools in bringing these important lessons to students today.
To learn more about how you can help make a difference, visit https://www.mshefoundation.org/support-us.
[Pictured left to right: Isabella Fiske, Ann Arnold, Mark Schonwetter, Luba Schonwetter]
