About the Fund
This fund supports an annual Yom HaShoah program at Sinai Temple with appropriate music and speakers that will attract adults and children. Where funds are available, support of community Holocaust education efforts will be given.
Sinai Temple is to be notified of the amount of funds available early enough for planning in advance of Day of Remembrance. All or part of the available funds will be provided upon application by a Sinai Temple planning committee consisting of the Rabbi, the Rabbi Emeritus, a member of the Marco family, the Sinai Temple Adult Education Chair, and the CUJF Holocaust Education Chair.
About Jewel Kurland, Fund Coordinator
Mrs. Kurland received her bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois in 1949. Following graduation, Mrs. Kurland joined WCIA in Champaign, where she was a spokesperson for various advertisers, such as Kelly's Potato Chips. After raising a family, she re-entered the entertainment business as a booking agent for performers and musicians including local appearances by luminaries such as Buddy Rich, Maynard Ferguson and Muddy Waters.
Mrs. Kurland was actively engaged in advancing a Jewish presence in Champaign-Urbana. Her love for Hadassah, a Jewish woman's organization, led her to organize many successful Hadassah fashion shows as well as holding the title of producer for the Yiddish Film Festival of 1995 and executive producer of the Jewish Foreign Film Festival of 1997. She, along with the late Mr. Kurland, received the prestigious Gates of Jerusalem Medal in 1991.
Her coordination of the Jack and Sadye Marco Holocaust Fund, which sponsors an annual cultural event in recognition of Yom HaShoah, best signified her passion for Jewish awareness.
Jewel passed away on Thursday, December 19th, 2013. Mrs. Kurland took the phrase, "you're only as good as the company you keep" to heart and established herself as a loyal friend and proud matriarch. Whether it was engaging in current events over breakfast, discussing the latest happenings around town with the Ladies Group of Sinai Temple or analyzing Joakim Noah's recent Bulls performance, Mrs. Kurland inspired those around her to live life to the fullest.