A Jewish social welfare charity in Prestwich is celebrating a major funding boost to deliver a vital programme of work.
The Fed is to receive a substantial boost to its funding after being awarded £246,075 by the Heritage Lottery Fund for its "crucial" My Voice Manchester project.
The project has already enabled dozens of Holocaust survivors to tell and document their stories and has even been used in schools to educate youngsters on the atrocities.
My Voice manager, Juliette Pearce, said: “The money will enable the amplification of the survivors’ voices and ensure that their remarkable life stories will live on forever.
“This will move the focus from the ungraspable statistic of six million deaths to personal local stories that enable students to conceptualize what it meant to be caught up in the Holocaust.
Professor shares survivor story in My Voice project
“At the same time, they will hear how it is possible to survive the most despicable atrocities and go on to live wonderful lives as fully contributing members of society.”
The funding boost will help underwrite the project over the next two years as it shifts from recording and publishing the life stories of Holocaust survivors and refugees, to ensuring that their legacies live on.
Whitefield Holocaust survivor shares a glimpse of his heartbreaking past
Part of this will be through the creation of educational resources for schools, colleges, further education, and other establishments that teach about the Holocaust, with the provision of support to the survivors themselves.
Holocaust survivor's story included in school curriculum
Juliette said: “We are incredibly grateful to The National Heritage Lottery Fund and to all the National Lottery players for making this possible.”
A new heritage and learning officer is also being recruited to support survivors in sharing their stories during recordings and at live events.
Ike Alterman, who now lives in Whitefield, has been one of the survivors who shared his story from losing his family at a young age to missing several camp liberations.
He has spoken about building a life and family after he came to England and has even had a building named in his honour at Wellington School in Timperley.
Raphi Bloom, The Fed's director of fundraising and marketing, said: "My Voice will continue to publish survivors' stories across the UK with the diminishing window of time that we have.
"The recently launched partnership with Yad Vashem UK in London to undertake this has already seen five survivors commit to writing their stories with My Voice.
"This is a huge commitment from the National Lottery and recognises the vital role The Fed’s My Voice project has within the Holocaust education and remembrance sector.
"Whilst My Voice might not be the size of other Holocaust charities in the UK – or have their resources – the impact it has had both for survivors and on education is incredible.
"The fact it is part of a Jewish social care charity makes it even more unique and the wrap-around support we have been able to offer survivors as they tell their traumatic life stories has been invaluable."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here