education

helping students create positive change

We bring together an innovative and engaging educational experience for teachers and their students of all ages to inspire them to become the best version of themselves and create positive change in the world.

WILLESDEN READS

The Willesden Project

CLASSROOM RESOURCES

helping students

create positive

change

WILLESDEN READS

THE WILLESDEN PROJECT

CLASSROOM RESOURCES

IN YOUR COMMUNITY — AND NOW ONLINE

willesden reads

Willesden READS are a key component of our educational offering. In communities across America and the globe, students are given the book, The Children of Willesden Lane, and they create projects including essays, poetry and short films around its universal themes. The program centers around a powerful theatrical show in which Mona Golabek brings her mother’s story and history to life.

To date, two million students have experienced the Willesden READ. Now via a partnership with USC Shoah Foundation, the Willesden READS program is available to even more communities in both in-person and remote formats.* A Willesden READ includes:

Books or ebooks available in age-appropriate versions for grades K-12.
Mona’s one-woman show, a combination theatrical performance and piano concert, in which she shares her mother’s story of resilience and interacts with participating students.
Digital educational materials available through USC Shoah Foundation’s award-winning website IWitness, incorporating testimony from other survivors to extend The Children of Willesden Lane and its themes.
Professional development in the use of localized testimony-based classroom materials to contextualize the story, offered by leading educators through Echoes & Reflections.

SCHEDULE A READ TODAY

where we’ve been

WILLESDEN READS HAVE REACHED STUDENTS IN:

London, Paris, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Harare, Singapore, Vienna, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Baltimore, Fort Worth, Austin, Birmingham, Memphis, Palm Desert, Portland, Pittsburgh, Palm Beach, and many other cities.

what people are saying

“These kids may never look at others the same again. Golabek’s goal is more audacious still: rehumanizing humanity.”

FORT WORTH TELEGRAM OP-ED

what people are saying

“Thank you for coming to our country and unlocking our dreams.”

STUDENT, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

what people are saying

“One of the most transformative and impacting events the Dallas ISD has ever done. A performance that is a catalyst for change.”

BRADLEY OLOSEN, DALLAS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT

USC SHOAH FOUNDATION PARTNERSHIP

14-year-old Holocaust survivor Lisa Jura’s universal story of bravery and resilience transforms classrooms around the world in an interdisciplinary and multisensory learning experience from USC Shoah Foundation and Hold On To Your Music Foundation. Supported by the Koret Foundation, this suite of resources blends music, story and technology to reshape Holocaust education for primary and secondary school students.