Press Release – House of Representatives of Pennsylvania issues Citation in tribute of Deanne Comer

House of Representatives of Pennsylvania issues Citation in tribute of Deanne Comer

November 23, 2017 On November 1, 2017, the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania, issued a Citation, paying “tribute to Deanne Scherlis Comer upon her well-deserved recognition”, noting her exemplary service and contributions for “her commitment to the creation and implementation of quality Holocaust education by the Holocaust Awareness Museum and Education Center (HAMEC) during the 56th Anniversary Fundraising Dinner and Silent Auction.” The Honorable Kevin J. Boyle, State Representative, Pennsylvania House District 172, sponsored the citation, which was co signed by Mike Turzai, the Honorable Pennsylvania Speaker of the House, representing the 28th legislative district. The Honorable, Ed Neilson, Pennsylvania state representative for the 174th Legislative District, was also in attendance. More than 200 people attended this event, which was held on November 11, 2017. In total, $100,000 were raised. This includes ads, silent auction, program sponsorships with the matching grant. Mrs. Comer was recognized as “a teacher in the Abington School District for twenty-five years, where she chaired the Upper Elementary Holocaust Education Curriculum Committee, she developed and coordinated training sessions for two hundred teachers and librarians as an educational consultant to HAMEC. A coordinator for the First International Conference on Teaching the Lessons of the Holocaust, Mrs. Comer has served on the Pennsylvania Holocaust Education Council for thirty years and on the Board of the Jewish Social Policy Action Network. She further served as a diversity trainer for the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith World of Difference program, President of the Eleanor Roosevelt Chapter of the American Jewish Congress and Vice Chair of the Youth Symposium sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Council and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. To her great credit, Mrs. Comer wrote and directed “Voices of Holocaust History, an award- winning DVD series, and she has lectured extensively and published numerous articles related to the subject.” The Holocaust Awareness Museum is the premier provider of Holocaust education programs in the Delaware Valley. In the last school year alone, HAMEC completed over 350 programs and reached nearly 35,000 students. With passage of Pennsylvania’s new Holocaust and Genocide education law and implementation last fall, those numbers are expected to increase exponentially. The museum has been dedicated to educating students about the consequences of intolerance and hate. Each year museum programs reach thousands of students through Holocaust survivor presentations, school visits, videos, and plays such as the Anne Frank Theater Project. The Holocaust Awareness Museum and Education Center is a non-profit organization supported by grants from the Conference on Material Claims Against Germany, government and foundation grants and private donations.