Hold On To Your Music – To educate students at Jewish day schools in six cities across the country about the Holocaust and the Kindertransport, through The Willesden READ Day School Initiative, which utilizes educational, dramatic, literary, and musical concepts.

The core of The Willesden READ is the book, The Children of Willesden Lane, by authors Mona Golabek and Lee Cohen; the educator resource guide and workshops; and the live adaptation of the book, performed by pianist Mona Golabek. The Children of Willesden Lane is a biography focusing on the struggles and bittersweet accomplishments of Lisa Jura, Mona Golabek’s mother. Lisa was a refugee from Vienna before WWII, who found hope and a new life in a London refugee children’s hostel. In this challenging situation, Lisa was able to pursue her dream of becoming a concert pianist.

The overall program is projected to involve close to 90,000 students in various cities from the public and charter school systems. The Willesden READ Day School Initiative would formalize the effort to engage day school students in The Willesden READ in six communities across the country.