Centennial Gala to Honor Past, Present, Future

Hadassah Greater Atlanta’s yearlong celebration of 100 years of serving the community culminates in a gala centennial celebration Sunday, Oct. 30, at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta in Buckhead.

The night of nostalgia and friendship, commitment and accomplishment, and pride and fulfillment will include a cocktail hour and a seated dinner. Three honorees will represent Hadassah’s past, present and future in Atlanta: the late Rae Frank (represented by Lois and Larry Frank), who was a devoted leader and mentor to generations; Virginia Saul, a dedicated and dynamic past president who has served Hadassah in Atlanta for decades; and Renée Rosenheck, a Hadassah leadership fellow who inspires her contemporaries.

The yearlong centennial celebration kicked off last November with the opening of an exhibit of the Breman Museum featuring informational boards like this, as well as artifacts.

The festivities will try to show how Hadassah makes an impact not only in Atlanta, but also around the world through medical research conducted by Israel’s Hadassah Medical Organization.

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Event planner Martha Jo Katz and Linda Hakerem are serving as the event co-chairs. Lois Blonder is the honorary chair. Phyllis Cohen is the chair of the centennial celebration.

Hadassah Greater Atlanta, with more than 3,600 members, is the local chapter of Hadassah, the largest women’s volunteer organization in the United States. Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, has more than 300,000 members nationwide.

In addition to supporting Hadassah’s national and international projects, Hadassah Greater Atlanta sponsors programs on human trafficking, heart disease and breast cancer and advocates other women’s health and social issues. For over 20 years the Hadassah chapter has worked with Northside Hospital on Check It Out, a program teaching cancer awareness and prevention and healthy lifestyle habits to high school girls.

4 Things You Might Not Know About Hadassah

• Hadassah neurologist Dimitrios Karussis conducted clinical trials using human embryonic stem cells to slow or stop the symptoms of macular degenerative disease. The findings were revealed with Hadassah Medical Organization Chairwoman Rachel Schonberger of Atlanta at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference and Biotech Showcase in San Francisco in 2015. Clinical trials are under way at the Mayo Clinic and Massachusetts General Hospital.
• Emory University professor Raymond Schinazi, with doctors from the Hadassah Medical Organization, was instrumental in developing a technique for HIV-positive men to bear healthy children through a medical treatment known as sperm washing.
• In 2005, the two Hadassah Medical Organization hospitals in Jerusalem were nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
• Hadassah was the Hebrew name of Queen Esther; the organization’s founding meeting was held a week before Purim in 1912.