Connections Attendees: "Best Speaker Ever"

Alina Gerloving Spaulding, our Connections speaker, really hit a nerve.

• “Today, as I was sobbing in the parking lot, I realized that for the first time, this event meant something; it really connected for me. The story that Alina told was my story but a lot less dramatic. You know how something that is part of your own life is ingrained that you never really reflect on it because it is such a part of you? Today, as I heard this story through Alina's eyes, I realized that everything that I have in my life is owed to the fact that there was a Jewish agency willing to help my parents get a visa and get out of Poland.”
   

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  Another attendee explained, “This was the best event I have ever attended. I was so moved, so proud to support the Jewish Federation. And I couldn’t wait to make another gift so I could help Jews overseas in need.”

• "Thank you very much for a well organized and informative event. This is my first time at the Jewish Federation event in Seattle. I was pleased to see such a big community and willingness to make a difference in the world."

These were the types of sentiments heard in the halls, bathroom and ballroom at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue after Alina spoke. It was moving as she detailed her family’s journey from the former Soviet Union to New Jersey, with the help of the American Jewish community every step of the way.

“I owe EVERYTHING I do or have, or that my children do or have, to people like you in this room.” These words were repeated often during her faultless presentation as Alina walked across the stage, speaking without notes for 45 minutes. Not one person got up, even to use the bathroom—people were riveted to every word she spoke.

After moving to the United States, the Jewish community’s generosity, of money and personal help, did not cease: An anonymous donor paid for her father’s needed heart surgery. A Jewish family adopted her family helping them find work and discover Judaism. The Jewish community greeted her immediately everywhere Alina moved.

Alina gives back. Not only does she speak of the work of the Jewish community, but she continues it, working for the American Hebrew Academy in Greensboro, NC and adopting two Jewish children from Moldova.

Thank you to Chairs Lois Fuhr and Lisa Katsman and to the dozens of volunteers who helped make this event a success!

If you would like to make a gift, you still can.