Students and staff from Manhattanville College attended the Annual Benefit Dinner for the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) which honored renowned actor and human rights activist Richard Gere.

Rev. Wil Tyrrell, director of the Duchesne Center for Religious & Social Justice,  stated, “Manhattanville’s participation in the HHREC event is evidence of our engagement with the larger community off campus. It also shows how important it is to us to be involved in human rights and questions of justice while we educate our students. Valerie Moore O’Keeffe, the Chairperson of the Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center, is a Manhattanville alumna. That says it all.”

After receiving the Eugene M. & Emily Grant Spirit of Humanity Award, Gere spoke about his experience in Tibet and how people managed to love and remain peaceful in a place surrounded by hatred.

The HHREC also honored John M. Tolomer, president and CEO of the Westchester Bank, with the Bernard J. Rosenshein Courage to Care Award. In attendance were several Holocaust survivors including, Melvin Federbush, who spoke about forgiveness.

Nataly Cifuentes ’16 said, “I was absolutely stunned at the personal anecdotes I heard from a few of the survivors about their time in the concentration camps, how they lost their loved ones, and how they overcame these tragic events. As the dinner reached its closing, we had the honor to speak to one of the survivors, whose advice was to love and forgive everyone.”

Founded in 1990, the HHREC promotes education and awareness about the Holocaust among young people, and used to have its offices at Manhattanville College. The organization is also hoping to get the Holocaust into the national educational curriculum, currently only a few states mandate it.

“I thought the event was amazing and eye opening. I did not realize that there was such a large gap in the history curriculum. The Holocaust is one of the most important things we can learn about because we must prevent any tragedy like it from reoccurring,” stated Morgan O’Neil Gordon ‘18.

After the event, students met with Manhattanville College alumna O’Keeffe’65.

“The highlight of the evening for me was meeting Manhattanville alumna Valerie Moore O'Keeffe ('65) and to hear how proud she is to be a Manhattanville graduate, as was her mother before her (class of 1932). She talked fondly about Sister Mary Clark who recently passed away and about the importance of a liberal arts education that Manhattanville offers,” said Binita Mehta, director of the International Studies Program.

“The experience motivated me to want to do more in the community and the Manhattanville community,” said Sophomore Nicoleta Pennacchia.

The group from Manhattanville was invited to the dinner through the Duchesne Center's partnership with the HHREC.

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