Paperclip Project coming to WNC this Fall

No Jews live in Whitwell, TN.  So, when Sandra Roberts began teaching her students about the murder of six million Jews during the Holocaust, it was difficult for the students to comprehend the murder of people just because they were Jews, much less six million of them.  How much is six million?  It was hard to envision.  Maybe they could collect six million of something to get the idea.  Pennies would be too big and too heavy.  After some study, they came upon the idea of collecting six million paperclips.  And thus, the Paperclip Project was born.

In a joint project involving Mountain Synagogue, Whitwell Middle School of Whitwell, TN, the Macon County Interfaith Coalition, and Macon County Public Schools, a live virtual interactive tour and program of the Whitwell Paperclip Museum will be presented at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts this Fall.  As part of the program coordinated by Tyler Faetz at Franklin High School, the Paperclips Story video will be shown to the students of the county’s middle and high schools a week ahead of the community-wide program.  As part of their learning, the students will do a response assignment, in either written or artistic form.

Attendees at the community program will see the Paperclips video as the first part of the program and then will be linked with the students of Whitwell Middle School who will take the audience on a virtual tour of the museum. They’ll tell why they chose to collect paperclips, and answer questions. 

Joel Edelson, President of the Congregation of Mountain Synagogue, said, “We have wanted to take a busload of our congregants to see the Paperclip Museum for a long time, but it would be a very expensive trip.  Our new rabbi suggested that we bring the program here, to Franklin where we could share it with the entire community, and here we are!  We are very excited about this program and think it will have a great impact.”

Beverly Barnett, Chair of the Macon County Interfaith Council, said, “To learn about the Holocaust through the eyes of these young students will be very powerful.  We are proud to support this program through all of our affiliated churches and organizations and look forward to excellent attendance.”

The program will be free of charge to the community.  For more information, please contact info@mountainsynagogue.com.