His Grandfather Would Be Proud

This post comes to us from colleague Rachel Weiss, who wants to let us know about a pretty amazing Young Friend, Rob Jordan.

For nearly 10 years the Young Friends of the Museum have hosted a myriad of social, educational, networking, and philanthropic events ranging from our festive, not-to-be-missed Purim and Hanukkah parties, to behind-the-scenes tours of groundbreaking special exhibitions with our curators, and exclusive networking seminars with titans of industry. The Young Friends mission is to preserve Holocaust memory and celebrate Jewish heritage, and increasingly over the last few years the Museum has looked to the Young Friends to help raise funds to support the Museum’s growing outreach and education programs.

We want to give a special shout out to Young Friends Board Member Rob Jordan, who has found the most exciting way yet to raise money for the Museum.

On May 2, Rob will challenge himself by participating in the ultimate seven-mile obstacle course called the Tough Mudder’s Race (http://toughmudder.com/), following a friend’s advice to try something this year that scares him. Rob will literally be running through fire pits, hiking up and down mountain terrain, trudging through swamps, scaling walls, and pushing himself to the max all to support the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

For those of us who are not channeling our inner Evel Knievel, Rob’s inspiration speaks for itself:

His grandfather’s yahrzeit is this month, and Rob wanted to honor his grandfather, Saul Jurysta, a Holocaust survivor, by taking part in the most hardcore obstacle course we’ve ever hear of to prove that if his grandfather can survive the horrors of the Holocaust, that he can make it through the ringer at Tough Mudder.

Rob’s goal is to raise $18,000 for the Museum and so far he’s already raised over $6,200. To view Rob’s fundraising webpage or to help him reach his goal by making a donation, go to http://www.firstgiving.com/robertjordan33 .

On behalf of the Young Friends Board and the Museum staff – GO ROB! We are rooting for you and know you can make it to the finish line!

Photo of Rob with his cousin Danielle and their granddad Saul.