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Howard and Ro Jacobson are bright lights in the 'Life in a Jar' story. They have been major friends and supporters of the project since the beginning. They are loved by the students and adults at Uniontown. Howard and Ro have both established foundations which give scholarships to worthy students. They have contributed greatly to members of the 'Life in a Jar' project.
Howard wrote this about the students,
"As I wrote you a year ago today (March 26th 2002) I feel you are all heroes because of the time and energy you have committed and continue to commit to the Irena Sendler story. You have shown your play to over 90 groups throughout the United States and in Poland and have received rave reviews from every performance. Your commitment to this project has raised Irena and her story to a new level of recognition in her city of Warsaw, her country of Poland as well as throughout the world.
Your lives will be forever changed for the better because of what you are doing with this project. The more active and committed you are, the better the results and the more you will enjoy your lives. Each of you will find that the greatest joy comes from helping others. My wife Rosalyn and I have been pleased to be travelers on your journey the last 2 years and look forward to hearing great things about each of you as you continue your journey during the next several years of college and beyond. We KNOW that most of you have very lofty goals and know that you have the determination to achieve those goals. Continue to aim high and continue to reach out and help others along the way. There are many people whose lives you have touched who are cheering for all of you!! "
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Theresa is the youngest and newest member of the cast. She is from a local school and is sixteen, starting at fifteen, the same age as the original founders in 1999. Her singing of the Hebrew song as the orphan has been a huge hit with audiences. She also has played other roles in the play and will soon portray Irena Sendler, the first person other than Megan Felt to portray Irena in the play for six years.
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Kenny Felt is a graduate from Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas. He is an award winning photographer and many of his photos appear on our website. He has been assisting the project for many years. His wonderful photography from our 2004 summer tour is available through the 'shop' pull down. Kenny was a reporter for a local newspaper and has done numerous stories about 'Life in a Jar' and Irena Sendler. Kenny recently received honorable mention in the Gordon Parks's Photography Contest. His photographs have also appeared in Sports Illustrated, ESPN The Magazine, L.A. Times, USA Today, Guidepost and many more news media. He was married to Megan Stewart on June 3, 2006.
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Andrea Smith is the web master for the Irena Sendler Project. She believes the good people do lives after them and that Irena Sendler illustrates we can each leave a personal legacy for generations to come. She is honored to be a part of the project helping to bring the story of Irena's own legacy to others. Andrea lived in Fort Scott until January 2005. She worked for the Chamber of Commerce and took on the Irena Sendler web site as a community service. “To give back to the community.”
She began the Irena Sendler web site in February 2003. Her work took her to Orlando, Florida in January 2005, but she continues as the web master.
Since its beginning, over 1.4 million individuals have logged onto the web site. Andrea is making it possible for Irena's legacy to continue.
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Norm Conard taught social studies at Uniontown High School in Uniontown for 20 plus years, he has retired from the classroom. A third generation educator, Mr. Conard made sure that his teaching style exceeded traditional classroom boundaries by encouraging his students to develop projects of tolerance and diversity. His dream and the dream of his students was to develop a foundation which can assist schools and students across the country to develop such projects....like Life in a Jar. One of his great sources of pride is having seen over 170 of his students win state history championships and 60 of his students achieve national recognition in the National History Day Competition. He has received many local, state and national awards. Mr. Conard says, "Irena Sendler has changed my life and the lives of my students. She continues to make a huge difference in our world." Norman and his wife Karen still work with the original student founders of the projects, all of which are in their mid to late 20's.
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Ellie was an honors student at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas. She used her creative abilities to aid 'Life in a Jar.' Her art work is featured and her singing and acting ability highlight various scenes in the play. She recently graduated from the University and is one of the newest members of the cast. She was honored as one of the 100 top senior business majors in America. Beth is working on a master's degree in international business in Australia during 2009.
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Janka is the only living child of Irena Sendler. She lives in Warsaw and has been a joy to work with in the 'Life in a Jar' project. She shares great pride in her mother's story and has had some very nice visits with those in the project. She has visited Israel and has seen her mother's tree, planted in Irena's honor by Yad Vashem. Janka helped host the Life in a Jar cast during the 2005 trip to Poland. She also provided the group with a wonderful afternoon in Warsaw.
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Jack is a pediatrician and writer from Vermont who is working on a book about Life in a Jar and the Irena Sendler Project. Jack and Chip recently traveled to Poland with the Life in a Jar cast. They both have a heart for the story of Irena and the work of the students from Kansas.
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Karen has assisted her husband in many aspects of the Irena Sendler Projects. She also visited Irena in Poland on the first trip for the Life in a Jar team. Karen has attended many of the Life in a Jar events. She is an administrator for Southeast Kansas Mental Health and gives constant support and encouragement to the project.
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Ania is the daughter of Elzbieta Ficowska (saved by Irena, President of the Children of the Holocaust Organization in Poland, and active in Irena's care). She and her husband Andrzej, are favorites of the Life in a Jar students. Ania has visited Uniontown and the entire family plans a future trip. Their two sons, Carl and Phillip are also favorites of the students. The family has hosted the Life in a Jar group several times in Poland.
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