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ABOUT THE RFC >Mission & Background >Staff & Boards >Fact Sheet >Named Funds PRESS PAST EVENTS >Boston, 2007 >Northampton, 2005 >New York, 2003 ROBERT MEEROPOL >Biography >Lectures ROSENBERG CASE >Case Article >Supporting Material Many documents available for download are in .pdf format. You need the free Acrobat Reader to open the files. Click the Adobe icon to downloadthe Acrobat reader. Icon links to the Adobe site in a new window. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Please
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For more photos from previous Family Gatherings and Carry it Forward Gatherings, click here. The RFC’s founder, Robert Meeropol, was six years old when his parents, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, were executed at the height of the McCarthy Era after one of the most hotly debated trials in U.S. history. Robert and his brother survived their nightmare in large part because of the loving and culturally rich life that was created for them by their adoptive parents, and by the progressive community who rallied to raise a trust fund to help them. Aided by this emotional and financial support, the brothers grew up in a creative milieu, among writers, musicians, actors and other artists. They attended schools and summer camps where the Arts were valued, and found solace and kinship in these environments. So when he launched the RFC, Robert knew firsthand that the educational and cultural activities paid for by RFC grants—for example, art classes or music lessons— could provide a safe harbor for children living through traumatic and unstable circumstances. In addition to awarding regular grants, the RFC produces in-house programs called “Gatherings.” Held over 4-day periods at a progressive summer camp in rural, Western Massachusetts, Gatherings offer RFC beneficiary families an array of cultural workshops along with recreational and social activities. The programming facilitates the formation of bonds between Gathering participants who have experienced similar situations as a result of the activist parents’ work for social justice. The RFC has produced five of these community-building events. Three of the past Gatherings were for RFC beneficiaries aged 15-25, and the other two were for entire RFC beneficiary families, (the activist parents and their school-age children.) These events exemplify the RFC’s commitment to building community and combating the isolation that makes activist families vulnerable. Gatherings also reflect the RFC’s belief that children in difficult circumstances deserve to have fun, relax and experience some “normalcy.” The RFC is pleased to announce a special funding source for the next Family Gathering, to be held in August 2008. Income from the Eastmont Art Fund, a project of Eastmont Custom Framing and the Elusie Gallery in Easthampton, MA, will help pay for Western MA-based artists to teach the Gathering’s cultural workshops such as Visual Arts, Poetry, Dance, Drama and Music.
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E-mail Amber Black, Public Relations Coordinator
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