Jennifer Meeropol is the granddaughter of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg and the daughter of RFC Founder, Robert Meeropol. Jenn became the Executive Director of the RFC on September 1, 2013. Prior posts on this page were written by Robert (unless otherwise noted), and represent his opinions, which are not necessarily shared by the RFC.
By Tori Montemurro
My two years at the Rosenberg Fund for Children as the Granting Coordinator have sadly come to an end, as I will be moving to Spain to teach English for the year. I am beyond grateful for this experience and for all of the people I have gotten to work with during my time at the RFC.
My experiences over the last two years have been defined by three words: pivot, learn, and adapt. This summer was no exception, as I interned with the RFC and undertook virtual programming.
A core part of the RFC's mission is to combat the isolation that makes our grantees vulnerable and deepens the impact of the targeting they experience. And so we are thrilled that three RFC beneficiary families in Alabama came together to convene the first ever “Pass the Mic” summer camp.
Fifteen years ago (Saturday, July 23rd) was my first day of work at the RFC. I came onboard as the granting coordinator, supporting beneficiary families in applying for and utilizing grants for their children. It’s hard to believe that was a decade and a half ago; this is by far the longest I’ve ever spent at a job and I have no plans to leave any time soon.
The project began in January 2021. We’d been locked down for almost a year. My fourth novel had been launched into a pandemic-scourged virtual-only environment. Racial injustice and climate catastrophe were vying for my activist attention. I was having a hard time writing new fiction or imagining anything getting better. I certainly wasn’t considering starting an entirely new kind of literary project.